UNIT II: ROMAN TOPOGRAPHY AND ARCHAEOLOGY

SECTION II: ANCIENT ROME

Literature (Further Reading)

Literature.—Probably no archaeological subject has so copious a literature as that dealing with the topography of Rome ; much of this, however, has been rendered obsolete by subsequent discoveries. The reader who wishes to study the subject, in a fairly concise form will find the following books the most useful. 8 Nardini, Roma Antica, ed. Nibby, 1818-20; Nibby, Antichità di Roma, 1830, and Roma nell'Anno 1838, 1839 ; Becker, Handbuch der römischen Alter-thümer, Leipsic, 1843 (of special value from its numerous references to classical authors) ; Reber, Die Ruinen Roms, Leipsic, 1803 ; Bunsen and others, Beschreibung der Stadt Rom, Stuttgart, 1829-42, and the abridgment of this work by Platner and Uhlrichs, 1844 ; Von Reumont, Geschichte der Stadt Rom, Berlin, 1867-70 ; Jordan, Topographie der Stadt Rom, Berlin, I871 (in progress, a work of great value) ; Burn, Rome and the Campagna, London, 1870 (by far the best work in English, both from its illustrations and very able text) ; Dyer, The City of Rome, London, new ed., 1883 (a compact work, useful for reference). The very large and magnificently illustrated works by Canina must be used with great caution ; they contain imaginative restorations rather than accurate representations of what really exists ; even those drawings which profess to give the existing remains are rendered of little value by their numerous in-accuracies. The chief of Canina's works are Indicazione di Roma Antica, 1830 ; Esposizione topografica, 1842 ; Edifizj di Roma Antica, 1848-56 ; Foro Romano, 1845 ; and Architettura Antica, 1834-44.





The student who wishes to enter into the subject in detail and form independent opinions will have an enormous mass of literature to wade through.

(1) First, of course, come various classical authors, frequently cited above ; the Monumentum Ancyranum, ed. Mommsen, Berlin, 1883, and other ancient inscriptions.

(2) Second in importance come various documents of the decadence and early Middle Ages :—the Notitia and Citriosum Urbis Roma;, printed by Preller in his Regionen der Stadt Rom, Jena, 1846 ; the Mirabilia Romae, ed. Parthey, Berlin, 1809; Graphia Aurea Urbis, ed. Ozanam in Documents inédits, Paris, 1850 ; Catalogus Viennensis Imp. Rom., published by Eccard ; Descriptio Regionum Romae, Einsiedeln MS., ed. Haenel in Archiv für Philologie, v. 115, Berlin, 1837 ; Ordo Romanus, ed. Fea in Dissertazioni, &c, 1830; the Codex Topog. Urbis Romae, ed. Uhlrichs, Würzburg 1871 (contains these and extracts from other mediaeval sources); Paulus Diaconus, Excerpta ex Lib. Pomp. Festi, ed. Müller, Leipsic, 1839 ; Anastasius Bibliothecarius, De Vitis Rom. Pont., ed. Branchini, 1718. The various commentators on Virgil known under the general name of Servius give many valuable notes on Roman topography ; an excellent edition of these is being produced by Thilo and Hägen, Leipsic, 1881-85.

(3) Thirdly we have a large number of works, mostly illustrated, produced from the 15th to the 18th century, the value of which is frequently very great from the fact that they describe a large number of ancient monuments which no longer exist. Some of these, especially those earliest in date, exist only in MS. in the libraries of the Vatican, the Uffizi, Milan, and elsewhere ; a very valuable MS. of Ligorio (16th century) is preserved in the Bodleian at Oxford. Among these MSS. are drawings of ancient buildings by Raphael, Bramante, Bramantino, Baldassare, Sallustio Peruzzi, Andrea Sansovino, Palladio, and in fact by nearly all the great architects of the 16th century.

Works of 15th and l6th Centuries.—Biondo, Roma Ristaurata, Venice, 1543 (MS. of 1431-39) ; Poggio, De Fortunatae Varietale (MS. of about 1440), Basel, 1538 ; Bramantino, Rovine di Roma (MS., 1503-13, in Bibl. Ambros., Milan), ed. by Mongeri, Milan, 1S75 ; Albertini, Opusc. de Mirab. Urbis Romae, 1509 ; Pomp. Leto, De Vetustate Urbis, 1523 ; And. Fulvius, Antiquaria Urbis, Venice, 1527 ; Calvus, Antiquae Urbis Romae Simulachrum, 1532 ; Marlianus, Urbis Romae Topog., 1544 ; Palladio, L'Architettura, Venice, 1542, and Le Terme dei Romani, printed first in London, 1732 ; Serbo, Architettura, Venice, 1545, bk. iii. ; Fauno, Antichità di Roma, 1548 ; Labacco, Architettura ed Antichità, 1557 ; L. Mauro, Antichità di Roma, Venice, 1558 ; Ligorio, Elegies Antiq. Romae, 1561 ; Gamucci, Antichità di Roma, Venice, 1505 ; Dosine, Urbis Romae Aedificia, 1509 ; Du Perac, Vestigj di Roma, 1575 ; Fahricius, Romae Antiq., 1587 ; Vacca, Varie Antichità, 1594, printed in Nardini, ed. Nibby, in Roma Antica, voi. iv., 1818-20 ; Müntz, Un Plan de Rome au XVme Siècle (Soc. Nat. des Antiquaires), Paris, Aprii 1880.





17th Century.— Crechì, Antichità di Roma, 1601 ; Laurus, Antiq. Urbis Splendor, 1612 ; Maggius, Aedificia et Ruìnae Romae, 1618 ; Felini, Alma Città dì Roma, 1625 ; Scamozzi, L'Antichità di Roma, 1632 ; Franzini, Roma Ant. e Mod., 1653 ; Desgodetz, Edifices Antiques de Rome, 1682 ; Ciampini, Vetera Monumenta, 1690 ; Bartoli, Admiranda Rom. Vestigia, 1693 ; De Rubeis, Romae Magnif. Monum., 1699.

I8th Century. — Pinarole, Antichità di Roma, 1709, and Vestigi di Roma, 1744 ; Donatus, Roma Vetus, 1725 ; Bianchini, Pal. dei Cesari, 1738. The magnificent etchings by Piranesi are of great value; the copperplates (in a much damaged state) still exist, and are worked by the Calcografia Camerale. They are grouped in folio vols, entitled La Magnificenza dei Romani, 1701-04 ; L'Antichità Romana, 1750 ; and other works. See further Bellori, Ichnographia Vet. Romae, 1704 ; Venuti, Vet. Monumenta, 1778, and Descriz. Topog. di Roma, 1824; Guattani, Monum. Antiq. ined., 1784-89, and Roma descritta, 1805.

19th Century.—Many articles of great value occur in the following periodicals—Annali, Bullettino, and Monumenti dell' Institute di Corris. Archveo. di Roma, 1829 (in progress); Atti dell' Accad. Rom. di Arch., 1821 ; Atti della R. Accad. dei Lincei (in progress) ; Bullettino della Commissione Arch. Mun. di Roma, 1872 (in progress) ; Notizie degli Scavi, 1876 (in progress). See also Valadier, Le più insigni Fabbriche di Roma', 1810-20 ; Rossini, Antichità di Roma, 1817, large plates ; Fea, Ragionamento and other works, 1821-33 ; Taylor and Cresy, Archit. Antiq. of Rome, London, 1821; Romanis, Vestigie di Rom. Ant., 1832 ; Gell, Topography of Rome, London, 1834 ; Donovan, Rome Ancient and Modern, 1842; Becker, Die römische Topographie, Leipsic. 1844 ; Zostormann, De Basilicis, Brussels, 1847 ; Braun, Die Ruinen und Museen Roms, Berlin, 1854 ; Ampère, Histoire Romaine, Paris, 1862-64; Zinzow, Das älteste Rom, Tyritz, 1866 ; Parker, Photographs illustrating the Arch. of Rome, Oxford, 1867 ; Friedlander, Sittengeschichte Roms, Leipsic, 1869, and Darstellungen aus der Sittengesch. Roms, Leipsic, 1881; Wey, Description de Rome, Paris, 1871; Gsell-Fels, Romische Ausgrabungen, Hildburghausen, 1870 ; Jordan, Forma Urbis Romae, Berlin, 1875, with supplement of 1883, and Novae Quaestiones Topog., Königsberg, 1868; Lanciani, I Commentarii di Frontino, 1880, and Dissertazioni Archaeo., 1876-85 ; De Rossi, Note di Topog. Rom., 1882 ; Duruy, Histoire des Romains, Paris, 1878-84, well illustrated ; J. H. Middleton, Ancient Rome in I885 (A. & C. Black, Edinburgh), 1885.

MAPS.—Nolli's map of ancient Rome, 1748, is largely followed by Canina in his large map in many plates, 1850; Moltke, Carta Topog. di Roma, Berlin, 1852; Rieu, Rom. Vet. Ychnographia, Lyons, 1863 ; good maps of ancient and modern Rome together are contained in the guides of Gsell-Fels, Baedeker, and Murray ; an excellent map of ancient Rome is given by Burn, Rome and the Campagna, London, 1870.


Footnotes

3 In the list given above all books are printed in Rome unless otherwise described.


Read the rest of this article:
Rome - Table of Contents