Cities, Towns, & Villas: Rome, Ostia, Pompeii

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course examines Roman visual culture in Italy from c. 800 B.C. to c. 400 AD by focusing on the most important surviving sites in Rome and its environs and in the areas hit by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. A focus throughout the course is development of Roman cities and towns, their plans and topography, their public monuments and their political, economic, social, and religious institutions. We will also study private architecture: from the aristocratic city-house to the country villa to middle class homes. In addition to formal descriptions of the structures, there is a strong emphasis on the role of the monument in ancient society. The course will be conducted entirely on site. There is a mandatory week-end field trip to Pompeii and Herculaneum (equivalent to 3 class meetings).