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Architectural Restoration and Heritage in Imperial Rome

Author/EditorSiwicki, Christopher (Honorary Research (Author)
ISBN: 9780198848578
Pub Date17/12/2019
BindingHardback
Pages320
Dimensions (mm)247(h) * 193(w) * 23(d)
Challenging the idea that heritage is a purely modern phenomenon, this volume addresses how historic buildings were treated in Imperial Rome, examining the way in which the ancients restored the monuments they inherited from earlier generations and developing our understanding of the Roman concept of built heritage.
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This volume addresses the treatment and perception of historic buildings in Imperial Rome, examining the ways in which public monuments were restored in order to develop an understanding of the Roman concept of built heritage. It considers examples from the first century BC to the second century AD, focusing primarily on the six decades between the Great Fire of AD 64 and the AD 120s, which constituted a period of dramatic urban transformation and architectural
innovation in Rome. Through a detailed analysis of the ways in which the design, materiality, and appearance of buildings - including the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and hut of Romulus - developed with successive restorations, the case is made for the existence of a consistent approach to the treatment
of historic buildings in this period. This study also explores how changes to particular monuments and to the urban fabric as a whole were received by the people who experienced them first-hand, uncovering attitudes to built heritage in Roman society more widely. By examining descriptions of destruction and restoration in literature of the first and second centuries AD, including the works of Seneca the Younger, Pliny the Elder, Martial, Tacitus, and Plutarch, it forms a picture of the
conflicting ways in which Rome's inhabitants responded to the redevelopment of their city. The results provide an alternative way of explaining key interventions in Rome's built environment and challenge the idea that heritage is a purely modern phenomenon.

This volume addresses the treatment and perception of historic buildings in Imperial Rome, examining the ways in which public monuments were restored in order to develop an understanding of the Roman concept of built heritage. It considers examples from the first century BC to the second century AD, focusing primarily on the six decades between the Great Fire of AD 64 and the AD 120s, which constituted a period of dramatic urban transformation and architectural
innovation in Rome. Through a detailed analysis of the ways in which the design, materiality, and appearance of buildings - including the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and hut of Romulus - developed with successive restorations, the case is made for the existence of a consistent approach to the treatment
of historic buildings in this period. This study also explores how changes to particular monuments and to the urban fabric as a whole were received by the people who experienced them first-hand, uncovering attitudes to built heritage in Roman society more widely. By examining descriptions of destruction and restoration in literature of the first and second centuries AD, including the works of Seneca the Younger, Pliny the Elder, Martial, Tacitus, and Plutarch, it forms a picture of the
conflicting ways in which Rome's inhabitants responded to the redevelopment of their city. The results provide an alternative way of explaining key interventions in Rome's built environment and challenge the idea that heritage is a purely modern phenomenon.

Christopher Siwicki is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, having also held the Rome Fellowship at the British School at Rome and the Grete Sondheimer Fellowship at the Warburg Institute. His research revolves around Roman architecture, in particular, how the ancients themselves perceived, experienced, and thought about the buildings around them.

Frontmatter List of Figures List of Tables List of Abbreviations 0: Introduction: Starting from an Unexpected Premise 1: Definitions and Parameters Architectural history in ancient Rome Scholarship on architectural restoration Defining heritage The building site that was Rome The architectural spirit of the age 2: Restoration: Why, Who, How No ruins in Rome Agency in design Patrons and architects The role of emperors Innovative restoration Architectural continuity 3: The Restorations of the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus Part 1: Four temples Uncertain plans: substructures and superstructures Catulus' temple Vespasian's temple Domitian's temple Part 2: Building on the same footprint Architecture and religion Haruspices and building Vestinus' decision to assemble the haruspices A historic building in a modern guise 4: The Casa Romuli Anomaly The two homes of Romulus The peculiar appearance of the casa Romuli The casa Romuli and Augustan ideology Huts as exempla The wooden bridge over the Tiber Conclusion 5: Ancient Responses to Restoration Silent structures Jupiter Capitolinus, the people's temple Cicero on the Capitolium Martial on the Capitolium Architecture and morality Plutarch on the Capitolium Conclusion 6: Roman Thoughts on the Rebuilding of Rome Seneca on the fires of Lyon and Rome Martial's building site Tacitus on the destruction of Rome Irreplaceable losses Shade and oppression in rebuilt Rome A better city Conclusion 7: Conclusion Where next: a tentative idea? Endmatter Bibliography Index

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