After you finish your travel magazine article, you feed Spike and then head upstairs to your room. In the middle of the bed is an issue of //The New Yorker// magazine — Lisa must’ve left it there for you, maybe at Professor Moro’s request. It’s opened to an article titled “The Myth of Whiteness in Classical Sculpture.” You curl up on the bed and start reading.
(click: "start reading")+(t8n:'dissolve')[
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BIojMAwUg939GNX4I9UN_mZHxlKR7hmg/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
You wake up with a start — you must have fallen asleep just after you finished the article, and then slept through the night. You turn off the lamp (which was still on), open the curtains, and look down into the courtyard below. In the early morning light, you see Lisa sitting in a chair, with her computer on her lap and what looks like a croissant in her hand. ]
(click: "croissant in her hand")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You head downstairs into the kitchen, pour yourself a coffee, grab a warm croissant (there’s a plate of them on the table), and walk outside.
“You’re up early,” you say, in between sips of coffee.
She looks up at you. “Oh, good, you got a //cornetto//. Fresh from the forno.”
“That’s what they call a croissant here? Cornetto?”
“It’s a little different than a croissant. //Cornetto// means ‘little horn,’ as opposed to ‘crescent,’ which is what //croissant// means in French. You’ll notice it’s slightly sweeter, and it’s baked differently. If you buy one at a bakery, make sure to get the //cornetto semplice// — //semplice// just means ‘simple’ — otherwise they’ll probably give you one filled with custard, which, horrible as it is, seems to be the default in Rome.”
“A cornetto with custard?” you say.
[[Disgusting!]]
[[Delicious!]] ]
(set: $progress to 1)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]Lisa nods. “You’ve got more refined taste than my daughter, and she’s much older than you are. You should see the things I have to stock the kitchen with when she comes to visit.”
“Sounds awful,” you say with a smile. “But then again, maybe we should be open to different kinds of tastes.”
“I’ve tried the //cornetto con crema// several times,” Lisa says. “And it never gets any better.”
“Not the cornetto,” you say. “I meant the statues, you know, in that article you left for me. I thought it was interesting that...
[[...scholars and artists based their own taste on what they thought the ancients liked, and when it turned out they’d been wrong the whole time, many of them still weren’t open — aren’t open, even now! — to appreciating color the way the ancients actually did.”|no change]]
[[...just as Renaissance artists and scholars believed, ancient marble statues were usually left unpainted in order to convey a sense of ‘unsullied purity’ and ‘lofty serenity.’”|purity]]
(set: $progress to 2)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]Lisa grimaces. “We’ve got to retrain your taste while you’re here.”
“I doubt you could,” you say with a smile, “but if you want to try introducing me to all sorts of new delicious foods, I won’t complain.” You take a bite of the cornetto. “We should all be open to different kinds of tastes, don’t you think?”
“I suppose we should,” Lisa grumbles. “But only up to a point.”
“Oh, I was actually talking about the statues in that article you left for me. I thought it was interesting that...
[[...scholars and artists based their own taste on what they thought the ancients liked, and when it turned out they’d been wrong the whole time, many of them still weren’t open — aren’t open, even now! — to appreciating color the way the ancients actually did.”|no change]]
[[...just as Renaissance artists and scholars believed, ancient marble statues were usually left unpainted in order to convey a sense of ‘unsullied purity’ and ‘lofty serenity.’”|purity]]
(set: $progress to 2)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]“You’re right,” Lisa says. “We should be open to appreciating lots of color on statues, because if we want to understand the ancients, we have to see things from their perspective.”
“But the point of the article goes way beyond that, doesn’t it?” you ask. “There are huge implications for race, and for the values of Western culture.”
Lisa nods. “It certainly does. Do you remember when we talked about the famous Augustus Primaporta statue? That was actually painted too.” She types into her computer and tilts the screen so you can see it.
(click: "you can see it")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/52284c420116b91dd3fc3a2788a65d5e/87fc113f4bd6b32d-d5/s1280x1920/018e315ad6101c02fde6adcd6c596b0dd68ae908.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“It makes me wonder how, or if, the Getty statue was painted,” you say. “The skin tone, the hair color, the pedestal, the symbols — everything. And what did that color do?”
“Can you show me the statue again?” Lisa asks.
You pull out your phone, find the image, and position it so both you and Lisa can look at it. ]
(click: "find the image")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“Different paints would change the effect of the statue considerably,” Lisa says. “I don’t suppose the Getty has found the remains of paint anywhere on the statue, have they?”
“They didn’t say anything about that, so I guess not. They don’t seem to know much about it. Not yet, anyway.”
“That created a good opportunity for you to come research the statue, at least,” Lisa says. “How do you think the ancient artist might have painted it?” ]
(click: "the ancient artist")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I suppose it depends on the context and purpose of the statue, right? But we still don’t know anything for sure.”
“Start with whatever leads you have,” Lisa suggests. “Look at the statue again and take an educated guess. There’s no wrong answer.”
You look at the image of the statue again, trying to imagine what it might have looked like just after it was carved, polished, and possibly painted.]
(click: "carved, polished, and possibly painted")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You turn to Lisa and say:
[[“I think it may have been painted with bright, soothing colors — maybe light pink, yellow, and sky blue.”|bright colors]]
[[“I think it may have been painted with earthy browns mixed with warm orange, suggesting a relaxing sunset.”|earth]]
[[“I don’t think it would have been painted at all.”|no paint]] ]
(set: $progress to 3)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]“Ancient marble statues were usually painted, actually,” Lisa says. “It might feel strange at first to try to imagine that, because white marble statues are what we’ve become accustomed to seeing on TV, in films, and in museums. But we should try hard to be open to appreciating the idea of lots of color on marble statues, because if we really want to understand the ancients, we have to see things from their perspective.”
“The point of the article goes way beyond that, though, doesn’t it?” you ask. “There are huge implications for race, and for the values of Western culture.”
Lisa nods. “It certainly does. Do you remember when we talked about the famous Augustus Primaporta statue? That was actually painted too.” She types into her computer and tilts the screen so you can see it.
(click: "you can see it")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/52284c420116b91dd3fc3a2788a65d5e/87fc113f4bd6b32d-d5/s1280x1920/018e315ad6101c02fde6adcd6c596b0dd68ae908.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“It makes me wonder how, or if, the Getty statue was painted,” you say. “The skin tone, the hair color, the pedestal, the symbols — everything. And what did that color do?”
“Can you show me the statue again?” Lisa asks.
You pull out your phone, find the image, and position it so both you and Lisa can look at it. ]
(click: "find the image")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“Different paints would change the effect of the statue considerably,” Lisa says. “I don’t suppose the Getty has found the remains of paint anywhere on the statue, have they?”
“They didn’t say anything about that, so I guess not. They don’t seem to know much about it. Not yet, anyway.”
“That created a good opportunity for you to come research the statue, at least,” Lisa says. “How do you think the ancient artist might have painted it?” ]
(click: "the ancient artist")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I suppose it depends on the context and purpose of the statue, right? But we still don’t know anything for sure.”
“Start with whatever leads you have,” Lisa suggests. “Look at the statue again and take an educated guess. There’s no wrong answer.”
You look at the image of the statue again, trying to imagine what it might have looked like just after it was carved, polished, and possibly painted.]
(click: "carved, polished, and possibly painted")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
You turn to Lisa and say:
[[“I think it may have been painted with bright, soothing colors — maybe light pink, yellow, and sky blue.”|bright colors]]
[[“I think it may have been painted with earthy browns mixed with warm orange, suggesting a relaxing sunset.”|earth]]
[[“I don’t think it would have been painted at all.”|no paint]] ]
(set: $progress to 3)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]“That’s a distinct possibility,” says Lisa. “The skin tone could be anywhere from pinkish white to different shades of olive to both light and dark browns. The Roman Empire was quite diverse: it stretched all the way from current-day Scotland south through Europe into North Africa, and east all the way to the Caspian Sea. The //New Yorker// article you read mentions the Severan Tondo and the Fayum portraits — do you remember that?”
“I should read the article again,” you reply. “It’s hard to remember details from just one reading. I //do// know what a tondo is from a different Art History course — at least I think I know. It’s a circular painting, right?”
“Yes, it’s a painting or a relief that’s circular. The one the article mentions — the Severan Tondo — shows Emperor Septimius Severus with his family. Here’s an image of it,” Lisa says, typing into her computer and angling the screen in your direction.
(click: "an image")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/3dfe0da63c8941495be36274702fcce3/e0afba719788b4dd-d4/s1280x1920/cdedcd86c402226d449aa2ec1697cb5ec5457fe8.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“That’s Emperor Septimius Severus in the upper right of the painting,” Lisa says, pointing. “He was from Libya in North Africa. This object is a rare example of a family portrait. It’s one of our few examples of surviving wood from the ancient world — partly because it’s from Egypt, where the conditions are dry and arid, so preservation of wood tends to be better.”
“Looks like someone is scratched out,” you say. “Down on the left. Was that done by... barbarians or something after Rome fell?” ]
(click: "scratched out")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Lisa laughs. “It certainly was barbaric, but it was ordered to be done shortly after the death of Emperor Septimius Severus. You see the boy underneath Septimius Severus? That’s his son Caracalla, and the scratched-out face next to him is, or was, his brother, Geta, who he killed so he could have sole power. Once Geta was dead, Caracalla ordered a //damnatio memoriae// — the erasing of his memory — and all images of Geta were scratched out, statues of him were destroyed, coins with his likeness were melted down. Since this tondo is from Egypt, it shows the huge reach of Caracalla’s order of the damnatio.”
“What else did Caracalla do? I remember that name.”
“He’s most famous now for building a massive bath complex,” Lisa says. “It’s called the Baths of Caracalla. It’s actually where that Weary Hercules statue was set up. Maybe that’s why his name sounds familiar.” ]
(click: "Baths of Caracalla")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“You’re probably right. But I’ve only visited the Baths of Diocletian so far,” you say.
“I can take you to the Baths of Caracalla later if we have time,” Lisa says. “They’re definitely worth a look.” She glances at her watch. “Oh dear,” she says, standing up. “I have a meeting now. Let’s talk more later. You might consider doing a little research, following what clues you have on your statue.” With that, she rushes through the kitchen and up the stairs.
You settle into Lisa’s seat and take in the view of the quiet, picturesque courtyard. After a few minutes, you check your phone and see a text from Fede:]
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While you’re waiting, you see a book called //Statues in Roman Society// by Peter Stewart sitting on the kitchen counter with a note from Lisa: “Great info on Roman statues in here. Check out pages 6-7, 19-20, 47-55. While you’re reading, jot down two or more things you find helpful or interesting. Save those for later.”
You pour yourself another coffee and open the book... ]
(click: "open the book...")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//(To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.) //
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ap0KG3ngh9Zml3HKS7YmnDHFGxmsirz6/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
Later that morning, Fede meets you in the courtyard, and the two of you walk through Campo de’ Fiori toward the same bus station you went to with Lisa. On the way, you make a quick stop to get euros from an ATM, and then to buy some biglietti for the bus at the kiosk. Once you’re on the bus — which is a small, quiet, electric one capable of navigating the narrower Roman streets — you validate your biglietto and sit down. ]
(click: "validate")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Fede, sitting next to you, seems a little preoccupied. “You doing okay?” you ask her.
“What?” she says, looking up. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She shakes her head. “I’m a little concerned about my father. We said... eh... some strong words to each other last night, and now he isn’t answering his phone or responding to any messages. He can be infuriating.”
[[“Why don’t we stop by his house so you can check on him?” you offer. “I’m not in any rush.”|stop by]]
[[“That’s annoying,” you say. “I hate it when people cut you off because of an argument. The only way to get through things like that is to keep the lines of communication open, right?”|open]] ]
(set: $progress to 4)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]“That’s a distinct possibility,” says Lisa. “The skin color could be anywhere from pinkish white to different shades of olive to both light and dark browns. The Roman Empire was quite diverse: it stretched all the way from current-day Scotland south through Europe into North Africa, and east all the way to the Caspian Sea. The //New Yorker// article you read mentions the Severan Tondo and the Fayum portraits — do you remember that?”
“I should read the article again,” you reply. “It’s hard to remember details from just one reading. I //do// know what a tondo is from a different Art History course — at least I think I know. It’s a circular painting, right?”
“Yes, it’s a painting or a relief that’s circular. The one the article mentions — the Severan Tondo — shows Emperor Septimius Severus with his family. Here’s an image of it,” Lisa says, typing into her computer and angling the screen in your direction.
(click: "an image")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/3dfe0da63c8941495be36274702fcce3/e0afba719788b4dd-d4/s1280x1920/cdedcd86c402226d449aa2ec1697cb5ec5457fe8.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“That’s Emperor Septimius Severus in the upper right of the painting,” Lisa says, pointing. “He was from Libya in North Africa. This object is a rare example of a family portrait. It’s one of our few examples of surviving wood from the ancient world — partly because it’s from Egypt, where the conditions are dry and arid, so preservation of wood tends to be better.”
“Looks like someone is scratched out,” you say. “Down on the left. Was that done by... barbarians or something after Rome fell?” ]
(click: "scratched out")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Lisa laughs. “It certainly was barbaric, but it was ordered to be done shortly after the death of Emperor Septimius Severus. You see the boy underneath Septimius Severus? That’s his son Caracalla, and the scratched-out face next to him is, or was, his brother, Geta, who he killed so he could have sole power. Once Geta was dead, Caracalla ordered a //damnatio memoriae// — the erasing of his memory — and all images of Geta were scratched out, statues of him were destroyed, coins with his likeness were melted down. Since this tondo is from Egypt, it shows the huge reach of Caracalla’s order of the damnatio.”
“What else did Caracalla do? I remember that name.”
“He’s most famous now for building a massive bath complex,” Lisa says. “It’s called the Baths of Caracalla. It’s actually where that Weary Hercules statue was set up. Maybe that’s why his name sounds familiar.” ]
(click: "Baths of Caracalla")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“You’re probably right. But I’ve only visited the Baths of Diocletian so far,” you say.
“I can take you to the Baths of Caracalla later if we have time,” Lisa says. “They’re definitely worth a look.” She glances at her watch. “Oh dear,” she says, standing up. “I have a meeting now. Let’s talk more later. You might consider doing a little research, following what clues you have on your statue.” With that, she rushes through the kitchen and up the stairs.
You settle into Lisa’s seat and take in the view of the quiet, picturesque courtyard. After a few minutes, you check your phone and see a text from Fede:]
(click: "text from Fede")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/825bc8dccb4d5a817d783e78d9311a46/c4f7a6d873e0cad0-1f/s1280x1920/73800977be3d1eb362a180dc56bb9e2891043594.jpg" style="width:50%;max-width:896px">]
While you’re waiting, you see a book called //Statues in Roman Society// by Peter Stewart sitting on the kitchen counter with a note from Lisa: “Great info on Roman statues in here. Check out pages 6-7, 19-20, 47-55. While you’re reading, jot down two or more things you find helpful or interesting. Save those for later.”
You pour yourself another coffee and open the book... ]
(click: "open the book...")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//(To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.) //
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ap0KG3ngh9Zml3HKS7YmnDHFGxmsirz6/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
Later that morning, Fede meets you in the courtyard, and the two of you walk through Campo de’ Fiori toward the same bus station you went to with Lisa. On the way, you make a quick stop to get euros from an ATM, and then to buy some biglietti for the bus at the kiosk. Once you’re on the bus — which is a small, quiet, electric one capable of navigating the narrower Roman streets — you validate your biglietto and sit down. ]
(click: "validate")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Fede, sitting next to you, seems a little preoccupied. “You doing okay?” you ask her.
“What?” she says, looking up. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She shakes her head. “I’m a little concerned about my father. We said... eh... some strong words to each other last night, and now he isn’t answering his phone or responding to any messages. He can be infuriating.”
[[“Why don’t we stop by his house so you can check on him?” you offer. “I’m not in any rush.”|stop by]]
[[“That’s annoying,” you say. “I hate it when people cut you off because of an argument. The only way to get through things like that is to keep the lines of communication open, right?”|open]] ]
(set: $progress to 4)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]“That’s a kind offer,” Fede responds. “But I can’t force the issue. He’s very... fragile. I never should have argued with him. I //knew// that, but for some reason, I couldn’t help myself.”
“You sure you don’t want to just stop by? You might feel better if you see him.”
“Later,” Fede says. “After we go to the museum. I have a meeting with my advisor tomorrow, and I have to have something to say! I’m working on the last chapter of my dissertation — it compares styles of artwork in ancient mosaics and funerary statues.”
“Mosaics and funerary statues,” you repeat. “That sounds interesting. What exactly are you studying with the funerary stuff?”
(click: "funerary statues,")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I am researching the way families, and children in particular, are depicted in funerary art,” Fede replies. “It is somewhat... personal... as a subject matter to me.”
“Were statues of children common in cemeteries?”
“Yes,” Fede says. “Children were often depicted in funerary art, either as stand-alone statues or with their families on larger reliefs. Let me show you one I am currently working on.”
She calls up an image on her phone and shows it to you. ]
(click: "an image on her phone")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/28d6d6ce60bf4afce4dd0e54f8e7bf7b/97ae53ee723dff62-a3/s1280x1920/47e2bfee141abfd0bbec3038391beff8ef41605c.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c864b16cecd84fd15ec18d0694cb88d9/0f1d65ad2fa86ca8-d5/s1280x1920/d9cec5947682b1e7ec0bad0d5e8c5a80ddbd01a0.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“This,” Fede continues, “is called the Haterii Relief. It dates to 100-110 CE. We can tell much about Roman society at the time from this, in terms of gender roles, family dynamics, class structure, and beliefs about the afterlife. There are different scenes in the relief. The top shows the deceased woman sitting up on her couch, and her children — who are still alive — play below her.
Then, in the middle scene, is what appears to be a temple but is actually a tomb. It’s the tomb of the woman who lies on the couch in the upper scene. You can see her face in the triangular pediment of the building, and you can see the faces of the deceased children on the side of the building. It is showing the passage of time, connecting life with afterlife.” ]
(click: "with afterlife")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“That’s cool,” you say. “But what’s the crane-like thing on the side?”
“That is strange, yes, and might seem out of place,” Fede says. “It is likely a piece of construction equipment, possibly used to impart information about the profession of the owner of this monument.”
“Thanks for showing me some of your work,” you say. “I feel like funerary statues can tell us about the ways people wanted to be remembered.”
“Thank you,” Fede replies. “I still have much more to go before I finish my dissertation. I have not done nearly enough research. I’m quite nervous, actually.”
[[“I hear you. I’m stressed out with all the work I’ve got to do, too. There never seems to be enough time to do everything!”|stressed]]
[[“Sometimes it helps if I plan out the things I need to get done each day. That helps me keep up with my work, which usually lowers my stress.”|planning]] ]
(set: $progress to 5)
(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]
“I totally agree with you,” Fede responds. “But I can’t force him to communicate. He’s very... fragile. I never should have argued with him! I //knew// that, but for some reason, I couldn’t help myself.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to stop by and try to talk to him? You might feel better if you see him, even if the conversation doesn’t resolve anything immediately.”
“I suppose I should,” Fede says. “But I’m just not up to it right now. I can see him later, after we go to the museum, perhaps. I have a meeting with my advisor tomorrow, and I have to have something to say! I’m working on the last chapter of my dissertation — it compares styles of artwork in ancient mosaics and funerary statues.”
“Mosaics and funerary statues,” you repeat. “That sounds interesting. What exactly are you studying with the funerary stuff?”
(click: "funerary statues,")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“I am researching the way families, and children in particular, are depicted in funerary art,” Fede replies. “It is somewhat... personal... as a subject matter to me.”
“Were statues of children common in cemeteries?”
“Yes,” Fede says. “Children were often depicted in funerary art, either as stand-alone statues or with their families on larger reliefs. Let me show you one I am currently working on.”
She calls up an image on her phone and shows it to you. ]
(click: "an image on her phone")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/28d6d6ce60bf4afce4dd0e54f8e7bf7b/97ae53ee723dff62-a3/s1280x1920/47e2bfee141abfd0bbec3038391beff8ef41605c.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c864b16cecd84fd15ec18d0694cb88d9/0f1d65ad2fa86ca8-d5/s1280x1920/d9cec5947682b1e7ec0bad0d5e8c5a80ddbd01a0.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“This,” Fede continues, “is called the Haterii Relief. It dates to 100-110 CE. We can tell much about Roman society at the time from this, in terms of gender roles, family dynamics, class structure, and beliefs about the afterlife. There are different scenes in the relief. The top shows the deceased woman sitting up on her couch, and her children — who are still alive — play below her.
Then, in the middle scene, is what appears to be a temple but is actually a tomb. It’s the tomb of the woman who lies on the couch in the upper scene. You can see her face in the triangular pediment of the building, and you can see the faces of the deceased children on the side of the building. It is showing the passage of time, connecting life with afterlife.” ]
(click: "with afterlife")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“That’s cool,” you say. “But what’s the crane-like thing on the side?”
“That is strange, yes, and might seem out of place,” Fede says. “It is likely a piece of construction equipment, possibly used to impart information about the profession of the owner of this monument.”
“Thanks for showing me some of your work,” you say. “I feel like funerary statues can tell us about the ways people wanted to be remembered.”
“Thank you,” Fede replies. “I still have much more to go before I finish my dissertation. I have not done nearly enough research. I’m quite nervous, actually.”
[[“I hear you. I’m stressed out with all the work I’ve got to do, too. There never seems to be enough time to do everything!”|stressed]]
[[“Sometimes it helps if I plan out the things I need to get done each day. That helps me keep up with my work, which usually lowers my stress.”|planning]] ]
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Fede nods. “It’s hard being a grad student sometimes. We get very little funding here in Italy — I have to find other ways to make money while doing my studies.”
“They give most of us grad students a monthly stipend, or salary, at UC,” you say. “Which in a way is cool, because you’re getting paid to get an advanced degree. But on the other hand, you’re TAing for different classes, which is good teacher training but also a ton of hard work. And it can be really hard to live on just the stipend we get, with the cost of living in California being so high. I’m guessing it’s expensive to live here in Rome too, though, right?”
“It’s very expensive,” Fede says. “But I love Rome.”
[[“I love Rome too.”|love Rome]]
[[“I don’t know Rome well enough to say ‘I love you’ yet.”|Not yet]]
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Fede nods. “That is good advice. I try to do that as well, but for me, one of the great challenges is writing. I become afraid... that my words will come out wrong, will sound stupid, and then I cannot write anything. Or if I do, I dislike what I write and erase it, and try to start again.”
“That kind of perfectionism gets in the way of my writing too sometimes,” you say. “But if you can just start, and let your writing be terribly flawed, then you have something to go back to later and edit. It gets easier. But yeah... starting can be hard sometimes.”
Fede smiles. “I’ll remember your words when I’m writing, or trying to write, tonight. It’s hard being a graduate student sometimes. We get very little funding here in Italy — I have to find other ways to make money while doing my studies, or I would starve.”
“They give most of us grad students a monthly stipend, or salary, at UC,” you say. “Which in a way is cool, because you’re getting paid to get an advanced degree. But on the other hand, you’re TAing for different classes, which is good teacher training but also a ton of hard work. And it can be really hard to live on just the stipend we get, with the cost of living in California being so high. I’m guessing it’s expensive to live here in Rome too, though, right?”
“It’s very expensive,” Fede says. “But I love Rome.”
[[“I love Rome too.”|love Rome]]
[[“I don’t know Rome well enough to say ‘I love you’ yet.”|Not yet]]
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(float-box: "x====", "Y====")+(css: "font-size: 60%;")[Progress
(print: '<progress value="' + (text: $progress) + '" max="7"></progress>')]“I love Rome,” you say. “Even though I don’t have a deep background in ancient art or archaeology, when I saw that I could get credit toward my degree by coming here to work on an archaeological dig, I knew I had to do it. As difficult as school can be sometimes, it also has some great perks.”
Fede raises an eyebrow. “You’re working on a dig? That’s exciting! You didn’t mention it before.”
“I almost forgot about it myself,” you say. “I’ve been so focused on the statue and learning about the city. Wait — have I told you about the statue?”
(click: "about the statue")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“No,” Fede says.
“The Getty Museum in Malibu has sent me here to Rome to find out as much as I can about a mystery statue. I’m kind of scared — I have to present my hypotheses to the curator when I get back. They asked my advisor for help because it’s similar in type to statues found near the site where we’ll be digging.”
“How exciting,” Fede says. “And where exactly will you be digging?”
“It’s a little bit south of Rome — it’s got a name like, uh... Casa, Casa Bere, or something like that.”
“I haven’t heard of that.”
“I probably got it wrong,” you say. “I can look it up, though.” ]
(click: "I can look it up, though")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Fede waves her hand. “You can tell me the name later. Once you start, maybe I could come visit? I haven’t been to a dig site in a long time. But only if you think that might be all right, though.”
“That sounds fun,” you say. “I’ll ask if it’s okay. In fact, I can email my grad advisor about it right now. She’s the dig director.”
You send a quick email to Prof. Moro about inviting Fede to the dig, and you also mention that you’re on your way to a museum to look at statues, which you think she’ll approve of.
You realize you should tell Prof. Moro which museum you’re going to. You look up from the email you’re composing and ask Fede, “Where exactly are we going, by the way?” ]
(click: "are we going")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“It’s a museum called Centrale Montemartini. It is not well known to tourists, because it is outside the city center. But it should be — it is an interesting place, I think. It was Rome’s first electrical plant, at the turn of the 20th century, but, eh... it was then converted to a museum. The first exhibition there was called //Le Macchine e gli Dei//... eh, this means ‘The Machines and the Gods,’ with ancient artworks juxtaposed with the turbines of the old power plant. It has a, eh — steam, steam-something...”
“Steampunk?” you offer.
“Yes! Steampunk. It has a steampunk aesthetic.”
You laugh. “I don’t know how you can easily throw out words like ‘juxtaposed’ and ‘aesthetic’ but not know ‘steampunk.’”
Fede smiles. “Yes, but ‘steampunk’ is a word outside my area of expertise. I read English-language art history journals that use words like ‘aesthetic.’” ]
(click: "art history")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You finish your email to Prof. Moro and send it off just as Fede stands up, saying, “Our bus stop is approaching, and then we must walk a half kilometer to reach the //museo//.”
“Okay,” you say, getting up and following her to the door. Once off the bus, you notice that the area has a more industrial look to it compared to the other parts of Rome you’ve seen so far. You walk for some time, trading stories about the glories and struggles of your respective grad programs, and before long (it seems), Fede points to what looks like a grand old power plant in front of you.
<img src=" https://64.media.tumblr.com/2f8a9a6f7efedb02ac662bf15611591c/bc7f7a8abba0c72c-16/s1280x1920/12c6cbce398968d5ed0eb41d9e50148aaa4cd8dc.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“What does SPQR mean, exactly?” you ask Fede, pointing at the letters engraved at the top of the building’s façade. “I see it all over the city.”]
(click: "SPQR")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“It is a Latin phrase going back to the Roman Republic, I believe, meaning ‘the Senate and People of Rome,’” Fede answers. “The idea was that the power to govern belongs to the people, and to the Senate, which represented the people — or was supposed to, anyway. SPQR is still used, as you see; it is the mark of the government of the city of Rome.”
As you approach the front door of the building, you see a formidable-looking woman squinting in your direction. ]
(click: "formidable-looking woman")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5665b2f8dc29d7dd62af567eb6bb1fdf/5cf4d7fc1f2966d8-c2/s1280x1920/b1833524c703daf3e097b8902633f64007108fb2.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
Fede suddenly stops and looks down at her phone. “I must make a last-minute check of my email,” she says. “My advisor said he might need me to, eh... pick up a book for him.” ]
(click: "pick up a book")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Oh,” you say. “If you need to do an errand, I can either wait for you here, or we can go together.”
“That’s kind of you,” Fede says. “The library is close. Why don’t you go into the museum now, so your time is not wasted, and I’ll join you as soon as I am finished.”
“Okay,” you say. Fede turns and rushes off, and you begin walking toward the museum entrance, noticing that the woman who was looking at you is no longer there.
The museum is closed, unfortunately, but you look at the posted hours and see that it will open at 9 AM, which is in just a few minutes. You do a quick email check, more out of habit than anything else, and see that Prof. Moro has emailed you back already. She writes: ]
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//Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading//
(click: "Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading")[
Montemartini!
You’re going to Montemartini?? That’s one of my favorite museums. Did Lisa put you up to it? Make sure, while you’re there, to take a look at and get a good sense of a variety of different statue types. Montemartini is really neat because they have arranged their rooms according to the original contexts that the statues would have been placed in. So there is a whole room devoted to funerary statues, another to garden and domestic statues, and a final area devoted to large monumental temple statuary.
But don’t just limit yourself to things you think can help you with the Getty statue. While that’s of course important, the larger goal is for you to come away with an understanding of Rome and its art, architecture, and overall culture — which has been so influential to so many contemporary cultures.
And while you’re at the museum looking closely at statues, I want you to get comfortable making observations and hypotheses about statues that you don’t know anything about. This is great practice and a key skill you’ll want to develop for your studies. Think about, for example, how you might describe a statue — its stance, its expression, what other details are included (symbols, hairstyles, clothing). What is its scale? Does it look like anything else you’ve seen before?
Another thing to be aware of at Montemartini is that in addition to being a museum, it’s also home to the office of the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali a Roma —the main governing body that oversees all the archaeological digs going on in Rome. The soprintendente’s name is Dr. Rossella Forza, and she’s the one who decides whether or not to renew our permesso, or permit, to dig next year. I’ve had a few run-ins with her in the past... she’s shown a level of concern about students without much experience being involved in digs (due to a few instances where mistakes were made in the digging and cataloguing process, resulting in broken antiquities and a loss of context). I’ll be teaching you about that when you first arrive at the dig. If you happen to come across her at Montemartini, or perhaps at our dig (she keeps a keen eye on each dig in her jurisdiction and may well visit at some point), do your best to help her see that students we send to dig in Rome have an understanding of the cultural monuments and treat archaeological material with great respect. Rossella is tough, but she has a good heart. She just wants to make sure the cultural patrimony of her country is taken care of for future generations.
Now go inside and enjoy the museum — you’ll love it!
-Valeria]
You wonder if the woman who was staring at you earlier was the soprintendente. As you put away your phone, you look around, but the woman is nowhere to be seen. The doors of the museum, however, are being opened. You slip inside and, instead of just buying an entrance biglietto and wandering around aimlessly, you decide to get an audio guide as well. You put on the headphones and head to the first stop on the guided tour. Before you press “play,” though, you take one last look at the Getty statue on your phone so it’ll be fresh in your mind as you make your way through the museum. ]
(click: "at the Getty statue")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
After looking at your statue again, you press play and begin your tour:]
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You take off your audio tour headphones and return the device to the museum’s ticket office. There’s a cafe next to the office, and after your tour, you feel that a little snack would hit the spot. You get yourself a caffè, and also a cornetto con crema, just to see what Lisa was going on about. You sit down and take a bite, and — maybe because you’re still jet-lagged and the sugar rush is helping — you decide that the cornetto con crema certainly has its place, at least in your opinion. ]
(click: "at least in your opinion")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You know it’s important to record your impressions while they’re fresh. You decide to focus on one of the three statues you studied during the tour and write about it in the style of a museum catalogue. ]
(click: "museum catalogue.")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//To download the writing assignment for Chapter 4, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the assignment.//
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hRjZjXp4dAtMqmemvL7JX-2krbDaK-_C/preview" style="width:100%;max-width:896px;height:672px"></iframe>
After you finish your writing exercise, you pop the last of the cornetto into your mouth and pack your things up. As you leave the museum, you decide you’re going to take a long walk back to Lisa’s and explore new neighborhoods. You’re in a daze because of all the exhaustion of the museum, and you have “museum feet.” Then you hear a person who seems to be addressing you... calling you by name. You turn, almost expecting Fede, but it’s the woman who was scrutinizing you and Fede in front of the museum earlier. ]
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You follow the soprintendente to her office... ]
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“I love Rome,” you say. “Even though I don’t have a deep background in ancient art or archaeology, when I saw that I could get credit toward my degree by coming here to work on an archaeological dig, I knew I had to do it. As difficult as school can be sometimes, it also has some great perks.”
Fede raises an eyebrow. “You’re working on a dig? That’s exciting! You didn’t mention it before.”
“I almost forgot about it myself,” you say. “I’ve been so focused on the statue and learning about the city. Wait — have I told you about the statue?”
(click: "about the statue")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“No,” Fede says.
“The Getty Museum in Malibu has sent me here to Rome to find out as much as I can about a mystery statue. I’m kind of scared — I have to present my hypotheses to the curator when I get back. They asked my advisor for help because it’s similar in type to statues found near the site where we’ll be digging.”
“How exciting,” Fede says. “And where exactly will you be digging?”
“It’s a little bit south of Rome — it’s got a name like, uh... Casa, Casa Bere, or something like that.”
“I haven’t heard of that.”
“I probably got it wrong,” you say. “I can look it up, though.” ]
(click: "I can look it up, though")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Fede waves her hand. “You can tell me the name later. Once you start, maybe I could come visit? I haven’t been to a dig site in a long time. But only if you think that might be all right, though.”
“That sounds fun,” you say. “I’ll ask if it’s okay. In fact, I can email my grad advisor about it right now. She’s the dig director.”
You send a quick email to Prof. Moro about inviting Fede to the dig, and you also mention that you’re on your way to a museum to look at statues, which you think she’ll approve of.
You realize you should tell Prof. Moro which museum you’re going to. You look up from the email you’re composing and ask Fede, “Where exactly are we going, by the way?” ]
(click: "are we going")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“It’s a museum called Centrale Montemartini. It is not well known to tourists, because it is outside the city center. But it should be — it is an interesting place, I think. It was Rome’s first electrical plant, at the turn of the 20th century, but, eh... it was then converted to a museum. The first exhibition there was called //Le Macchine e gli Dei//... eh, this means ‘The Machines and the Gods,’ with ancient artworks juxtaposed with the turbines of the old power plant. It has a, eh — steam, steam-something...”
“Steampunk?” you offer.
“Yes! Steampunk. It has a steampunk aesthetic.”
You laugh. “I don’t know how you can easily throw out words like ‘juxtaposed’ and ‘aesthetic’ but not know ‘steampunk.’”
Fede smiles. “Yes, but ‘steampunk’ is a word outside my area of expertise. I read English-language art history journals that use words like ‘aesthetic.’” ]
(click: "art history")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You finish your email to Prof. Moro and send it off just as Fede stands up, saying, “Our bus stop is approaching, and then we must walk a half kilometer to reach the //museo//.”
“Okay,” you say, getting up and following her to the door. Once off the bus, you notice that the area has a more industrial look to it compared to the other parts of Rome you’ve seen so far. You walk for some time, trading stories about the glories and struggles of your respective grad programs, and before long (it seems), Fede points to what looks like a grand old power plant in front of you.
<img src=" https://64.media.tumblr.com/2f8a9a6f7efedb02ac662bf15611591c/bc7f7a8abba0c72c-16/s1280x1920/12c6cbce398968d5ed0eb41d9e50148aaa4cd8dc.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
“What does SPQR mean, exactly?” you ask Fede, pointing at the letters engraved at the top of the building’s façade. “I see it all over the city.”]
(click: "SPQR")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“It is a Latin phrase going back to the Roman Republic, I believe, meaning ‘the Senate and People of Rome,’” Fede answers. “The idea was that the power to govern belongs to the people, and to the Senate, which represented the people — or was supposed to, anyway. SPQR is still used, as you see; it is the mark of the government of the city of Rome.”
As you approach the front door of the building, you see a formidable-looking woman squinting in your direction. ]
(click: "formidable-looking woman")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5665b2f8dc29d7dd62af567eb6bb1fdf/5cf4d7fc1f2966d8-c2/s1280x1920/b1833524c703daf3e097b8902633f64007108fb2.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
Fede suddenly stops and looks down at her phone. “I must make a last-minute check of my email,” she says. “My advisor said he might need me to, eh... pick up a book for him.” ]
(click: "pick up a book")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“Oh,” you say. “If you need to do an errand, I can either wait for you here, or we can go together.”
“That’s kind of you,” Fede says. “The library is close. Why don’t you go into the museum now, so your time is not wasted, and I’ll join you as soon as I am finished.”
“Okay,” you say. Fede turns and rushes off, and you begin walking toward the museum entrance, noticing that the woman who was looking at you is no longer there.
The museum is closed, unfortunately, but you look at the posted hours and see that it will open at 9 AM, which is in just a few minutes. You do a quick email check, more out of habit than anything else, and see that Prof. Moro has emailed you back already. She writes: ]
(click: "emailed you back already")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<iframe src="https://gauchocast.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Embed.aspx?id=a2fa6a37-7d84-4fc3-b242-afba014c9ec2&autoplay=true&offerviewer=false&showtitle=false&showbrand=false&captions=false&interactivity=none" height="0" width="0" style="border: 1px solid #464646;" allowfullscreen allow="autoplay"></iframe>(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-delay:1s)[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d9bc2a09db56265ec4b2f451e682ca26/2beebcdd26ac1afe-56/s1280x1920/4ba66eb5ea19de76e48f2838514e931cfac56f60.pnj" style="width:100%;max-width:1024px">]
//Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading//
(click: "Click here to expand the email text for more accessible reading")[
Montemartini!
You’re going to Montemartini?? That’s one of my favorite museums. Did Lisa put you up to it? Make sure, while you’re there, to take a look at and get a good sense of a variety of different statue types. Montemartini is really neat because they have arranged their rooms according to the original contexts that the statues would have been placed in. So there is a whole room devoted to funerary statues, another to garden and domestic statues, and a final area devoted to large monumental temple statuary.
But don’t just limit yourself to things you think can help you with the Getty statue. While that’s of course important, the larger goal is for you to come away with an understanding of Rome and its art, architecture, and overall culture — which has been so influential to so many contemporary cultures.
And while you’re at the museum looking closely at statues, I want you to get comfortable making observations and hypotheses about statues that you don’t know anything about. This is great practice and a key skill you’ll want to develop for your studies. Think about, for example, how you might describe a statue — its stance, its expression, what other details are included (symbols, hairstyles, clothing). What is its scale? Does it look like anything else you’ve seen before?
Another thing to be aware of at Montemartini is that in addition to being a museum, it’s also home to the office of the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali a Roma —the main governing body that oversees all the archaeological digs going on in Rome. The soprintendente’s name is Dr. Rossella Forza, and she’s the one who decides whether or not to renew our permesso, or permit, to dig next year. I’ve had a few run-ins with her in the past... she’s shown a level of concern about students without much experience being involved in digs (due to a few instances where mistakes were made in the digging and cataloguing process, resulting in broken antiquities and a loss of context). I’ll be teaching you about that when you first arrive at the dig. If you happen to come across her at Montemartini, or perhaps at our dig (she keeps a keen eye on each dig in her jurisdiction and may well visit at some point), do your best to help her see that students we send to dig in Rome have an understanding of the cultural monuments and treat archaeological material with great respect. Rossella is tough, but she has a good heart. She just wants to make sure the cultural patrimony of her country is taken care of for future generations.
Now go inside and enjoy the museum — you’ll love it!
-Valeria]
You wonder if the woman who was staring at you earlier was the soprintendente. As you put away your phone, you look around, but the woman is nowhere to be seen. The doors of the museum, however, are being opened. You slip inside and, instead of just buying an entrance biglietto and wandering around aimlessly, you decide to get an audio guide as well. You put on the headphones and head to the first stop on the guided tour. Before you press “play,” though, you take one last look at the Getty statue on your phone so it’ll be fresh in your mind as you make your way through the museum. ]
(click: "at the Getty statue")+(t8n:'dissolve')[<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/d81e7272eab4b7e643e084906ac354b5/a87ce729fd6fbcb6-27/s1280x1920/c8eeb8c805517eacfdfb2ce8e0086d6c8dff8e12.jpg" style="width:100%;max-width:896px">
After looking at your statue again, you press play and begin your tour:]
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You take off your audio tour headphones and return the device to the museum’s ticket office. There’s a cafe next to the office, and after your tour, you feel that a little snack would hit the spot. You get yourself a caffè, and also a cornetto con crema, just to see what Lisa was going on about. You sit down and take a bite, and — maybe because you’re still jet-lagged and the sugar rush is helping — you decide that the cornetto con crema certainly has its place, at least in your opinion. ]
(click: "at least in your opinion")+(t8n:'dissolve')[You know it’s important to record your impressions while they’re fresh. You decide to focus on one of the three statues you studied during the tour and write about it in the style of a museum catalogue. ]
(click: "museum catalogue.")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//To download the writing assignment for Chapter 4, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the assignment.//
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After you finish your writing exercise, you pop the last of the cornetto into your mouth and pack your things up. As you leave the museum, you decide you’re going to take a long walk back to Lisa’s and explore new neighborhoods. You’re in a daze because of all the exhaustion of the museum, and you have “museum feet.” Then you hear a person who seems to be addressing you... calling you by name. You turn, almost expecting Fede, but it’s the woman who was scrutinizing you and Fede in front of the museum earlier. ]
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You follow the soprintendente to her office... ]
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“It’s possible that it may not have been painted,” says Lisa. “But many sculptures were. In these, the skin tone of the statue could be anywhere from pinkish white to different shades of olive to both light and dark browns. The Roman Empire was quite diverse: it stretched all the way from current-day Scotland south through Europe into North Africa, and east all the way to the Caspian Sea. The //New Yorker// article you read mentions the Severan Tondo and the Fayum portraits — do you remember that?”
“I should read the article again,” you reply. “It’s hard to remember details from just one reading. I //do// know what a tondo is from a different Art History course — at least I think I know. It’s a circular painting, right?”
“Yes, it’s a painting or a relief that’s circular. The one the article mentions — the Severan Tondo — shows Emperor Septimius Severus with his family. Here’s an image of it,” Lisa says, typing into her computer and angling the screen in your direction.
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“That’s Emperor Septimius Severus in the upper right of the painting,” Lisa says, pointing. “He was from Libya in North Africa. This object is a rare example of a family portrait. It’s one of our few examples of surviving wood from the ancient world — partly because it’s from Egypt, where the conditions are dry and arid, so preservation of wood tends to be better.”
“Looks like someone is scratched out,” you say. “Down on the left. Was that done by... barbarians or something after Rome fell?” ]
(click: "scratched out")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Lisa laughs. “It certainly was barbaric, but it was ordered to be done shortly after the death of Emperor Septimius Severus. You see the boy underneath Septimius Severus? That’s his son Caracalla, and the scratched-out face next to him is, or was, his brother, Geta, who he killed so he could have sole power. Once Geta was dead, Caracalla ordered a //damnatio memoriae// — the erasing of his memory — and all images of Geta were scratched out, statues of him were destroyed, coins with his likeness were melted down. Since this tondo is from Egypt, it shows the huge reach of Caracalla’s order of the damnatio.”
“What else did Caracalla do? I remember that name.”
“He’s most famous now for building a massive bath complex,” Lisa says. “It’s called the Baths of Caracalla. It’s actually where that Weary Hercules statue was set up. Maybe that’s why his name sounds familiar.” ]
(click: "Baths of Caracalla")+(t8n:'dissolve')[“You’re probably right. But I’ve only visited the Baths of Diocletian so far,” you say.
“I can take you to the Baths of Caracalla later if we have time,” Lisa says. “They’re definitely worth a look.” She glances at her watch. “Oh dear,” she says, standing up. “I have a meeting now. Let’s talk more later. You might consider doing a little research, following what clues you have on your statue.” With that, she rushes through the kitchen and up the stairs.
You settle into Lisa’s seat and take in the view of the quiet, picturesque courtyard. After a few minutes, you check your phone and see a text from Fede:]
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While you’re waiting, you see a book called //Statues in Roman Society// by Peter Stewart sitting on the kitchen counter with a note from Lisa: “Great info on Roman statues in here. Check out pages 6-7, 19-20, 47-55. While you’re reading, jot down two or more things you find helpful or interesting. Save those for later.”
You pour yourself another coffee and open the book... ]
(click: "open the book...")+(t8n:'dissolve')[//(To download the PDF, click on the “pop-out” button in the upper right corner of the document. That will open a new window, and from there you can read and/or download the PDF.) //
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Later that morning, Fede meets you in the courtyard, and the two of you walk through Campo de’ Fiori toward the same bus station you went to with Lisa. On the way, you make a quick stop to get euros from an ATM, and then to buy some biglietti for the bus at the kiosk. Once you’re on the bus — which is a small, quiet, electric one capable of navigating the narrower Roman streets — you validate your biglietto and sit down. ]
(click: "validate")+(t8n:'dissolve')[Fede, sitting next to you, seems a little preoccupied. “You doing okay?” you ask her.
“What?” she says, looking up. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.” She shakes her head. “I’m a little concerned about my father. We said... eh... some strong words to each other last night, and now he isn’t answering his phone or responding to any messages. He can be infuriating.”
[[“Why don’t we stop by his house so you can check on him?” you offer. “I’m not in any rush.”|stop by]]
[[“That’s annoying,” you say. “I hate it when people cut you off because of an argument. The only way to get through things like that is to keep the lines of communication open, right?”|open]] ]
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