Monumentality And The Roman Empire

Every society builds, and many, if not all, utilize architectural structures as markers to define place, patron, or experience. Often we consider these architectural markers as “monuments” or “monumental” buildings. Ancient Rome, in particular, is a society recognized for the monumentality of its buildings. While few would deny that the term “monumental” is appropriate for ancient Roman architecture, the nature of this characterization and its development in pre-Roman Italy is rarely considered carefully. What is “monumental” about Etruscan and early Roman architecture? Delving into the crucial period before the zenith of Imperial Roman building, Monumentality in Etruscan and Early Roman Architecture addresses such questions as, “What factors drove the emergence of scale as a defining element of ancient Italian architecture?” and “How did monumentality arise as a key feature of Roman architecture?” Contributors Elizabeth Colantoni, Anthony Tuck, Nancy A. Winter, P. Gregory Warden, John N. Hopkins, Penelope J. E. Davies, and Ingrid Edlund-Berry reflect on the ways in which ancient Etruscans and Romans utilized the concepts of commemoration, durability, and visibility to achieve monumentality. The editors’ preface and introduction underscore the notion of architectural evolution toward monumentality as being connected to the changing social and political strategies of the ruling elites. By also considering technical components, this collection emphasizes the development and the ideological significance of Etruscan and early Roman monumentality from a variety of viewpoints and disciplines. The result is a broad range of interpretations celebrating both ancient and modern perspectives.

'Monumentality and the Roman Age' presents a study of the concept of monumentality in classical antiquity, asks what it is that the notion encompasses and how significant it was for the Romans themselves in moulding their individual or collective aspirations and identities.

This book is an exploration of the layers of Rome: the accumulations of centuries of habitation that make the city a fascinating and sometimes confounding palimpsest. This architectural coexistence is perhaps most nakedly on display at the sites of the ancient theaters of Marcellus and Pompey. Here ancient, medieval, early modern and contemporary elements are interwoven in a way that produced some of the strangest buildings in Rome. Drawing on archival sources, pictorial records and physical evidence, this book untangles the rich history and fabric of these buildings. It starts to trace their evolution from the fall of the Roman empire, when the city's public monuments were taken over by private owners and the theaters were first used as simple shelters. It follows the theaters as they were taken over by powerful Roman families in the middle ages, and transformed into fortresses which dominated the urban landscape. And it examines the structures' continued evolution, as defensive needs were replaced by the desire for more elaborate living spaces, and eventually the requirements of the formal aristocratic palace. This last transformation posed the greatest challenge for the buildings and the families that inhabited them. The Tuscan palace was a highly desirable model but in many ways was incompatible with the massive, radial theater remains. The choices made by the owners in response to this problem are in many ways surprising, and shed light on overlooked aspects of patronage and palace-building. Eschewing badly needed formal improvements, the families focused primarily on enhencing the experiential aspects of their palaces. Their approach shared by some of their contemporaries, pointing to a plurality of practices in the conception of the palace. This book offers an alternative perspective on Rome's ancient remains: a material history which enriches our understanding of Rome and its antiquities, and illuminates aspects of baronial patronage, social identity, and even the palace itself.

A Companion to Science, Technology, and Medicine in Ancient Greece and Rome brings a fresh perspective to the study of these disciplines in the ancient world, with 60 chapters examining these topics from a variety of critical and technical perspectives. Brings a fresh perspective to the study of science, technology, and medicine in the ancient world, with 60 chapters examining these topics from a variety of critical and technical perspectives Begins coverage in 600 BCE and includes sections on the later Roman Empire and beyond, featuring discussion of the transmission and reception of these ideas into the Renaissance Investigates key disciplines, concepts, and movements in ancient science, technology, and medicine within the historical, cultural, and philosophical contexts of Greek and Roman society Organizes its content in two halves: the first focuses on mathematical and natural sciences; the second focuses on cultural applications and interdisciplinary themes 2 Volumes

In this book, Brenda Longfellow examines one of the features of Roman Imperial cities, the monumental civic fountain. Built in cities throughout the Roman Empire during the first through third centuries AD, these fountains were imposing in size, frequently adorned with grand sculptures, and often placed in highly trafficked areas. Over twenty-five of these urban complexes can be associated with emperors. Dr. Longfellow situates each of these examples within its urban environment and investigates the edifice as a product of an individual patron and a particular historical and geographical context. She also considers the role of civic patronage in fostering a dialogue between imperial and provincial elites with the local urban environment. Tracing the development of the genre across the empire, she illuminates the motives and ideologies of imperial and local benefactors in Rome and the provinces and explores the complex interplay of imperial power, patronage, and the local urban environment.

Monumental pictures and their social reality in Rome around 1300 are the focus of this study. The frescoes and mosaics under examination belong to the hitherto neglected façades and porticoes of important basilicas. Many of them - now lost or fragmented - described their cult repertory. They propagated ideas of their commissioners and mirrored the reality of the beholder, in terms of a new pictorial mimesis or verisimilitude. Their visual arguments were targeted towards the Romans, and, more importantly, towards the pilgrims who visited the eternal city to seek remission for their sins. The function of these pictorial media to transmit new and unconventional contents, phrased as a new pictorial vernacular, was increasingly devoted to the needs and expectations of a profoundly changed lay public. This process - although it coincided with the activity of Giotto - had its own distinctly Roman history.