Roman Republican Architecture

Abstract

The designation “Republican” refers to the Roman political period, traditionally dated between 509 and 31 bce. Roman Republican architecture is understood as the product of the built environment in the city of Rome as well as the territory controlled by Romans during this period. Scholarship on Roman architecture in general has focused on building typology; structure, materials, and construction techniques; and design and urbanism—all frequently with an interest in historical context. The study of the Republic has incorporated these traditions, but analysis of the physical remains is often restricted, due to the much degraded state of many early monuments; thus, critical study of ancient textual sources is often crucial, and study of the historical or cultural context of architecture sees increased attention. There is an equally strong—and recently deepened—interest in sociologically and anthropologically informed study of the use and experience of architecture and its effects on Roman society. The best-known aspects of architecture from the period include the construction of monumental temples in stone and terracotta at first, and later incorporating stone entablatures, roofs, and eventually concrete from foundations to superstructure. As for the geographical extent of Roman territory (both political and cultural), it was rarely static and in some cases is poorly understood; furthermore, Romans were frequently in contact with communities and cultures around them, so in some cases it is essential to look outside of Roman territory to understand Roman Republican-era architecture. This bibliography is not meant as a digest of buildings, but rather, after General Overviews and Reference Works, it covers various important topics in the field. As a whole, though, the citations have been assembled in a way that there should be at least one key source on most of the major monuments of the Roman Republic. The bibliography is limited to Italian territory, though the reader will find some references to Roman architecture from wider Mediterranean territories that Rome controlled by the mid-2nd century. Furthermore, the study of Republican architecture is necessarily tied to archaeological excavations, yet this is not a bibliography of Roman archaeology. Thus, although some seminal studies of individual monuments and excavations appear, most works are on the discipline of architectural history and questions related to it, rather than on sites and their excavation. More so than for the period of the Empire, the study of Republican architecture has been dominated by Italian scholarship, with some important work by French and German scholars. Anglophone interest has been infrequent until recently, so scholarship in English presents only a spotty picture of the state of the field. This bibliography is purposefully focused on English-language scholarship, but for some areas, works in foreign languages are essential for study beyond introductory material.