Archaeology, Ideology, and Urbanism in Rome from the Grand Tour to Berlusconi

Reviews the complex relationship between Rome's rich archaeology, changing cultural and ideological agendas, and its urban development.

Stephen L. Dyson (Author)

9780521874595, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 January 2019

340 pages, 51 b/w illus.
25.3 x 18 x 2 cm, 0.84 kg

Rome is one of the world's greatest archaeological sites, preserving many major monuments of the classical past. It is also a city with an important post-Roman history and home to both the papacy and the modern Italian state. Archaeologists have studied the ruins, and popes and politicians have used them for propaganda programs. Developers and preservationists have fought over what should and should not be preserved. This book tells the story of those complex, interacting developments over the past three centuries, from the days of the Grand Tour through the arrival of the fascists, which saw more destruction but also an unprecedented use of the remains for political propaganda. In post-war Rome, urban development predominated over archaeological preservation and much was lost. However, starting in the 1970s, preservationists have fought back, saving much and making the city into Europe's most important case study in historical preservation and historical loss.

Introduction
1. Rome in the eighteenth century
2. French intervention and papal reaction
3. Archaeology and urbanism in the waning days of papal Rome
4. Archaeology and urbanism in Rome during the early decades of the national state
5. Development and archaeology in Roma Capitale
6. Museums, markets, and display in the New Rome
7. Archaeology and urbanism in fascist Rome
8. Mostras and museums in fascist Rome
9. Quietism, conformity and chaos: urbanism and archaeology in the 1950s and 1960s
10. A new generation, a new politics, and a new archaeology
11. The end of an era: the Giubileo, the Ara Pacis, and the twilight of the heirs of Bianchi Bandinelli
12. Afterword
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Archaeological theory [HDA], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]