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05_756512 ch01.qxd 3/1/06 7:53 PM Page 12 • Walking Tour 1 • Ancient Rome Start: Colosseo Metro station. Finish: Circo Massimo Metro station. 1 Time: 2 ⁄2 to 3 hours not including visits. Best Time: Early mornings and late afternoons, to enjoy the best light. Worst Time: Lunch recess (12:30–4:30pm), when most of the churches are closed (the Capitoline Museums are closed on Mon and the Domus Aurea on Tues). Right at the heart of mod- ern Rome lies the archaeological area of the Fori and the Palatine Hill. In Latin, fori is the plural of the word “forum,” which refers to the center of town. As the largest city in the empire, Rome had not only one forum but several, which were all additionsCOPYRIGHTED to the original forum, theMATERIAL Forum Romanum (Roman Forum). The Fori and Palatine Hill were the heart of the ancient city, with its Capitol, its major public buildings, temples, and markets, and (later) the Imperial Palace. Feeling today like a strange hole in time cut through the urban fabric, the area occupied by the Fori and the Palatine was very much integrated in the life of the city until the 20th cen- tury. The area’s layered architecture stood as a testament to 12 05_756512 ch01.qxd 3/1/06 7:53 PM Page 13 Ancient Rome • 13 Rome’s long, rich history. Medieval and Renaissance buildings surrounded, and often were built directly over, ancient Roman temples and structures. While some of the largest monuments such as the Colosseum had been used as a quarry for marble and construction materials by the popes of the Renaissance as they were busy rebuilding the city, other structures remained largely intact because they had been turned over to other uses. Temples were transformed into houses and churches, or used as foundations for newer buildings. While premodern ages are often blamed for lacking our historical sense and appreciation for the past, the truth is that the Fori and Palatine Hill area suffered as much, if not more, from urban “renewal” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as it did in the previous thousand years. The kings of the House of Savoy began the damage with the building of the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II over the Campidoglio—a symbolic location, meant to establish the continuity of the postunification monarchy with antiquity. Unfortunately, mak- ing this architectural-political statement required the demoli- tion of a large part of the neighborhood that had developed on the hill. The Fascist regime completed the spoilage by demol- ishing the entire neighborhood that lay between the Colosseum and Piazza Venezia; the government justified this demolition by constructing the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the major thoroughfare now connecting the two landmarks. (It was a high price to pay just to facilitate what today we consider the bane of urban existence—traffic.) The Fascist government also demolished part of the remaining neighborhood on the Campidoglio to create Via del Teatro Marcello on the western side of the hill. The govern- ment also “isolated” all ancient Roman monuments by demol- ishing whatever later building had been built around and over them, even if these structures were hundreds of years old. It is actually surprising that anything survived and still remains to be seen. The lost neighborhoods—said to have afforded numerous magical and picturesque views of ancient Roman buildings layered with Medieval and Renaissance additions—are gone forever. However, in an attempt to recover some of the archae- ological remains covered up by the Via dei Fori Imperiali, and perhaps to make amends for the scientific loss, an ambitious 05_756512 ch01.qxd3/1/067:53PMPage14 14 Ancient Rome Piazza 13 V. Salara Lgo C. Capizucchi Piazza d. Vecchia Campidoglio 10 V.d.Tulliano Ricci Tre Pile Tre 14 12 11 Via d. Via del Teatro Lg. G. Via dei Fori Imperiali Piazza le 8 Gatti Caffarelli 9 Via del Teatro start here Lgo G. Piazza M. te Tarpeo 6 5 Agnesi 15 Via7 In Miranda di S. Lungotevere de Cenci Francesca Clivo di 1 M RomanaVenere Felice Via N. Salvi V.d.Tempio di Giove V. Consolazione Piazza d. 16 Piazza Dim. te Piazza Savello Vico Jugario Consolazione Vi. Domus Via dei FienelliV.d.Foraggi 17 Venere 2 Aurea Via l. Petrocel Via Labicana Piazza di S. Lungotevere dei e Roma V. Sacra Piazza V. Bucimazza 3 Bart. A. Isola Via di S. Teodoro del Piazza Fate- Colosseo Benefratelli 4 li Piazza d. Decollato 20 19 Pierileoni 22 Gensola Giovanni S. V. 18 Vibenna Piazza del Colosseo Piazza d. Via Claudia 21 V.D. Velabro Ponte Palatino Bocca d. Piazza Verita Via Celio Castellani 24 V.d. Salumi Scalaccia Piazza di 23 S. Anastasia del Celio Via dei Cerchi Via Claudia V.D. Via di S. Gregorio Greca 25 Viale d. Parco di Ercole V.d. Ara Mass. Ripa V.S. Maria Clivo di Publici Piazza di S. in Cosmedin Cedilia Circus Clivo di Scauro Piazza Maximus Piazza d. Piazza di S. Giov. Paolo Mercanti Lungotevere di S. P. le U. la Gregorio Aventino Lungotevere Malfa V V 05_756512 ch01.qxd3/1/067:53PMPage15 Via dei Cerchi Vi. Card. Spell Cl.R.ca Savella Pl. la Malfa man V.valle Murcia Via del Circo Massimo Piazza di Via di Sabina Porta Capena Via di valle delle Camene Piazza Lungotevere Aventino Pietro finish here D'Ill Lg. M Arrigo VII Piazza Lg. d. Giunone Vittime d. Terrorismo Reg. Viale Aventino Via delle Terme di Piazza Cav. Piazza Tempio Piazza d. Diana d. Emporio di Malta Piazza S. Prisca Lg. Baldinotti Caracalla Via Aventina V.Antonina Piazza Albina Piazza di S. Balbina V.Antonina Piazza Albania Piazza Piazza d. S. Mama Servil Uber. Piazza Remuria V. di S. Balbina Piazza Rosa Lg. E. Testaccio Via E. Via E. Fiorito Lg. M. Via Alberti Viale G. Baccelli Gelsomini Via di Villa Pepoli 0 1/10 mile Via S. Rosa N Piazza G. L. Lg. C. 0 200 meters Bernini 15 Lazzerini 05_756512 ch01.qxd 3/1/06 7:53 PM Page 16 16 • Memorable Walks in Rome archaeological excavation was started in 1998. This much-crit- icized project, which is open to the public, focuses on the Imperial Forums (east of the Roman Forum), and is the largest archaeological excavation in the world. At the time of this writ- ing, the work is approaching its final phases. When it is com- plete, ancient Rome will be more alive than ever to visitors. The Fori and Palatine Hill are probably the most visited area of Rome, yet few tourists venture into the streets where we’ll take you, and even fewer notice the many landmarks that are of such great historical and cultural importance to Romans today. During this walk we show you the grand monuments of ancient Rome, but we also lead you through the tiny leftover corners of the lost neighborhoods of the Campidoglio, so that you can have a glimpse of what the neighborhood was like before the government rebuilt it. We also point out monu- ments and works of art that are usually overlooked by harried tourists. Explore! Walk out of the Colosseo Metro stop and you’ll find your- self on: 1. Via dei Fori Imperiali. This road is the single most criticized urban intervention of the Fascist regime; it erased one of the most picturesque neighborhoods of Renaissance Rome and destroyed much archaeological evidence. Excavations currently underway are creating a system of arched tunnels beneath the Via dei Fori Imperiali that give access to treasures that were paved over during the road’s construction (unfortunately, for practi- cal reasons, the road can’t be done away with now). Turn left, walking past the Colosseum and up the slope of the hill to the entrance of the: 2. Domus Aurea (the Golden House), the most grandiose of Nero’s follies. The sprawling palace sat in a beautifully landscaped park that occupied the whole valley of the Colosseum and extended to the Palatine Hill. Since Nero had dissipated so much state money (that was real gold dec- orating his “golden house”), his successors—the emperors Vespasian and his son Tito—had to work hard to restore faith in the government and refurbish the state’s finances. 05_756512 ch01.qxd 3/1/06 7:53 PM Page 17 Ancient Rome • 17 One of their first actions was to dismantle Nero’s Domus Aurea and replace it with buildings of public utility: the Colosseum (see below) and great public baths such as the Terme di Tito, remains of which are still visible above the Domus Aurea and in the park behind it. The Domus Aurea is open Wednesday to Monday 9am to 7:45pm; last admis- sion is 1 hour before closing. Admission is charged. Directly across from the Metro station, just off Via dei Fori Imperial, is the imposing structure of the: 3. Colosseum, which was built between A.D. 70 and 80. Ancient Romans referred to the Colosseum as the Flavian Amphitheater because it was a gift from the new Emperor Vespasian (of the Flavian family) to the people. The gift was not completely disinterested, of course; the famous political strategy described by Juvenal as Panem et Circensis (literally “bread and circuses”) is a formula that still makes complete political sense: People who are well fed and amused are easy to govern. This magnificent building rises four floors above the ground for a height of 50m (164 ft.) and has a diameter of 188m (617 ft.). It took 100,000 cubic m (over 3.5 million cubic ft.) of travertine marble and 300 tons of iron to build.
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  • A Journey Through Sacred Space: Medieval Tree and Cross Symbolism in the Apse Mosaic and Floor of San Clemente in Rome Joe Hartm

    A Journey Through Sacred Space: Medieval Tree and Cross Symbolism in the Apse Mosaic and Floor of San Clemente in Rome Joe Hartm

    1 A Journey through Sacred Space: Medieval Tree and Cross Symbolism in the Apse Mosaic and Floor of San Clemente in Rome Joe Hartman PhD candidate, Art History, Southern Methodist University Introduction: Cross, Tree, and Vine Symbolism in the Church of San Clemente In medieval Rome, the cross – also called the lignum vitae (tree or wood of life) – represented a Christian belief that the sins of humankind, associated with the tree of knowledge, were overcome through Christ’s sacrifice.1 The cross and vine in the apse mosaic of the twelfth- century church of San Clemente in Rome are a case in point (Figs. 1-2). In the center of the mosaic, on top of a gold inlaid background, Christ appears crucified on a black cross. A lush, green acanthus plant grows beneath him. Sinuous vines surround the cross on either side. The mosaic’s theme follows a typical fourth- or fifth-century configuration, which likens the emblematic cross to the paradisiacal “Tree of Life.”2 The visually literate laity of the twelfth century would have understood the image as a symbol of redemption and renewal. As such, the apse mosaic also depicts the cross as the Vine of Christ that abundantly provides the wine of the Eucharist and represents Christ’s sacrificial blood.3 The ornament and furnishings of San Clemente emphasize this central tree and vine motif. For example, San Clemente’s iconographic 1 All translations are the authors’ own. For more on the semiotics of the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, see Gerhart Ladner’s influential article “Medieval and Modern Understanding of Symbolism: A Comparison.” Speculum 54/ 2 (1979), 223-256.