Rome: Courses

CLAS 2643/3643

Rome: The Eternal City I / Rome: From Ancient Times to the Renaissance

3 ch

Rome, the “Eternal City”, has a history of habitation that extends back more than 3,000 years. From remarkably simple beginnings as tiny settlements on a few hills near the Tiber River to the capital of an empire stretching from the North Sea to the Red Sea, Rome grew to be a city of more than a million people at the time of Augustus. After the troubles of the third century, the imperial reorganization of the late third and early fourth centuries, the invasions and wars of the fourth and fifth centuries, Rome had dwindled to fewer than 50,000 people and had lost most of its real political power. But the idea of Rome remained, and with the importance of Christianity and the rise of the Papacy, Rome persisted as a potent force in the west.

Through the art, monuments, and sites that have survived, this course explores the story of ancient and early mediaeval Rome. The city itself is our classroom, with all sessions on site in monumental buildings and spaces, museums, churches, streets, and piazzas. Among the most important venues will be the Roman forum and the imperial fora, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Ara Pacis, Saint Peter’s Basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore, Sant ’Agnese outside the walls, the Vatican and Capitoline museums, and Ostia Antica.

This course is offered at both a lower level (CLAS 2643) and at an upper level (CLAS 3643). All sessions are the same for both courses, but the formal requirements differ.

HIST 3136 

Rome & the Papacy in the Age of Reformation

3 ch

This course begins with an examination of the nature of the late medieval and Renaissance papacy. Without question, the corruption and abuses of the Church’s leadership warranted the harsh criticism of both Catholic and Protestant reformers: the Vicars of Christ in this era were more often sinners than saints.  However, many of the sixteenth-century popes became pivotal figures in the drive to remedy the ills of the church and to quell the tide of Protestantism. Special attention will be given to Rome as the catalyst, locus and expression of reformation.

It is expected that students will come away from this course with a greater appreciation of the challenges faced by the Reformation popes as religious and temporal leaders. We have the good fortune of being able to explore various sites in Rome and Naples which provided the backdrop to this period of turmoil and triumph. 

HIST 3725

Baroque Art & Culture in Rome

3 ch

“Baroque” is the term traditionally used to describe the art and culture of the seventeenth century in Europe, in which spectacle and fantasy played a fundamental role in re-defining the visual arts and shaping claims to authority in a time of intense religious, political, economic, and culturalactivity. During that period, Rome was a vibrant artistic capital attracting painters, sculptors and architects from all over Europe. Along with other factors, the renewal of the Catholic Church fuelled a burst of churchbuilding and decoration, providing architects and artists such as Bernini, Borromini, and Caravaggio with desirable commissions. As the Catholic Church spread its influence beyond Europe and battled the expansion of Protestantism, and as dominant families and political entities staked their claims to power through artistic patronage and their command of public space, sculptors, painters, and architects gaveform to these complex forces and in the process profoundly transformed the ways of experiencing public and private life. As capital of the Christian world,Rome provided an authoritative artistic environment for the development of the baroque and provides an unmatched opportunity to explore its various forms.

Introducing students to the exciting and often theatrical visual culture of the period, this course explores churches, palaces, galleries, museums, and public spaces such as fountains, monuments and piazzas. Participants will consider a range of key issues including artistic styles, the display of religious belief, and the assertion of social and political authority through the visual arts.