The multi-part lecture started with "How Many Cities? - The complexities of a city as an encyclopedia". While most people think of every location in a city as a page in book, Ponti suggested that for Rome every location is a volume in an encyclopedia collection, due to its rich history. Rome is a city that not only builds on top of itself in order to use older building's infrastructure, it is a city that keeps expanding into the countryside.
Ponti stated that Rome was founded on its current due to it's perfect location. Its high cliffs made it strategic to create a settlement, since the natural landscape would protect the city from invaders. The marshes, which where on the other side of the river, allowed citizens an area away from the settlement to bury the dead. Being in the middle of Greek and Etruskins trade routes guaranteed Rome to be a geopolitical power.
"Rome is like an onion, and we have to peel each layer" Ponti proudly stated as he showed his powerpoint map. By looking at ruins, archeologists have to reconstruct what they believe the city looked like. The only issue is that any archeological site in Rome is littered with millions of pieces from five different time periods in Roman history.
What makes it harder, according to Ponti, is that Romans built in a half-hazzard matter. They knew how to build grid-like cities, like what they did with Pompei, it was just the issue of older historical buildings. Romans did not want to demolish important buildings, so they just built around them.
When Romans did build, they always had a political reason. After Nero ordered to have the city burned to build his palace (a point which Ponti felt very confident to state without hesitation), his successors decided to destroy Nero's palace and in the heart of the palace build the greatest public space, the Colosseum.
After much construction, the medieval era fell upon Rome. After Constantine moved the capital to Constantinople, the great city turned into a city of fortresses, churches, and one based around the river. Pagan temples where turned into churches, to show "what used to persecute Christians is now conquered by the papacy and the glory of Christ". The population of the city went from one million to one thousand. Great sites, like the Roman Forum, became goat and cow grace fields. As Ponti stated, Ancient central Rome became the boonies.
During the Renaissance Era, the Papal took power of Rome. A great collection spree of ancient sculptures and rediscover of antiquity started. Villas dotted the Rome, while Sixtus V ordered urban development to the East, in order to fend of invasion, and the Trident was constructed in the Campus Martius. Valuable material used during the Roman Empire and left by the barbarians, marble and bronze, was scrapped and reused for new buildings and sculptures. As Ponti boastfully stated, "What was not done by the barbarians was done by Barberini".
- Ezra Velazquez '10
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