HE CAME, HE SAW, HE CUT HAIR

Until Ticinius Mena rolled into Rome, barbers were unknown. But when this latter-day Vidal Sassoon hit town in 296BC, he had shaving in vogue faster than you can say ‘short back and sides, please’, and the barber shop became the place to see and be seen. And not just for the boys. Every mamma worth her toga had a hairdresser among her slaves. So highly prized were the people of the coiff that a statue was erected in Ticinius’ honour.

DO THE SARDANA

Despite a Franco ban on this Catalan dance, it is alive and kicking. Fancy-footed locals step to the sounds of a cobla (brass ensemble), flaviol (small high-pitched flute) and tambourines.

BEHIND THE MASK

In the 13th century, masks were banned in Venice but for one week a year. Otherwise men could go incognito and gamble or have their way with nuns. But at carnival, folk could be as naughty as they liked.

SOCCER IT TO ’EM

Names to drop: Michel Platini and Thierry Henry in France; Franz Beckenbauer in Germany; Roberto Baggio, Francesco Totti and Paolo Maldini in Italy; Johann Cruyff and Dennis Bergkamp in Holland.

WHY ‘PAPARAZZI’?

The celeb-snapping journo in Federico Fellini’s 1960 film La Dolce Vita is called Paparazzo. Crave another Fellini fact? File this: the director born in 1920 died of a heart attack on 31 October 1999, the same day River Phoenix met his end.

PEAKS AND TROUGHS

Highest mountain: Mount Elbrus, Russia. Deepest lake: Hornindalsvatnet, Norway. Highest rainfall: Italy, followed by Germany. Most expensive wine: 1787 Château d’Yquem Sauternes.

OPERA IN A NUTSHELL

Puccini’s La Bohème – Paris, 1830: sickly seamstress ventures to the flat upstairs to get a light, and meets poet and playwright. They fall in love. Ah, but Count Paul has his eye on her. All she wants to do is help her love. Then he goes and accuses her of adultery. She croaks. Verdi’s La Traviata – Cupid strikes Violetta and Alfredo; she abandons Paris in favour of rural idyll. Violetta however, doesn’t feature in Alfredo Snr’s plans. And he tells her so – she pegs it back to the capital. Unaware of dad’s meddling, Alfredo storms into a soirée to give Violetta a mouthful. Pa ’fesses up, Alf says he’s sorry. Too late: she’s so sad, she’s sick. Does she make it? Nah. Mozart’s Don Giovanni – Our man DG has a big appetite for women. For every one he seduces, a boyfriend is made jealous – eventually it’s payback time. Jilted lover with a sword? Too dull. Try the ghost of an angry father. Mr Loverman gets it where it hurts: in hell.

COMMUNISM TO DEMOCRACY

When Russian tanks invaded Czechoslovakia to ‘protect socialism’ in 1968, they shut down the reform movement until the dam of resentment burst in 1989. The Berlin Wall came down and the Velvet Revolution in Prague hailed the unsaddling of totalitarianism across the ex-Soviet Bloc. On 1 May 2004, several of the new democracies joined the European Union, ending 65 years of conflict.

EURO-SHAKESPEARE REDUCED

The Merchant of Venice Wealthy heiress yawns at the bachelors paraded in front of her. Enter Bassanio. Sigh. Gorgeous, but brassic. In steps Antonio, Merchant of Venice. Uh oh. Tony has cashflow problems. He turns to Shylock the loanshark. Fast forward through court battles, chicks disguised as guys, and – bravo! – a happy ending.
Titus Andronicus Rome, 1593: power, murder, seduction and deceit. Returning home victorious from a bloody war, Titus wants to retire. Instead, his sons are slain, hands cut off, tongues cut out, people beheaded and others chopped into pieces and baked in a pie. Sidney Sheldon, put that in your pipe and smoke it.
All’s Well That Ends Well French belle Helena has a crush on Bertram. He’s a nobleman, she’s hoi polloi. Then she saves the king’s life. Her reward? Any man for a husband. Helena chooses Bertie. They get hitched. That’s not enough for Bert; he scarpers, leaving a list of conditions. Don’t fret: the title is a clue to the outcome.

TRIVIA CORNER

The word trivia originated from the Roman trivium, which denoted a junction of three (or more) lanes in a town. Townsfolk would gather at such meeting points, and make small talk.