Thursday 21 January

10 AM PST
1 PM EST
6 PM GMT
7 PM CET

With Dr. Eireann Marshall

All Roman emperors, starting with Augustus and including the disastrous Nero and Domitian, used the city of Rome as a backdrop of their image making. The result was a Rome dominated by monuments constructed by emperors, both public monuments celebrating their power as well as imperial palaces. Many of these buildings, including the Pantheon and the many Triumphal Arches quickly became symbols not only of imperial might but of Rome itself, while others, such as the extraordinary Domus Aurea, Nero’s infamous palace which was built on the slopes of 4 hills, were suppressed, lying hidden for centuries.

This virtual tour of Rome explores the splendour of ancient Rome, considering some of its most staggering buildings in order to gain a greater understanding of imperial image making.  We will start with Augustus, whose political genius set the foundation for how later emperors wanted to be seen; to this end we will have an in depth view of the Ara Pacis, the Augustan Mausoleum and the Augustan Forum and contrast the splendid monuments he erected with his relatively simple palace. The virtual tour will also explore the transformation of the Campus Martius under the emperors, including the Pantheon and Hadrianeum, as well as the jumble of palatial ruins on the Palatine.