Understanding Rome Podcast

A Podcast about Rome. Episode 20: The Pantheon

A temple which would be known by the Greek term Pantheion was first dedicated in the Field of Mars by Agrippa, perhaps to exalt all of the gods. It was rebuilt over a century later and completed during the reign of Hadrian almost exactly nineteen centuries ago. This reconstruction is perhaps the best preserved building of any ancient civilization, and arguably the most influential building ever constructed. It is, quite simply, exquisite beyond belief. I have taken more photographs of the dome than I can possibly count. Here are some recent ones. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit understandingrome.substack.com/subscribe

A Podcast about Rome. Episode 19: Exoticism and Empire at Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli.

A year after Hadrian’s accession to the throne, after his return to Rome, he embarked on the building of a villa complex at Tibur (now called Tivoli) in the limestone mountains to the east of the city. The area was one long favoured for villas: the abundant natural springs, cooler breezes, and local limestone were all convenient for building summer retreats. Plus the River Aniene, then navigable, provided an alternative route to the unforgiving via Tiburtina for travel from Rome.The villa complex would be informed by Hadrian’s travels and was interpreted by the late Imperial Historia Augusta (a biography of second and third century emperors of disputed authorship, which describes the villa with great admiration) as a version of the Empire in miniature:His villa at Tibur was marvellously constructed, and he actually gave to parts of it the names of provinces and places of the greatest renown, calling them, for instance, Lyceum, Academia, Prytaneum, Canopus, Poecile and Tempe. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit understandingrome.substack.com/subscribe

A Podcast about Rome. Episode 18: Trajan's Harbour at Portus.

The ancient port of Rome at Ostia had, in legend, been founded by Ancus Martius, the fourth of Rome’s seven semi-legendary kings. However winds magnified by its position and the exposed nature of the mouth of the river proved particularly treacherous, and in the mid first century Claudius established a new and complementary port at Portus, four kilometres (two and a half miles or so) to the north.Some six decades after Claudius’ port had been begun, a vast hexagonal basin was created slightly inland. This extension was intended to deal both with increased volume in the traffic of goods, and with the significant deposits from the accumulation of sand and mud from the mouth of the Tiber. Trajan’s harbour at Portus is quite simply one of the most extraordinary engineering feats of the Roman world.Useful sites of places mentioned: Portus ProjectMuseum of the Ships at FiumicinoHarbours of Claudius and Trajan: opening hours and visiting information This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit understandingrome.substack.com/subscribe

A Podcast about Rome. Episode 17: Trajan's Column

A stone’s throw from the Forum of Nerva, about which I spoke last time, is one of the finest, most innovative, and indeed largest examples of Roman art. Trajan’s Column is also a spectacularly sophisticated piece of public messaging. It commemorates Trajan’s victory in Dacia (modern-day Romania) over the fearsome king Decebalus and his allies, but also alludes to engineering triumph and the earthworks which led to its construction. Carved in exquisite relief from marble quarried in the Apuan Alps to advertise the reign of arguably the most successful of all of Rome’s emperors, Trajan’s Column quite literally moved mountains.An excellent resource is this page from the Italian Ministry of Culture, clicking on the “Story” tab gives a narration of the scenes as they unfurl. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit understandingrome.substack.com/subscribe

A Podcast about Rome. Episode 16: The Forum of Nerva

Last time I spoke of Domitian who came to a Sticky End. After Domitian’s death his successor, Nerva, inaugurated the Forum Transitorium built largely during Domitian’s reign and bearing traces of his fondness for Minerva. More than a “forum” as such, it is a sort of monumentalisation of the Forum end of the Argiletum, a street running between the grubby, noisy alleys of the Subura and the civic heart of the city. Today remnants survive by my petrol pump of choice. All photos taken this week. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit understandingrome.substack.com/subscribe