Upon my return from the Eternal City, I gathered my site-gear and head out into the fields of Silchester Roman town. Everyone has been working very hard and after setting up my tent and meeting this years students, I found myself in the midst of teaching in week 3 of the excavation. All three trenches are now well underway with […]
Day 57 – Our final Monday on the City of Rome course was spent at the Mausoleum of Hadrian the Castel Sant’Angelo. Here we were greeted by Paolo Vitti, a scholar in architecture with a wealth of knowledge about the tomb and the challenges it presented to those who built it. Built in the 1st century CE for the emperor […]
Day 51 – On Tuesday of week 8, the fellows of the City of Rome walked along the Via Salaria to the Mausoleum of Santa Costanza. This tomb for the daughter of Constantine sits high on a hill and still houses some magnificent pieces of mosaic artistry. The building is circular and in the concave ceiling that runs above the […]
Day 43 – Trastevere is an area of Rome that sits on the opposite side of the river Tiber to the centre of the city. It is filled with orange stuccoed buildings, random ruins and columns, bars, restaurants, churches and shops. For the City of Rome cohort, we arrived at the Excubitorium of the Vigiles on Via della VII Coorte […]
Day 36 – There was no day off for last week and so on Monday we travelled by tram to the Vatican City. Here, we looked at the Museums including the Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding, Odyssey Frescoes of Via Graziosa, Museo pio Clementino, Museo Chiaramonti, Museo Pio Cristiano, Museo Gregoriano and the Hall of Portraits. Needless to say, this […]
Apologies for the delay on last week’s update! It’s been an intense few days! Week 6 will be out this weekend like normal. Day 30 & 31- During our time at the BSR, we are expected to carry out a research project, the title of which was proposed as part of the original application. The project is judged on the […]
The Italian bank holidays have made this week a short one regarding exploration, allowing for time to calibrate the intense days of research we have been part of since we arrived. With anything up to 11 hours of walking, seminars, lectures, tours and project work 6 days a week, there hasn’t been much time for rest and it has been […]
Every year on the 21st April, Rome celebrates its birthday. The date derives from ancient literary sources who mark the day in 753 BCE as the mythological founding of the city by Romulus. The celebrations are taken seriously, with a mixture of triumphal parades, ancient sports, oratory and crafts. There is a strong sense of heritage identity that seems to […]
Day 15 – Monday was the second day exploring the Campus Martius for the City of Rome awardees and we started with the Montecitorio obelisk. The monument is now situated in Piazza del Parlamento, where we were also introduced to Mark Bradley, an Associate Professor of Ancient History at the University of Nottingham who was joining us for the day. […]
Day 11 – The Esquiline Hill is one of many hills that collectively create the topography of the city of Rome. It’s elevation made it a quieter area than the bustle of the city centre for those with enough status to afford the land. Large Domus and gardens were more than just a spectacle and provided privacy for the elites […]