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Köhler, Jens (Rome) [German version] A. Brief Overview (CT) The Museo Nazionale Archeologico (MNA) houses important finds from Pompeii and the other cities buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79: Especially frescoes, mosaics and objects of everyday life. Among its highlights are the Farnese collection from the 16th cent. with its marble sculptures, mostly from Rome, and many vases and terra cottas from Magna Graecia. Köhler, Jens (Rome) [German version] B. Bulding (CT) In 1585 originally designed as cavalry barracks, the building at today's Piazza Cavour was, not …

Köhler, Jens (Rome) [German version] A. Architectural History (CT) The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the largest art gallery in Europe, boasts an important collection of ancient sculptures, dating back to the Medici and the Duca di Lorena (Lothringen-Habsburg). The Palazzo degli Uffizi was built from 1560 to 1580 by Giorgio Vasari on orders of Cosimo I de' Medici, intended to house the municipal administration. The Corridoio Vasariano, built in 1565, linked it to the Palazzo Pitti. Between 1581 and 1588, Francesco I commissioned Berna…

Kloft, Hans (Bremen RWG) Köhler, Jens (Rome) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) The concept of Caesarism covers only one part, albeit an important one, of the historical reception of Caesar in modern times. Its use in the political discourse of the 19th and early 20th cents. was complemented by scholarly, artistic and literary interpretations (e.g. Thornton Wilder, The Ides of March, 1948; Bertolt Brecht, Die Geschäfte des Herrn Julius Caesar, 1957, [17. 119ff.; 13. 247ff.] and its adaptation and use in films such as Little Caesar, 1930; Cleopatra, 1963; and Asterix and the Laurel…

Chiesa, Paolo (Milan) I. From Late Antiquity to the 12th Century (CT) [German version] A. Gothic Rule (CT) The fall of the Western Roman Empire in Italy (I.) did not result in any perceptible 'decline' in cultural level as compared to the previous decades. However, there was a decisive change in the public perception of the system of government and the role and function of the state. After a break in continuity during the reign of Odoacer (476-493), the Gothic kingdom of Theoderic followed late-antique tradition,…

Esch, Arnold [German version] I. History and Interpretation (CT) Esch, Arnold [German version] A. Main Features of Rome's Urban History (CT) After the end of the Roman Empire and the dissolution of government structures, it increasingly fell to the Church as the only institution still intact, and also the largest landowner, to take on secular tasks: political negotiations, organization of the grain distribution, repair of the city's fortifications and aqueducts and many more. Since the Byzantine emperor ruled Rome i…