Living with the Gods. The Imperial Palaces on the Palatine Hill

SERIES: The Dialogues of Rome. Europe, Asia and Africa around the Mediterranean
SPEAKER: Paolo Carafa
DATE: Tuesday 6 October, 6:00 pm

To understand the geographical and cultural context that connected ancient Rome with Europe, Asia and Africa, it is necessary to reconstruct archaeological contexts, arranging in time and space all the material fragments that have come down to us from the past. In this way, it becomes possible to suggest configurations of places and architecture, but also to connect the intangible elements of human culture – values and ideas – with objects, large or small, that provide their direct and visible expression. Otherwise, we are left with little more than lists of facts.

From this perspective, the residence of the emperors on the Palatine Hill is of particular interest, as it expressed – and reveals to us today – specific customs, spaces and furnishings. We know a great deal about the actions of these rulers, as well as aspects of their private lives beyond military commands, public offices and the government of the State. We now enter their principal residence.

Paolo Carafa is Full Professor of Classical Archaeology and Vice-Rector for Archaeological Heritage at Sapienza University of Rome. His main research interests include Roman topography, Etruria in the Etruscan and Roman periods, Basilicata, Calabria (the ancient Sibaritide), the Suburbium of ancient Rome, and the analysis of monumental complexes in several cities of Roman Italy, including Rome – particularly the northern slope of the Palatine Hill – Volterra, Pompeii and Veii.

In 2005, together with Andrea Carandini, he created a patented Archaeological Information System. Since then, he has coordinated research projects focusing on Roman urban architecture and the landscapes of ancient Latium. Alongside his fieldwork, since 1986 he has coordinated scientific research groups with the aim of reconstructing the topography and past landscapes of ancient cities and their territories.

His research also encompasses artistic production in the Hellenistic period, Latin epigraphy, the archaic architecture of central Tyrrhenian Italy, the Romanisation of Campania – particularly Pompeii – and Magna Graecia, archaeological computing, geographic information systems, and landscape archaeology, including field research, methods and theory. He has published more than 150 works, including monographs, editions, reference books, articles and other publications.

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