The following schedule is provisional and subject to change. A final syllabus with required readings, meeting points for lectures, and assignment due dates will be provided on the first day of class.
SCHEDULE
Week 1. Course introduction and site walk: the medieval city and ancient substructure
The introduction lecture and site walk will offer a vision Rome as it appeared around 1420 through the architecture in the Trastevere neighborhood. It will examine elements of the ancient infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, that were still in use, and explore sacred sites and pilgrimage paths.
Week 2: Recuperating Rome, from Martin V to Sixtus IV
The lecture looks at projects for the reconstruction of Rome during the 15th-century. Starting in the Borgo neighborhood, the class will study the papacy’s different strategies for repairing roads and encouraging construction. Sites include the Hospital of Santo Spirito in Sassia, Castel S. Angelo and its bridge; via Papale (now via dei Banchi/via del Governo Vecchio) and its palaces.
Week 3: The Cardinal’s Palace
The lecture is a close analysis of Rome’s first monumental palaces, Palazzo Venezia and Palazzo della Cancelleria, examining the ways in which they transformed urban space and served as emblems of ecclesiastical power. Students will study the reformulation of classical architectural principles in the Renaissance and why it became so important to political and religious representation.
Week 4: From Pilgrimage Route to Princely Avenue: Street building around the turn of the 16th century
The lecture focuses on urban planning strategies under Popes Alexander VI and Julius II with their emphases on creating monumental streets and means of connecting lived areas of the city to important pilgrimage sites. Sites to be visited include Villa Farnesina on via della Lungara, Ponte Sisto and via Giulia.
Week 5: The Rebuilding of St. Peter’s
The lecture is an in-depth examination of the site of St. Peter’s and its history, including the problems involved with the design and construction of the new basilica, spanning 120 years and no fewer than five architects.
Week 6: Looking like a Capital: Buildings and Institutional Power
The lecture focuses on three works commissioned by Pope Paul III and the Farnese family: Palazzo Farnese, the Campidoglio and the church Il Gesù. It explores the relationship between the papacy and other institutions in Rome, including the civic government and the Jesuit order.
Week 7: Midterm examination
Week 8: The New Jerusalem: Restoration of Pilgrimage Sites in the Counter-Reformation
The lecture examines the city’s most important pilgrimage churches and the ways in which they were manipulated between 1580-1730. Churches visited include the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, S. Giovanni in Laterano and S. Croce in Gerusalemme.
Week 9: The Divine Path: via Pia and its churches
The lecture analyzes the Quirinal Hill, which had become the primary site of papal residence by 1600, and the monuments associated with this area. This includes Borromini’s Church of S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Bernini’s Church of S. Andrea al Quirinale, and the Quirinal Palace.
Week 10: The Pamphili Forum: Papal Representation and the Uses of Antiquity
The lecture explores the relationship between architectural design and antique references in church and palace building. Sites visited include Piazza Navona, the Church of S. Ivo alla Sapienza, Borromini’s Oratory and the Chiesa Nuova, and Pietro da Cortona’s Church of S. Maria della Pace.
Week 11: The City as Theater: Rome under Pope Alexander VII
The lecture will discuss the building program of Pope Alexander VII. Often described as having had a vision for Rome, the Pope worked closely with architects to realize a unified and monumental city. The topographical focus is on the area around the via del Corso, between Piazza del Popolo and Piazza Colonna, and the surrounding area.
Week 12: Rome of the Grand Tour
The lecture examines the 18th-century transformation of Rome’s identity as a Christian capital. With the strong foreign interest in the city’s ancient monuments and artifacts, and the development of the first era of modern tourism, the city began to adapt to the tastes and demands of a secular clientele rather than pilgrims. The lecture will consider the Spanish steps, an area filled with coffee houses and artists’ studios, the buildings constructed as houses for rent, such as those at Piazza Ignazio, as well as the construction of the Trevi Fountain.
Week 13: Napoleonic Rome and Its Effects
The lecture explores the impact of the Napoleonic occupation of Rome. Though Napoleon’s armies only occupied the city for a relatively short amount of time, the effect of the French government on the city was enormous. A re-examination of Piazza del Popolo will consider its design under Giuseppe Valadier, and the creation of Rome’s first public park on the Pincian Hill, as well as the creation of archeological parks around the Column of Trajan and the Roman Forum.
Week 14: Meeting Modernity: Urban Development between 1820-1870
The lecture discusses a short but turbulent period in Rome’s history. The development of the city was inconsistent during the first half of the 19th century; however, what was constructed formed the basis for the city’s rapid expansion when it was overtaken by Italian armies in 1870. The lecture concentrates on the space between the Quirinal and Esquiline hills, looking at development of the city’s first train station, the creation of Piazza Esedra (now Piazza della Repubblica) and via Nazionale.
Week 15: Final examination