Reliving the City of Rome Postgraduate Course – James Heath
When considering which Master’s degree to do, back in mid-2015, I was immediately drawn to the one at University of Reading that advertised that as part of the degree, you would get to spend two months in Rome. I made the application and was accepted, and in September 2017 I was off to Reading to begin my Master’s degree. Having applied to Reading for my Undergrad, but not got in, I was looking forward to getting to study there at last. Not that I would have swapped my 3 years at University of Roehampton for anything.
My lecturer at Reading, Dr Matthew Nicholls, created the City of Rome MRes to fit around the British School at Rome’s City of Rome Postgraduate Course that he had attended during his own postgraduate degree. I would spend from September 2016 to March 2017 researching topics and giving presentations to him, as well as one to the other Classics/Ancient History MA student, before heading to Rome to live and study at the British School (from now on referred to as BSR) (Fig.1) from April 30th to May 3rd. I would then return to Reading and write my dissertation. During my time at the BSR I had to write an essay to be handed in before the end of May, and give a presentation about half way through. There was also the opportunity to give a site presentation on one of the days. Matthew also created a digital map of Rome and incorporated it into a FutureLearn MOOC for the university to run. I was able to help out on the first few runs of the MOOC during my time at Reading. Unfortunately, given Matthew’s move to Oxford University, the MRes City of Rome postgraduate degree no longer runs at Reading.
After the other student dropped out (also, as it turns out, a Uni of Roehampton graduate) in week 3, I was the only person studying the MRes. This meant that it was not only rather niche, but very compact and intense with it just being the one-on-one tuition. I was glad then, to learn that there would be 10 other students from universities across the country attending the British School’s Course.
After arriving slightly later than all but one of the others, due to flight times, and therefore missing the tour, the first day for me was just un-packing and then on to drinks in the Director’s apartment, and dinner. The Director at the time was Christopher Smith (who I then met again in Herculaneum in 2019), and the scholar leading the course was Robert Coates-Stephens.
Figure 1: The British School at Rome sign
I won’t go through a day-by-day run down of the entire two months here, or list every sit, that would take far too long. Instead I’ll give a rough summary of each of the 8 weeks, and then highlight some of the locations we required a permit to visit. A few of these sites have since been opened up to the public, such as the SUPER Ticket sites at the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum, others are bookable through 060608, such as the Tomb of the Scipios. However, since Covid, it seems like lots of these bookable 060608 sites have yet to get their schedules back on track and fully open themselves up again. Where I type a [P], this was a permit site.
Each week would have one free study day, and every Wednesday evening there was a lecture from a visiting scholar on a topic relevant in some way to those of us on the City of Rome course. These lectures by visiting scholars are fascinating and you can find some on the BSR’s YouTube page, or watch live when the Course is running in April and May each year.
Week 1
Figure 2: The interior of the Araceli Insula
In the first week of the course, we visited the Forum Boarium, Capitoline Hill, and had our first day (of four) in the Roman Forum. The visit to the Forum Boarium included going inside the temples of Hercules [P] and Portunus [P], we ventured into the crypt of Santa Maria in Cosmedin to see the Ara Maxima [P]. Heading back outside for a time, we crossed the Pons Fabricius on to Tiber Island, looking at the other two bridges in the area (those of Aemilius and Cestius). On Tiber Island itself we headed down to look at the relief of Aesculapius.
Crossing back to the eastern side of the river, we headed to the Velabrum, to study the Arches of the Argentarii and of Janus. On our Capitoline day, we entered the Araceli Insula at the base of the Capitoline [P] (Fig.2), checked out the spolia columns at Santa Maria in Araceli, and headed into the Capitoline Museum. While touring the Capitoline Museum we visited the Temple of Veiovis [P], and admired the view of the Forum from the Tabularium, before leaving and finishing the day at the Arx and Auguraculum. Day 1 of the Forum Romanum was dedicated to the oldest sites – the two Rostra, Comitium and Lapis Niger, House and Temple of the Vestals, Temple of Castor and Pollux, and a visit inside the Curia [P]. Our free study day was on the Friday. We concluded the week on Saturday with a museum visit to the Villa Giulia, home to a large collection of Etruscan and Faliscan antiquities, guided by Christopher Smith. The lecture on the Wednesday was also by Christopher, at Rome’s La Sapienza University, and was on “Writing the Middle Republic: history in the Making”.
Week 2
Figure 3: The Aula Isiaca frescoes
Week two was also covering a lot of the historic centre. With the Palatine, Campus Martius, and day 2 in the Forum Romanum. These visits were supplemented by a walk up the Via Flaminia, and a trip to Ostia Antica. The Palatine Visit included the Houses of Augustus and Livia [P], the House of the Griffins [P] (, the Aula Isiaca [P] (Fig.3), and the Precinct of Victory and Temple of Magna Mater. Our Campus Martius day focused on the Pantheon, Baths of Agrippa, Largo Argentina temples, Portico of Octavia, Theatre of Marcellus, the Temples of Apollo Sosianus and Bellona, and a visit to the temples under San Nicola in Carcere [P]. Our visit supplemented by a guided tour of the Sacred Area of San Omobono with an archaeologist from Roma Capitale [P]. Our second Roman Forum visit started outside the Forum at the Mamertine Prison [P], before moving on to the imperial monuments of the Temple of Divus Julius, the two Basilica, the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the Temples of Concord, Vespasian and Saturn, the Arch of Septimius Severus, and we finished with the Monument of Bibulus, another monument not within the Forum proper. Our Via Flaminia day started at the Milvian Bridge, before walking back to the Villa of the Auditorium with its mini-museum. Then it was on to the Fountain of Anna Perenna [P] under a modern car park (Fig.4). We then took a train up the Villa of Livia at Prima Porta to see where the famous statue of Augustus, and the garden frescoes, originated. Our visit to Ostia covered all the major locations within the site, but also allowed us into the House of the Muses and the Garden Houses [P].
Friday was the free day and the Wednesday lecture was by Dunia Flippi (Cambridge) and was entitled “A Methodological Implementation of Epistemology of Space in the Study of the Roman Forum”
Figure 4: The Fountain of Anna Perenna
Week 3
Figure 5: The compital altar
Due to the visit to Ostia getting swapped from the Monday (as you’ll know from Rome itinerary discussions, Ostia is closed on Mondays), we had two free days at the start of week 3. The rest of the week was dedicated to covering the Imperial Fora, Esquiline, Via Appia, and the Campus Martius. Our Imperial Fora day included a visit to the Markets of Trajan and the Imperial Fora Museum, before entering the House of the Knights of Rhodes [P], and the domus beneath Palazzo Valentini [P]. The Esquiline day featured a visit under an apartment block on the Via di San Martino ai Monti to see a Compital Altar [P] (Fig.5), we viewed one of the oldest Christian mosaics in Rome at Santa Pudenziana, and visited our first Major Papal Basilica with Santa Maria Maggiore. After a lunch break we saw the Arch of Gallienus, the Nymphaeum of Alexander Severus, the Auditorium of Maecenas [P], and played join the dots with the fragments of Servian Wall you can see all around the area of Termini station (including in the McDonalds). Our Via Appia day started out at the Tomb of the Scipios [P], before heading to the Columbarium of Pomponius Hylas [P] (Fig.6). We left the ancient Roman walls at the Porta Appia, including a visit to the Museum of the Aurelianic Walls, discussed the Arch of Drusus, and finished up at the Baths of Caracalla.
Campus Martius round 2 consisted of seeing the horologium of Augustus floor (or at least the Domitianic rebuild of it) [P], the Montecitorio Obelisk, and the Ara Pacis Museum. We also had a brief overview of the Mausoleum of Au gustus, but this was the first day of the current restoration work going on at the Mausoleum, so those black boards with the holographic images on were being put up while we were there. Those of you who have been on trips to Rome in Easter 2018 until now will know the ones I’m talking about. Our talk this week was by Christopher Bruun (Toronto) on “The Trouble with the Neighbourhoods of Ostia”. As an aside, the picture used on the Mausoleum’s Wikipedia entry is mine.
Figure 6: The mosaic announcing who the columbarium is for P. Hylas
Week 4
Figure 7: The Palazzo Barberini Mithraeum
Reaching the halfway mark of the experience, we had visits to the Quirinal, returned to the Imperial Fora, the Vatican Museums, and the Via Latina. The Quirinal sites were
predominantly permit ones; the Mithraeum of Palazzo Barberini [P] (Fig.7), the Tomb of the Sempronii [P], and the Horti Sallustiani [P]. These were interspersed with the Piazza del
Quirinale’s Dioscuri statues and the walls of the Praetorian Camp. The second day of the Imperial Fora was, again, permit heavy. We got to walk the route through the Fora of Trajan, Nerva and Caesar [P], and into the Forum of Augustus [P]. While the first three have since opened up to the public via one of the many ticket options at Parco Colosseo, the forum of Augustus remains closed. We also discussed the Column of Trajan, the Athenaeum and the Templum Pacis, viewing it both outside and inside Santi Cosma e Damiano. Our Vatican Museums visit still marks the only time I’ve dared to have myself herded around the vast complex of corridors and galleries. However, we did get to see a couple of usually closed galleries and rooms here; the Room of the Aldobrandini Wedding, with the Odyssey Frescoes of via Graziosa [P], and the Gallery of the Statues and Cabinet of the Masks (Fig.8) in Museo Pio-Clementino [P]. I do wish to return to the museum at some point though, as I missed so much as we only really covered Braccio Nuovo, Museo Chiaramonti, and Museo Pio- Cristiano. Our trip to the Via Latina covered the Tombs of the Valerii and Pancratii at the Via Latina Archaeological Park [P], the Monte del Grano Mausoleum [P], where the sarcophagus though to belong to Alexander Severus was found, and the Park of the Aqueducts. A nice short Friday to end the week that Via Latina day. If you happen to be in Rome for the 15th of August (a modern public holiday, the Ferragosto, with ancient roots), you’ll notice that a lot of Romans picnic among the aqueducts all day. The week 4 talk was given by Penelope Davies (Austin) entitled “Urban Vision or Sleight of Hand? Regime Change and Augustan Rome”. Penelope also joined us on the Via Latina visit, and had given a guest lecture in the autumn term at Reading.
Figure 8: The mosaic that gives the Cabinet of the Masks its name
Week 5
Figure 9: The Via degli Annibaldi Nymphaeum
The week started with a visit to the Viminal Hill and the Museo Nazionale Romano sites at Palazzo Massimo and the Museo delle Terme at the Baths of Diocletian, though technically this was on the Saturday of the previous week, and Monday ended up with a free day. The other locations in week 5 were the Oppian Hill, day 2 of the Palatine Hill, Aventine and Testaccio, the third Forum Romanum visit, and the Colosseum and Domus Aurea. Palazzo Massimo may be my favourite museum in Rome and I wish I could fit it into every itinerary, though they don’t have the most practical opening times (11:00-18:00). It’s collection is wide-ranging and contains the Garden of Livia frescoes, the statue of Augustus as a priest, the bronze Boxer at Rest, plenty of mosaics, the frescoes from the Villa Farnesina, statues from the end of the Republic through to the height of the empire, and the largest numismatic collection in Italy. Meanwhile the Museo delle Terme is an epigraphic museum for the most part; with altars, sarcophagi, dedications, gravestones, and cippi making up most of the collection. It also includes the fragments of the Acts of the Arval Brotherhood from throughout the imperial period. Our Oppian day was made up of visits to the Baths of Trajan and the Flavian remains beneath, with a guide from Roma Capitale [P].
The photos I took of those Flavian remains are the only Rome site I haven’t uploaded the photos for to Flickr, as we had to promise not to share them. We also went underground at San Clemente, overlooked the Ludus Magnus, speculated on the remains of the Temple of Isis Metellinam, and headed back below ground level to see the Nymphaeum on the Via degli Annibaldi (Fig.9) [P]. The second Palatine day started not on the hill, but the base of the slope leading to the Circus Maximus, as we entered the remains of the Domus Praeconum [P] (Fig.10), then it was on to the Domus Severiana and the Maxentian baths, via the Severna Arches, and the Domus Flavia stadium and lower court [P]. Returning to the modern visitable level, we perused the Baths of Elagabalus from above, though these do now open up to the public on the Palatine occasionally. The Aventine day started at the Circus Maximus, before making our way onto the Aventine itself to see the Casa Bellezza [P], hard hats and all, a few at a time. Then it was over to Santa Sabina, the Servian Walls at Piazza Albania, a discussion about whether the Porticus Aemilia really is the Porticus Aemilia or the Navalia, indecision abounds due to the fragment of the Forma Urbis.
We finished the day by climbing Mount Testaccio [P], If you are doing a Roman trade module, ask us about getting entry and we can always enquire through our local agents. Forum Romanum day 3 covered the ‘Temple of Romulus’ [P], the Horrea Agrippiana [P], both of which are now open frequently to the public if there’s an exhibition on (the Temple), or if it’s the first Sunday of the month free day (the Horrea). We also walked that small stretch of the Vicus Tuscus, debated on the accuracy of the naming of the Temple of Augustus, viewed the Lacus Juturnae, thought about the Tetrarchic Forum and how it would have looked to the people of the time, then moved round to the Temple of Venus and Rome and the Arch of Titus to step briefly back into the early imperial period. Our Colosseum visit included the substructures and the 2nd floor level [P], both of these are now accessible to the public, and the hypogeum has been renovated with a path, you just have to get the right Colosseum entry ticket. The Domus Aurea was also counted as a [P], despite it being a purchasable ticket and there being people on our tour of the site that weren’t part of the BSR group. The lecture this week was given by Paolo Vitti (Roma Tre) and was on “Choosing the Right Vaulting in the Building Programme of Honorius and Justinian for the Aurelianic Walls”.
Figure 10: The mosaic from the Domus Praeconum
Week 6
Figure 11: Crypta Balbi’s exedra’s toilets
Week 6 started out on Monday and Tuesday with our presentations on our essays, before we headed out to the Campus Martius for a third time, headed to the coast for Portus, and explored the Caelian Hill. The Campus Martius visit kicked off with a visit to the early baptistery of San Marcello al Corso [P], a discussion of the Column of Marcus Aurelius, and an external viewing of the Temple of Hadrian (now open to the public, and have toilets for €1 if you’re in the area with a student desperate to go). We then had to imagine the Iseum Campense and Diovrum, given the lack of physical remains that aren’t obelisks. A quick visit to the courtyard of Palazzo Mattei di Giove was followed by recognising the curve of the modern buildings built on the floorplan of the cavea of the Theatre of Pompey. After we’d covered that area of the Campus, it was over to Piazza Navona to discuss Domitian’s Stadium, then crossing the road to Palazzo Altemps to view it’s wonderful statue collection, before finishing at Crypta Balbi [P]. Crypta Balbi isn’t one I’d recommend to school groups, it’s very much focused on the small area of Rome that the Theatre of Balbus sits in, though that might change with the money MNR received this year to restore and change up their 4 museums.
It was a permit trip though as we got to venture outside into the remains of the Theatre of Balbus and the exedra, where there are several lime-kilns and some ancient toilets (Fig.11). The day trip to Portus started at the remains of the edge of the Claudian Basin of the port, near Fiumicino, that the geophysics team at the BSR had been investigating (joined by Dr. Sophie Hay and Stephen Kay), before we moved on to Isola Sacra [P] (Fig.12), and then on to Portus itself with a look at the BSR excavations that were happening there. Both Isola Sacra and Portus are interesting sites, for different reasons if you are studying tombs or trade, and have some time on the itinerary on arrival or departure day, and have already done Ostia Antica.
Unfortunately, neither site is free to visit any more, though only a few euro per person. On the Caelian Hill day we started at San Giovanni in Laterano, visiting the baptistery and excavations beneath [P], then it was on to San Stefano Rotondo, before climbing the Caelina by walking through the Arch of Dolabella, to see the the substructures of the Temple of Divine Claudius [P], and the Case Romane del Celio [P], which we certainly recommend adding to the itinerary if you have the time. Then it was in to the Villa Mattei-Celimontana, before descending back down the hill past the remains of the Neronian nymphaeum, which are easily missed as they don’t look like much. The talk this week was one we were all much excited to see, despite none of the 11 of us speaking fluent Italian, as it was given by Filippo Coarelli (Perugia) on “Il Cursus Publicus a Roma e in Età Imperiale”. If you’ve read an archaeological guide on Rome, there’s a 50% chance it was Coarelli’s.
Figure 12: Tombs at Isola Sacra
Week 7
Figure 13: The Flavian cippus at Santa Cecilia
Week seven featured our last day in the Roman Forum, a walk around Trastevere, a second crossing of the Esquiline Hill, and the Via Ostiensis. Day four of the Roman Forum was very much focused on the late Forum, with it’s Christian monuments; we started off inside Santa Maria Antiqua and the Oratory of the 40 Martyrs [P], climbed the Domitianic ramp to the Palatine and came back down again, acknowledged the Porticus Deum Consentium, which was one of the last pagan monuments to be restored in the 4th Century AD. Wandered through the remains of the Basilica of Maxentius and felt rather small, briefly popped into Santa Maria Nova, and then headed out to see the Arch of Constantine and where the Meta Sudans would have been. Not many school trips will delve into Trastevere, but that’s the problem with Rome, too much to see, not enough time to see it. However, our Trastevere day started with visiting Santa Cecilia with its ancient Roman houses beneath, as well as a cippus (Fig.13) marking the city boundary dating to the time of Vespasian and Titus in the church’s courtyard. Then we moved on to the Excubitorium of the Vigiles [P], guided by an archaeologist from Roma Capitale. This was a fascinating site to discover still exists, even if visiting is now closed as there’s a real risk of the modern ceiling above collapsing. We weren’t even allowed to move from the staircase just in case when we visited. We moved on to Santa Maria in Trastevere to see the columns topped with heads of the Greco-Egyptian gods like Serapis, and then it was on to the Mausoleum of Hadrian, now known as Castel Sant’Angelo. A cracking view from the top, especially in the evening light, though given how little of the original Mausoleum remains, not always applicable to Classics groups. Day 2 of the Esquiline started at the Underground Basilica of Porta Maggiore [P] (Fig.14), which I don’t think has been open since. Then it was on to sites you may recognise if you’ve ever walked our suggested Esquiline Walk on arrival evening; Porta Maggiore, Tomb of the Baker, the Temple of Minerva Medica and the Republican Tombs on the Via Statilia
[P], we also got to see the archaeological excavations around the Sessorium Palace, including a villa on the Via Eleniana, and the holy relics at Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. We finished week 7 along the Via Ostiensis, heading inside the Pyramid of Cestius [P], climbing the Porta Ostiensis to see the museum built into the gate, explored the collection at Centrale Montemartini, a museum I’d love more groups to visit, and then ended the day at San Paolo fuori le Mura. Meaning that the only Major Papal Basilica we didn’t visit San Pietro in Vaticano. The penultimate lecture was given by Ian Campbell (Edinburgh) and was “Pirro Ligorio’s Oxford Album: The Variety of Drawings and Writings”.
Figure 14: Part of the stucco decoration of the Underground Basilica
Week 8
Figure 15: One of the gladiator mosaics at Villa Borghese
We start the final week on the Via Salaria, before looking at Extramural Basilicas, take another walk down the Via Appia, and end our visits at Tivoli. The Via Salaria day started out with a visit to the Republican remains beneath the Convent of NS Lourdes [P], technically on the Via Sistina, this was a really interesting start to the last week, it’s something I don’t think a lot of people will ever get to experience, definitely one of the highlights that I’ll be mentioning later. We then walked to the Porta Salaria, went underground to explore the Catacombs of Priscilla. known as the Queen of Catacombs, it’s a good alternative to the Catacombs of Saint Callixtus or Saint Sebastian. We finished with a visit to the Villa Borghese and Galleria Borghese, due to the proximity to the British School, I did by that point have a fondness for Villa Borghese, and the gallery is great, though it must be pre-booked and tickets aren’t that plentiful, so make sure to let us know early if you want it on a trip! The extramural basilica day was nice and short, with a visit to San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, victim of a bombing, but masterfully rebuilt, followed by a trip to the Mausoleum of Constanza and Sant’Agnese fuori le Mura.
These latter two are great early Christian sites right next to each other, with some lovely spolia in Sant’Agnese. Our second day of strolling the Via Appia mainly focused on the 6th-3rd miles of the road, looking the Villa of the Quintilii, the Tomb of Caecilia Metella, and the Circus of Maxentius. The Villa of the Quintilii (Fig.16) is interesting, but not the easiest to get to for school groups. Our final day took us to the Villa of Hadrian in Tivoli, lovely to explore in the late May sunshine and seeing if we could see the Mausoleum of Hadrian (or rather the Vatican and Castel Sant’Angelo) from Roccabruna, as the legend goes. We had a lovely meal in Tivoli town afterwards, as a treat from Robert and the BSR to say goodbye, though I am a little gutted that we didn’t go see the Temple of Hercules Victor, the Mensa Ponderaria, Villa d’Este, the Amphitheatre, or the Plautii Mausoleum at Tivoli. Ah well, always next time. The last lecture of the course was given by Robert Coates-Stephens and was entitled “Quamdiu stat Colisaeus: Place Name and Statue Name in Medieval Rome”. The Tivoli visit was on Saturday 27th, so we had two days to finish our essays and hand them in, see anything one last time and then pack, leaving Rome on the morning of Tuesday 30th May.
Figure 16: The Villa of the Quintilii
Highlights
As you may have been able to guess, a lot of my highlights were the sites that ordinarily a visitor to Rome wouldn’t get to see. If I had to choose one from each week, I would go for:
- Week 1 – I’m not giving this to a site visit, but the excitement of being back in Rome, getting to the BSR and getting the course started.
- Week 2 – This might have to go to getting to go inside the House of the Griffins(Fig.17), as it’s still a location not opened up to the public through the SUPER Tickets, the surviving decoration inside the House was stunning.
- Week 3 – This might be the most difficult to choose one from, the House of the Knights of Rhodes, the Compital altar, and the Horologium (18) were all fantastic, but I’m going to have to give it to the small section of the Horologium. As someone who has always preferred the early imperial period.
- Week 4 – Another tricky one, the exclusivity of the Tomb of the Sempronii was certainly amazing (we needed to bring passports as it’s within Italian government complex). However, being able to walk into the Forum of Augustus (Fig.19) might just take it. I love looking down into the Forum from the Via dei Fori Imperiali, so getting to walk through it was even better.
- Week 5 – Have to give this to Casa Bellezza (20) over the Domus Praeconum and the Nymphaeum on Via degli Annibaldi.
- Week 6 – Tough one this, between Lateran excavations (21) and Isola Sacra, but Lateran excavations takes it. It was so interesting to walk through the remains of what is thought to be Hadrianic era cavalry barracks.
- Week 7 – Excubitorium of the Vigiles (22) takes this as week 7’s highlight, just edging out going into the Pyramid of Cestius and the Underground Basilica at Porta Maggiore. This is purely down to the rarity of the site, and that it might not be there much longer if that ceiling isn’t taken care of by the administration.
- Week 8 – Easy one this, seeing the Republican remains under the Convent (23). No doubt about it. Such a rare opportunity.
Figure 17: The stucco relief that gives House of the Griffins its name.
Figure 18: The Horologium Floor
Figure 19: The Forum of Augustus from ground level
Figure 20: Casa Bellezza’s yellow room
Figure 21: A wall in the Lateran excavations with frescoes
Figure 22: The Excubitorium of the Vigiles
Figure 23: A circular sea life mosaic from under the Convent
In Summary
Ultimately, it will come to no surprise that I loved my experience at the BSR studying the post-graduate City of Rome course as part of my Master’s degree of the same name. Being in Rome for 2 months studying at the British School is an experience I would recommend to any student of Classics/Ancient History thinking of going on to do a connected topic at undergrad and then postgrad.
The BSR was a wonderful host, getting to discuss topics with other scholars over dinner or after a talk from a visiting lecturer, getting to try new foods and meals when they were cooked for us during weekdays (weekends were up to us to organise dinner for ourselves), it was a very immersive trip that only made me fall more in love with the Eternal City. Robert Coates-Stephens was a very knowledgeable and engaging, if somewhat unconventional at times, guide to the city. Though this only made the daily trips even more fun.
The BSR also runs a 12 day intensive Ancient Rome Summer School course for undergraduate students. If I’d known about it, and hadn’t leaned so heavily towards the Greeks during my undergrad years, I would have probably tried to go on that course too.