A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
«Oppida posse mori» Volaterran resilience to late antique city decline
Considering landscaping in the past, increased attention is now given to the perception of changes, the concept of resilience and methods of power ostentation. In this sense, the role played by urban centres as a local arena for competition, ostentation, and negotiation is fundamental. The continued use or the abandonment of ancient urban areas or hinterland settlement was determined by a complex mix of religious feelings, political attitudes, and cultural influences and tied to the ruled space organization determined by representatives of the civic community. An approach considering landscaping as strongly connected to the role of local elites is fundamental to finding a general model, especially reflecting the question: did social and cultural conditions influence landscaping more than environmental contingencies? In this context, the urban status, both on civic and religious levels, of Volterra represents an example of extraordinary resilience to the macro events of Tuscany between the 3rd and the 5th centuries AD. Studies on Volterra territory are extremely varied, and there is a lack of integration of archaeological and literary data and results of previous research. Analyzing the 3rd-century Roman city, the 5th-century bishopric and the Lombard centre, this research tries to explain the great resilience by examining how the Volaterran elite organized and controlled the urban and rural landscape. The emerging idea is that certain environmental conditions are fundamental for settlement. Still, local elites' cultural, social, and economic interests had a very important and often much stronger impact on landscaping spaces of power.
«Oppida posse mori» Volaterran resilience to late antique city decline
Considering landscaping in the past, increased attention is now given to the perception of changes, the concept of resilience and methods of power ostentation. In this sense, the role played by urban centres as a local arena for competition, ostentation, and negotiation is fundamental. The continued use or the abandonment of ancient urban areas or hinterland settlement was determined by a complex mix of religious feelings, political attitudes, and cultural influences and tied to the ruled space organization determined by representatives of the civic community. An approach considering landscaping as strongly connected to the role of local elites is fundamental to finding a general model, especially reflecting the question: did social and cultural conditions influence landscaping more than environmental contingencies? In this context, the urban status, both on civic and religious levels, of Volterra represents an example of extraordinary resilience to the macro events of Tuscany between the 3rd and the 5th centuries AD. Studies on Volterra territory are extremely varied, and there is a lack of integration of archaeological and literary data and results of previous research. Analyzing the 3rd-century Roman city, the 5th-century bishopric and the Lombard centre, this research tries to explain the great resilience by examining how the Volaterran elite organized and controlled the urban and rural landscape. The emerging idea is that certain environmental conditions are fundamental for settlement. Still, local elites' cultural, social, and economic interests had a very important and often much stronger impact on landscaping spaces of power.
«Oppida posse mori» Volaterran resilience to late antique city decline
Limina, Valentina (author)
2019-01-01
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
DDC:
710
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