Adriana kommt nicht in der Bibel vor – aber das Adriatische Meer schon

Adriana is not in the Bible. But the sea it is named after is — and it is named in the middle of the worst fortnight of Paul’s life. Adriana is the feminine of Adrian, from the Latin Hadrianus, “from Hadria.” Hadria was an Etruscan port on the north Italian coast, and it gave its name to the water beside it: the Adriatic. What does the name Adriana mean? “From Hadria.” Like most Roman names it records a place rather…