Roman Architecture with Professor Diana E. E. Kleiner

This course is an introduction to the great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its empire, with an emphasis on urban planning and individual monuments and their decoration, including mural painting. While architectural developments in Rome, Pompeii, and Central Italy are highlighted, the course also provides a survey of sites and structures in what are now North Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, and North Africa. The lectures are illustrated with over 1,500 images, many from Professor Kleiner's personal collection.

  1. Introduction to Roman Architecture

  2. It Takes a City: The Founding of Rome and the Beginnings of Urbanism in Italy

  3. Technology and Revolution in Roman Architecture

  4. Civic Life Interrupted: Nightmare and Destiny on August 24, A.D. 79

  5. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Houses and Villas at Pompeii

  6. Habitats at Herculaneum and Early Roman Interior Decoration

  7. Gilding the Lily: Painting Palaces and Villas in the First Century A.D.

  8. Exploring Special Subjects on Pompeian Walls

  9. From Brick to Marble: Augustus Assembles Rome

  10. Accessing Afterlife: Tombs of Roman Aristocrats, Freedmen, and Slaves

  11. Notorious Nero and His Amazing Architectural Legacy

  12. The Creation of an Icon: The Colosseum and Contemporary Architecture in Rome

  13. The Prince and the Palace: Human Made Divine on the Palatine Hill

  14. The Mother of All Forums: Civic Architecture in Rome under Trajan

  15. Rome and a Villa: Hadrian's Pantheon and Tivoli Retreat

  16. The Roman Way of Life and Death at Ostia, the Port of Rome

  17. Bigger Is Better: The Baths of Caracalla and Other Second- and Third-Century Buildings in Rome

  18. Hometown Boy: Honoring an Emperor's Roots in Roman North Africa

  19. Baroque Extravaganzas: Rock Tombs, Fountains, and Sanctuaries in Jordan, Lebanon, and Libya

  20. Roman Wine in Greek Bottles: The Rebirth of Athens

  21. Making Mini Romes on the Western Frontier

  22. Rome Redux: The Tetrarchic Renaissance

  23. Rome of Constantine and a New Rome

  24. Paper Topics: Discovering the Roman Provinces and Designing a Roman City