Images

Bellinzona flourished as a city under the rule of the Visconti and Sforza dynasties in the Late Middle Ages, who secured the Alpine passes, upheld customs laws, and balanced state finances and ordinances. The Milanese also rebuilt the Murata...

Alexandre Cabanel, 1887 CE. Oil on canvas, exhibited at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp.

The Obsequies of an Egyptian Cat, oil on canvas by John Reinhard Weguelin, 1886. Auckland Art Gallery. A priestess offers gifts of food and milk to the spirit of a cat. On an altar stands the mummy of the deceased, and the tomb...

Copy of funerary stela with inscription, Vira-Gambarogno, Ticino. 5th century BC. The name of the deceased reads from bottom to top: teromui kalui. Find our more: The Oldest Writing in Switzerland.

Around 390 BCE. Erstfeld. Canton Uri. Protection for travellers: This treasure was deposited in a rock crevice in a valley leading to the Gotthard Pass, probably as a votive offering by a group of travellers. The rings bear human and animal...

Bowl, gold. c. 1100 BCE. Zurich-Altstetten. Canton of Zurich. With images of stags and does grazing under round suns and crescent moons, this heavy vessel made of pure gold depicts both heaven and earth. It was buried by a farming community...

Bowl, gold. c. 1100 BCE. Zurich-Altstetten. Canton of Zurich. With images of stags and does grazing under round suns and crescent moons, this heavy vessel made of pure gold depicts both heaven and earth. It was buried by a farming community...

Helmet, iron, Giubiasco, Ticino. Around 350 BCE. Not just warriors: According to biased descriptions by the Romans and Greeks, the Celts were warriors and barbarians. However, finds of rich grave goods such as jewellery and weapons attest...

Around 390 BC. Erstfeld. Canton Uri. Protection for travellers: This treasure was deposited in a rock crevice in a valley leading to the Gotthard Pass, probably as a votive offering by a group of travellers. The rings bear human and animal...

Artistic rendering of Consort Yu (also Yuji, born Yu Miaoyi), the young concubine of Xiang Yu, King of Chu (r. 206-202 BCE). She was captured in one of the skirmishes of the Chu-Han Contention (206-202 BCE) in which the forces of Liu Bang...