The profound political, administrative and religious upheavals that involved the Roman Empire from the end of the third century also had consequences on the level of residential architecture: the establishment of the Tetrarchy determined the creation of new residences in the cities (Milan, Nicomedia, Thessalonica , Trier, Constantinople etc.) chosen as imperial seats by the Augusti and Cesari; senators and members of the aristocratic class built, in urban or suburban areas, palaces and villas which, for luxury and magnificence, were no less than imperial foundations; the Christian church, which became religio licita, extended its administrative network over the cities with articulated episcopal complexes equipped with a palace for the bishop. The aim of the course is to examine this wide range of "dwellings of the potentiores", highlighting its persistences and peculiarities of the planimetric, architectural and decorative solutions, in a path that will touch all the regions around the Mediterranean and in a time span that from the last centuries of the western Roman empire will reach the Omayyade dynasty (660-750) which, with its 'desert castles', will be the protagonist of a last extraordinary season of late ancient residential architecture.

Syllabus:
• Introduction: Greek and Roman residential buildings
• Housing in the late antiquity: the example of Rome
• Housing in the late antiquity in the other metropolises of the empire: Constantinople, Antioch
• The villas of potentiores in Late Antiquity in southern Italy: Piazza Armerina; villa del Tellaro, Faragola
• The villas of potentiores in Late Antiquity in Spain: Cercadilla, Centcelles, Olmedo
• The seats of power in the tetrarchic age. The imperial residences in the West: Milan, Trier.
• The seats of power in the tetrarchic age. The imperial residences in the East: Nicomedia, Thessalonica, Antioch
• Diocletian's palace in Split
• The new imperial palaces in Rome: Sessorium and Villa of Maxentius on the Appian Way
• The Great Palace of Constantinople
• The Lateran Patriarch and the episcopal palaces
• Residences of power in the suburbs of the empire: the Palatium of Ravenna; the palace of the dux Ripae in Dura Europos; Qasr ibn Wardan
• The so-called 'desert castles'. Proto-Islamic residential architecture in Bilad al Sham

The student will have to demonstrate basic knowledge regarding the chronological articulation of the different stages of artistic production in Late Antiquity and of the main characteristics of the various stylistic currents thanks to a correct reading and understanding of the textbooks;

must be able to apply the knowledge acquired in such a way as to be able, through appropriate arguments, to compare and possibly correlate monuments and artefacts of different geographic, chronological or client areas;

must demonstrate the ability to develop independent judgments with respect to controversial issues from an attribution or chronological point of view, through the collection and critical examination of the data deemed useful;

will have to demonstrate autonomy and display effectiveness in communicating the notions and concepts assimilated during the lessons and in the study;

will have to refine those learning skills necessary to undertake the study of artistic production subsequent to Late antiquity.
 

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Teaching

Frontal lessons

Course books

A. Cameron, Storia dell’età tardoantica, Milano Jaca Book 1992.

Palazzi e residenze aristocratiche della tarda antichità, a collection of essays to be found inside the Moodle platform.

Assessment

The exam will consist of an oral test based on the verification of the learning of the study text; in the test will be used the images contained in the textbook and the power points shown during the lessons. These power points will be made available by the teacher by uploading them to the Moodle platform›blended.uniurb.it where students can freely consult and download them.

In the course of the assessment, the student, to merit a sufficient evaluation, will have to demonstrate that he has assimilated the fundamental concepts and notions; rewarding elements for a higher evaluation will be the ability to link together certain components of the program, to understand the different readings proposed by scholars regarding specific critical nodes, to know how to exercise their own evaluation with respect to the various problems raised, to finally demonstrate mastery in the use of specific language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Individual study

Course books

A. Cameron, Storia dell’età tardoantica, Milano Jaca Book 1992.

I. Baldini Lippolis, L’architettura residenziale nelle città tardoantiche, Roma 2005.

Assessment

The exam will consist of an oral test based on the verification of the learning of the study texts; in the test the images contained in the textbooks will be used.

In the course of the assessment, the student, to merit a sufficient evaluation, will have to demonstrate that he has assimilated the fundamental concepts and notions; rewarding elements for a higher evaluation will be the ability to link together certain components of the program, to understand the different readings proposed by scholars regarding specific critical nodes, to know how to exercise their own evaluation with respect to the various problems raised, to finally demonstrate mastery in the use of specific language.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.