Today I'm back at OCLC after spending two days at Dewey Manor, talking wth my colleagues about variety of things, including the redevelopment of our Editorial Support System and the notation proposed by the National Library of Florence for new Italian provinces.
New Italian provinces bring to mind the start of Rome -- i.e., the founding of the the city by Romulus in April 21, 753 B.C. (or 1 A.U.C. if you prefer), the same day that Romulus killed his twin brother Remus -- so today is the 2,759th birthday of Rome (T2--45632 for Rome since 476 A.D., and T2--376 for Rome before 476 A.D.).
And the significance of 476 A.D. is that on September 4, 476, Romulus's namesake, Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, was deposed. Conventionally, this is the end of ancient history and the start of the Middle Ages -- though, for European history and for history in general, Dewey uses the round number 500 A.D. for the end of ancient history (Dewey 930) and the start of the Middle Ages (Dewey 909.07 for the Middle Ages generally, and 940.1 for the Middle Ages in Europe).
So, Buon compleanno, Roma!
Comments