Project Description
I started this analysis of Rome as a project for an architecture theory class my first semester of grad school. When Peter Lang, the class professor, told me we would be choosing a city and piecing together a morphology of it I knew this would be a difficult task, but I hadn’t yet come to the realization that such an ambition is fairly impossible. In retrospect, I now know that no single person or object or idea can encapsulate the identity of a place, and I revel at the naïvety of my ambition to do so.
Because I am somewhat of a romantic I chose to spend my semester studying Rome. I believe the choice was also a result of my not-so subconscious desire to return to Italy, where I spent three long months in 2009 evading a not-so-perfect stateside reality. I also undertook the eternal city knowing that Peter was practically an expert on the place and that I could never hope to know even half as much about it as he does.
As I began this project I come across an issue: what I had been compiling all semester about Rome and politics does not seamlessly come together with the Trieste/Ex-Mattorio story which I also analyze in depth later on. The topics seem to be two completely disparate topics, and I was having a hard time finding a way to convincingly place them in the same publication together. On one hand I had the rich bits and pieces of Rome that I had been collecting all semester long and which tell a story about how politics have made the city what it is today. On the other hand I had a very compelling narrative about war, gypsies and a slaughter house which I had only barely begun to investigate.
The pieces about politics and such lacked focus but I did not want to throw away all the time and effort I had put into collecting them. While typing up a disheartened e-mail to Peter I had a revelation: I finally saw how the disparate political intrigues and the story of Trieste and Ex-Mattorio are one and the same.
Process
1. choose a city.
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2. Google blitz the heck out of it.
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3. Determine what makes the city tick.
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4. Make a bunch of maps and diagrams.
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5. Pick a section of the city to concentrate on.
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6. Make a ton more maps and diagrams.
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7. Throw it all into a book.
Wine & Politics
The influence of Rome cannot be overestimated. Throughout its 2,800 year long history Rome has been known by many names including “The Capitol of the World” and the “Eternal City”. Rome has produced concrete, democracy, public health, welfare, the Catholic faith, highways, Latin, propaganda, satire, socks, and so very much more. Hundreds of great cities within the Mediterranean’s sphere of influence have gained success due to origins deeply rooted in the extinct Roman Empire. At the same time, the epic trials and tribulations of Rome have gotten nearly as much attention as the city’s successes. Today, the capitol’s global influence makes Rome a choice place to live and places it among the top three destinations of Europe.
La Lupa, Romulus and Remus graffitied in a pedestrian gallery on Via Tritone.
From the beginning Rome has been driven by politics. Legend states that in 753 BC the she-wolf suckled Romulus killed his twin brother Remus in the aftermath of an argument, thereby founding Rome. After the foundin
g, Rome was constantly at war with the Etruscans which necessitated a feudally ruled Roman Kingdom. Following independence from the Etruscans in 510 BC the Roman Republic was able to form. The Roman Republic was so
called for its republican form of government which involved a complex constitution centered on the separation of powers as well as checks and balances. This government facilitated the development of public works buildings, as well as temples and aquaducts for the people. The Republic lasted 482 years until it was disbanded through a series of civil wars ultimately caused by a breakdown of the original political structure.
"Chariot Race" at the celebration of Rome's 2762th birthday in April 2008.
Rome reached yet greater heights as the Roman Empire, marked by a transition to an autocratic government. Places of leisure and entertainment were constructed around the city for the citizen’s amusement. Pax Romana was established in 27 BC and lasted until 180 AD. This was said to be not so much a time of peace, but a time when all that would war against Rome were so suppressed they could not do so. This influence spread Rome’s architecture across three continents. Marcus Aurelius’s death marked the end of Pax Romana and the beginning of the decline of the empire. Emperors spent time away from Rome during this decline, ruling from Milan, Ravenna or Constantinople. Buildings, monuments and statues were sacked by attacking forces and citizens alike. New buildings were constructed from the stolen pieces of the old, much of the time to convert pagan temples into Christian churches. The Catholic Church proved to be the next force to shape the city of Rome. Following the transition to Christianity and the appointment of the Pope, the so-called hand of God became the rule of the land. At the end of the Roman Empire the Pope had more power than the Emperors. As the Empire declined so did Rome, and Rome remained desolate throughout the Dark Ages.
Graffiti from Rome city center.
The influence of the Catholic Church has lasted into modern times. In 1929 Vatican City was created as a separate city state, encased by Rome. The Vatican includes Saint Peter’s Square which is separated from Italy proper by a white line along the square. In addition to Saint Peter’s Cathedral there are around 900 churches within the city walls of Rome, some of which enjoy extraterritorial Vatican status. During the First World War Benito Mussolini brought momentous growth to Rome with his “open city” policy and this encouraged the population to pass 1 million inhabitants during his reign in the 1920s. Though most famous for his role as a horrible fascist, he is also known for making the Italian trains run on time. Today, the sundry dirty politician stories are shaping what Rome will become. Amidst rampant corruption one cannot help but think Rome may falter from the lack of credible governance, as it has in the past.
The Many Layers of Rome
The Many Layers of Rome
In this exercise I layered maps of Rome to exemplify the complexity of the city. Each of these maps are alike in that they were each created within the past 20 years; however, they are differentiated by the material they display. The individual maps document roads, building footprints, neighborhoods, parks, drawings, etc. I determined the orientation of each map based on the path of the Tiber River which transverses the city.
Because of its layered effect this map contains a wealth of information that cannot be derived from the study of a single document individually. While this compilation can be difficult to read and interpret, the overlays allow conclusions to be drawn about the placement of spaces and buildings with more certainty. The confusion that this collage effect elicits parallels the city it diagrams. Just as the individual maps are difficult to read because they contain superimposed layers of information, the city of Rome appears a jumbled mess when observed holistically.
Related Study: Real Time Rome
MIT Mapping
In 2006 MIT’s “SENSEable City Labs” mapped the city using cell phone, taxi and bus data in order to analyze the ‘pulse’ of the city of Rome. This project was MIT’s contribution to the Venice Biennale.
Ancient Maps of Rome
Plan of Ancient Rome
Vicinity of Rome 1350
Rome 