The Eternal City: Rome from Antiquity to the Present

Catalog description

This class provides an introduction to the architecture and urbanism of the city of Rome from its founding to the present. The class will examine the ways in which the city came into being and was shaped over time, thereby allowing students to come away with a profound understanding of the different ways human societies have used the arts to both reflect and reinforce social and cultural traditions. Selected architects, structural ideas, buildings, and urban developments will be emphasized. In the ancient period, the class will look at the founding myths of Rome and buildings from the republican and imperial periods. With the fall of the Roman empire, the class will look at the city during the period it was controlled by the papacy, examining projects of various popes, ecclesiastical institutions, and secular patrons. The final portion of the course will look at how Rome was remade into the capital of modern Italy, and how the image of Rome was used in film. Throughout the course, buildings and urban spaces will be considered within the contexts of religion, politics, philosophy, economics, gender, and society. This course has no prerequisite and is intended for both students of architecture/art and students unfamiliar with the field.