Roman Republican Villas

by Becker, Jeffrey A.; Terrenato, Nicola

• ISBN13: 9780472117703
• ISBN10: 047211770X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-05-07
• Publisher: Univ of Michigan Pr

Summary

The Roman villa is a classic icon of Western culture, and yet villacan be used to cover a multiplicity of ideas, experiences, and places. In the late Republic and early Imperial periods, villas are inseparable from elite lifestyles, providing a prestigious setting for leisurely and intellectual pursuits. But how did these advanced buildings come about? Roman Republican Villasexamines key aspects of early villa culture and architecture, with the goal of understanding the development and deployment of villas in Republican Italy. For instance, where does the "classic" villa architecture originate? How do writers like Cato the Elder or Varro use the villa to their own advantage? How visible are Republican villas in the landscape of central Italy? This volume brings together scholars of Latin literature, Roman history, and classical archaeology to offer a multidisciplinary approach to the questions connected to the emergence and development of villas and their farming culture. With contributions from leading scholars Jeffrey A. Becker, John Bodel, Stephen L. Dyson, Carin M. C. Green, Brendon Reay, Nicola Terrenato, Mario Torelli, and Rita Volpe, the viewpoints offered build upon previous scholarship and ask challenging questions about how the evidence of Roman villas has traditionally been interpreted.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
The Early Villa: Roman Contributions to the Development of a Greek Prototype	p. 8
The Shepherd of the People: Varro on Herding for the Villa Publica in De re rustica 2	p. 32
Villaculture	p. 45
Cato's De agri cultura and the Spectacle of Expertise	p. 61
The Enigma of "Catonian" Villas: The De agri cultura in the Context of Second-Century BC Italian Architecture	p. 69
Republican Villas in the Suburbium of Rome	p. 94
Polygonal Masonry and Republican Villas? The Problem of the Basis Villae	p. 111
Concluding Remarks	p. 129
Contributors	p. 137
Index Locurum	p. 139
General Index	p. 143
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