Originally a small village in central Italy, within a few centuries Rome became a powerful empire that controlled the entire Mediterranean. What can we learn from artistic and archaeological evidence about the history of ancient Rome and, most importantly, about the lives of the Roman people? This course focuses on Roman art and material culture from c. 300 BC- AD 400. We will explore how the development of architecture, sculpture, painting and minor arts across the Roman empire offers valuable insights into contemporary society, shedding light on religious beliefs, cultural identity and political ideology. The course is structured around a set of themes and research questions, and each lecture will examine important sites, monuments, works of art and artefacts relating to the Roman world. In the first part of each lecture we will situate the archaeological and artistic evidence within its cultural context, whereas in the second part we will examine more closely a monument or a group of artefacts that can serve as case studies to acquire and practice skills of visual and historical analysis.
We will start by investigating Rome’s origins and the cultural processes which led to the formation of Roman art in the course of the first millennium BC. What was the role played by Italic and Greek traditions and what made Roman art distinctively ‘Roman’? We will then discuss private and public art and architecture in the late Republican and imperial periods. In particular, we will explore how modest apartment buildings in Rome and Ostia and fancy seaside villas on the Bay of Naples, with their painted and sculptural decoration, provide glimpses into the daily life of the ancient Romans. Art and architecture also played a significant role in the politics of Rome, contributing to articulate the relationship between emperors and citizens and to convey messages of propaganda. The last two lectures will focus on burial practices and religious beliefs. We will discuss the relationship between funerary monuments, memory and identity, and the impact that Christianity had on artistic developments in the Roman world.
