Saturday 19th September

10 AM BST
11 AM CEST
7 PM AEST
9 PM NZST

With Dr. Eireann Marshall

Central to Imperial Imagery and to Rome’s image of itself as being founded by Romulus, the son of Mars, religion has always been important to the Eternal City. Senate meetings had to take place in temples and successful generals celebrated their triumphs by erecting temples in honour of gods who helped them. In the imperial period, emperors associated themselves with gods, such as Augustus who built a temple to Apollo next to his house on the Palatine, and Nero who donned locks which made him resemble Apollo, the god of music. All of this was to change when Constantine passed the edict of Milan which legalised Christianity. Yet the transformation of Rome from the capital of the empire to the Holy See was sporadic as mythology was central to Classical literature and erudition.

This tour will explore the world of late antiquity, including the dwellings still found underneath many Roman churches which provide precious glimpses of every day life in Rome when the city was no longer as wealthy as it had been. We will also be looking at the last of the pagan monuments and the fascinating Julian the Apostate, the last pagan emperor. Examining little known sites, such as the Hypogeum of Vibia, as well as famous catacombs, we will explore how Christianity didn’t issue in a new style of decoration but that pagan and Christian symbols co-existed for some time. Along the way, we will be visiting the oldest churches in Rome, from the exquisite churches dedicated to the sisters Saints Pudentiana and Praexedes to the remarkable churches in Trastevere, including Saint Caecilia and Mary.