This volume addresses the treatment and perception of historic buildings in Imperial Rome, examining the ways in which public monuments were restored in order to develop an understanding of the Roman concept of built heritage. It considers examples from the first century BC to the second century AD, focusing primarily on the six decades between the Great Fire of AD 64 and the AD 120s, which constituted a period of dramatic urban transformation and architectural innovation in Rome. Through a detailed analysis of the ways in which the design, materiality, and appearance of buildings - including the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and hut of Romulus - developed with successive restorations, the case is made for the existence of a consistent approach to the treatment of historic buildings in this period. This study also explores how changes to particular monuments and to the urban fabric as a whole were received by the people who experienced them first-hand, uncovering attitudes to built heritage in Roman society more widely. By examining descriptions of destruction and restoration in literature of the first and second centuries AD, including the works of Seneca the Younger, Pliny the Elder, Martial, Tacitus, and Plutarch, it forms a picture of the conflicting ways in which Rome's inhabitants responded to the redevelopment of their city. The results provide an alternative way of explaining key interventions in Rome's built environment and challenge the idea that heritage is a purely modern phenomenon.

The word conservation, when used in the context of the preservation of built heritage, implies an intrinsically complex concept that evolved over time, since it has been influenced by the perception of history throughout time. This volume emphasises why an understanding of the cultural evolution of the conservation approach must be considered a prerequisite for architects and engineers if they are to cooperate in full harmony with historic-artistic culture for the preservation of global built heritage. In particular, the volume highlights how, during the second half of the last century, the preservation process also involved engineering – the science of making practical applications of knowledge – which, for a long time, made an uncritical use of techniques and materials and devised interventions on historical heritage that were heavily invasive. The volume also devotes special attention to the problems related to seismic risk, to which Italy, Greece and Portugal are particularly prone. Problems that emerge during the crisis and reconstruction phases are dealt with in detail, as is scheduled maintenance, as this latter approach always constitutes an improvement in the performance of the monument and is the most appropriate tool for the conservation of the built heritage. Finally, the volume collects examples of building restoration with case studies of many outstanding monuments. The work will appeal to professionals and academics in the broader fields of civil engineering (both geotechnical and structural engineering), architecture, art history, the history of architecture, restoration and cultural heritage management. This book will: Provide a critical reading of the history of conservation; Discuss materials and techniques of ancient architecture; Cover seismic vulnerability and preservation of the historic integrity of the monument; Advocate an approach based on programmed maintenance; Feature numerous case histories, including St Mark’s Basilica in Venice and the complex restoration of the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris.

The first book to provide a full history of the development of architectural conservation, A History of Architectural Conservation is considered a landmark publication by architectural conservation students and professionals the world over. Twenty years after its first publication, this new edition of Jukka Jokilehto’s groundbreaking book continues the story to bring the history of architectural conservation right up to the modern day. Jokilehto draws on his distinguished career of over 40 years at ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property, founded by UNESCO) to provide studies from Europe, the Middle East, the USA, Japan, India, China, Australia and South America. This accessible and well-written introduction to the history and theory of architectural conservation is richly illustrated in full colour and will be an essential go-to guide for students and practitioners worldwide.

Efforts to build, rebuild and maintain the Forum Romanum, Rome's historic urban epicenter, are likely as old as the place it self - some 2800 years. As a result the historic significance and archaeological richness of the Forum cannot be overestimated. Despite its many changes the Forum Romanum's survival today represents an outstanding example of cultural heritage continuity. Its highest possible protection status among monuments conservation agencies in Italy and its early listing on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1980 are testaments to this. Due to its remarkable physical survival, the Forum Romanum has been the object of extensive research, documentation, restoration and preservation efforts over the past two centuries especially. The sophistication of these measures evolved to include a wide range of expertise. Lay interest among antiquarians and architects in Rome's past from the Renaissance through the eighteenth century was supplanted by the emerging new disciplines of archaeology, architectural restoration and museology. From the late nineteenth century corresponding advancements in archaeological method and conservation theory and science were increasingly applied. From this time on as well, expectations for preserving and presenting the Forum Romanum were high, the famous site being a matter of intense Roman pride, political interest, and serving as a must see' destination for visitors to Rome. Leading historians, archaeologists and conservators have been central to the story of the Forum's survival and interpretation. While numerous noted antiquarians and historians preceded him the architect and archaeologist Giocomo Boni (1859-1925) was unusual, even prescient, in his approach and treatment of the place during his tenure as director of excavations of the Forum Romanum from 1898 until 1925. His combined talents as an architect, archaeologist and conservator set a standard at the time for careful research, thorough documentation, and responsible conservation measures. The sponsors of the DHARMA conference have wisely chosen to focus on archaeological research and conservation in the Forum during Giacomo Boni's tenure since his work reflects early best practices' in researching, preserving and interpreting such places. To frame the discussion some precedents and influences of the work of Giacomo Boni are offered.

While Rome Burned attends to the intersection of fire, city, and emperor in ancient Rome, tracing the critical role that urban conflagration played as both reality and metaphor in the politics and literature of the early imperial period. Urban fires presented a consistent problem for emperors from Augustus to Hadrian, especially given the expectation that the princeps be both a protector and provider for Rome’s population. The problem manifested itself differently for each leader, and each sought to address it in distinctive ways. This history can be traced most precisely in Roman literature, as authors addressed successive moments of political crisis through dialectical engagement with prior incendiary catastrophes in Rome’s historical past and cultural repertoire. Working in the increasingly repressive environment of the early principate, Roman authors frequently employed “figured” speech and mythopoetic narratives to address politically risky topics. In response to shifting political and social realities, the literature of the early imperial period reimagines and reanimates not just historical fires, but also archetypal and mythic representations of conflagration. Throughout, the author engages critically with the growing subfield of disaster studies, as well as with theoretical approaches to language, allusion, and cultural memory.

This book affords new perspectives on urban disasters in the ancient Roman context, attending not just to the material and historical realities of such events, but also to the imaginary and literary possibilities offered by urban disaster as a figure of thought. Existential threats to the ancient city took many forms, including military invasions, natural disasters, public health crises, and gradual systemic collapses brought on by political or economic factors. In Roman cities, the memory of such events left lasting imprints on the city in psychological as well as in material terms. Individual chapters explore historical disasters and their commemoration, but others also consider of the effect of anticipated and imagined catastrophes. They analyze the destruction of cities both as a threat to be forestalled, and as a potentially regenerative agent of change, and the ways in which destroyed cities are revisited — and in a sense, rebuilt— in literary and social memory. The contributors to this volume seek to explore the Roman conception of disaster in terms that are not exclusively literary or historical. Instead, they explore the connections between and among various elements in the assemblage of experiences, texts, and traditions touching upon the theme of urban disasters in the Roman world.