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Rome is fascinating because it is an “eternal city”—every era of its architectural and cultural history from the Bronze Age to the 21st century is significant. Rome, and its architecture, has also been a vital source for the world’s cultural heritage. And Rome preserves and exhibits her architectural and urban forms, and the issues of their creation, at every period and at all levels.
Five evening classes provide an introduction to Rome through the lens of architecture and the conditions that modify, support, and distort what is built. During each class, short powerpoint presentation segments alternate with guided student discussion and quick, informal writing activities.
An overview of Rome’s history and geography firmly grounds a series of vignettes that explore issues arising from the city’s architecture and urban form. Daily themes will include:
Mapping Rome: Ideas about measuring and depicting space, from ancient Ptolemaic systems through medieval imagery, Renaissance views, accurate Baroque maps and engraved vistas, to current GPS and satellite methods.
Architects, Patrons, and Politics: Issues in the development of the profession, from Vitruvius through medieval craft societies and 16th century papal patronage systems, to the saga of Richard Meier’s Ara Pacis commission.
Rome’s Infrastructures: Questions about Rome’s roads, walls, and gates, and Rome’s water resources from the Tiber River and the Roman aqueducts to sewers and fountains.
Building Rome: Linkages among methods, means, and procedures for construction, from the Pantheon’s dome, through Renaissance and Baroque building practices, to modern preservation theory.
Each student will construct a personal graphic timeline, cutting and pasting images together – using computer technologies or hand-produced materials, or both – to create a dense and memorable visual history of the city. The class will also create a map of Rome, with each student contributing analytical materials for a particular location of special interest such as the ancient forums, the Campus Martius, Piazza del Popolo and the Corso, the Quirinal, the Tiber Island, the Borgo, or the Vatican/Saint Peter’s. “Homework” will include collecting materials and information for the timeline and map, and browsing a series of interactive websites on the Nolli Rome map, the Roman aqueducts, and Italian historic building technologies.