Wednesday 15 November 2023 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Institutum Romanum Finlandiae, Via Garibaldi 31
Who lost out when Rome’s monuments went up?
Dr. Christopher S. Siwicki, postdoctoral fellow at the Norwegian Institute in Rome
Urban redevelopment creates winners and losers. The monuments of ancient Rome are visually impressive, but they often overlie residential area. Many Greek and Latin authors eulogise feats of construction, but others express uneasiness about, even hostility to, such works. While the double-edged sword of urban development in contemporary cities continues to be the focus of intense scrutiny, scholarship on the Roman world predominantly emphasises the positive aspects of monumental architecture – baths, forums, temples, entertainment complexes. Yet what was the impact of these large structure on the people who actually lived around them? What was the opposition to such projects? Questioning the assumption that ‘public’ buildings necessarily benefit the ‘public’ this papers examines the harmful side of building activity in antiquity.
Circolo Gianicolense is a network for scholars in the Gianicolo area of Rome, open to all international scholars.
