Living with myths: practices and imaginaries between Rome and the African Provinces

CYCLE: The Rome Dialogues. Europe, Asia, and Africa around the Mediterranean
SPEAKER: Monica Salvadori
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 6:00 PM

This lecture explores the way in which myths were lived, reinterpreted, and practiced in the Roman world, creating a dialogue between Rome and the African provinces. Through literary, archaeological, and iconographic evidence, the presentation will analyze the dynamics of how mythical imaginaries circulated, their local variations, and the role they played in daily life, religious practices, and the construction of cultural identities.

Monica Salvadori is Full Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Padua, where she currently serves as the Vice Rector for Historical, Artistic, and Cultural Heritage.
Her research activity is primarily directed toward the study of artistic production and the Greco-Roman iconographic tradition. In particular, the most significant portion of her publications is dedicated to Roman wall painting, approached through a methodology that combines the analysis of technical-executive aspects, essential for defining the skill levels of the workshops, with the study of images and the interpretation of their meanings. Her notable publications include Pittura Romana. Dall’ellenismo al tardo-antico (2002; 2nd ed. 2006), along with articles in “Atria longa patescunt” (Decorazioni ad affresco) (2012) and La pittura romana in Cisalpina e nelle regioni limitrofe (2012).
Since 2018, she has been the scientific director of the "MemO" project (The Memory of Objects: A multidisciplinary approach to the study, digitization, and enhancement of Greek and Magna Graecia ceramics in the museums of Veneto). She is currently the Principal Investigator (P.I.) of the PRIN project From Authenticity to Art (FATA): Italian Database of Forgeries, which focuses on multi-tier strategies to protect cultural heritage through the research, cataloging, and digitization of forgeries. She is also the co-editor of the journal Eidola: International Journal on Ancient Art History, alongside F. Ghedini.