Description

Book Synopsis
According to one narrative that received almost canonical status a century ago with Francis Haverfield, the orthogonal grid was the most important development of ancient town planning, embodying values of civilisation in contrast to barbarism, diffused in particular by hundreds of Roman colonial foundations. Its main legacy to subsequent urban development was the model of the grid city, spread across the New World in new colonial cities.

This book explores the shortcomings of that all too colonialist narrative and offers new perspectives. It explores the ideals articulated both by ancient city founders and their modern successors; looks at new evidence for Roman colonial foundations to reassess their aims; and considers the many ways post-Roman urbanism looked back to the Roman model with a constant re-appropriation of the idea of the Roman.

Table of Contents
Series preface Acknowledgements List of figures List of contributors 1. Introduction: Decolonising the Roman grid Sofia Greaves and Andrew Wallace-Hadrill Part I. City planning and Ideals of the city 2. Greek colonies and ideals of equality Irad Malkin 3. Ancient ideals and modern interpretations Andrew Wallace-Hadrill 4. Urban ideals in the medieval world: spatial order, ruling the realm and the design of towns under Edward I Keith Lilley 5. The making of men and cities: Francesc Eiximenis and urban development Sam Ottewill-Soulsby 6. Ancient cities in new worlds: neo-Latin views and Classical ideals in the sixteenth century Javier Martínez-Jiménez and Sam Ottewill-Soulsby 7. Ideals of the city in the early Islamic foundation stories of Kufa and Baghdad Edward Zychowicz-Coghill 8. The grid enframed: mapping the enframings of the American Grid Reuben Rose-Redwood Part 2. Roman colonization and urban experimentation 9. The practice of urban settlement in Emilia Romagna: between spontaneous development, master-planning and post-antique adaptation Alessia Morigi 10. The long-term aspects of urban foundation in the cities of Africa Proconsularis Andrew Dufton 11. Late antique new cities Efthymios Rizos 12. Foundational grids and urban communities in the Iberian Peninsula in Antiquity and the Middle Ages Javier Martínez Jiménez 13. Town planning from Falerii to Isurium: understanding and enhancing the archaeological evidence Martin Millett Part 3. The impact of the Roman urban model 14. From Potentia to Porto Recanati: the Roman coastal colony and its modern legacy Frank Vermeulen 15. New towns of the twelfth to fourteenth centuries and the grid plan Wim Boerefijn 16. Re-imagining the grid in the nineteenth century: to be, or not to be Rome Sofia Greaves 17. Searching for Rome: French colonial archaeology and urban planning in Morocco Said Ennahid 18. Planning the colonial capital: Khartoum and New Delhi Robin Cormack 19. Roma rediviva: the uses of Roman heritage in Fascist-era urbanism Aristotle Kallis 20. Urban planning and ideology: the Fascist layer on Rome’s city centre and the EUR district Flaminia Bartolini

Rome and the Colonial City: Rethinking the Grid

    Product form

    £62.04

    Includes FREE delivery

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Sat 4 Jul 2026.

    A Hardback by Sofia Greaves, Andrew Wallace-Hadrill

    Out of stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

      View other formats and editions of Rome and the Colonial City: Rethinking the Grid by Sofia Greaves

      Publisher: Oxbow Books
      Publication Date: 15/03/2022
      ISBN13: 9781789257809, 978-1789257809
      ISBN10: 1789257808

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      According to one narrative that received almost canonical status a century ago with Francis Haverfield, the orthogonal grid was the most important development of ancient town planning, embodying values of civilisation in contrast to barbarism, diffused in particular by hundreds of Roman colonial foundations. Its main legacy to subsequent urban development was the model of the grid city, spread across the New World in new colonial cities.

      This book explores the shortcomings of that all too colonialist narrative and offers new perspectives. It explores the ideals articulated both by ancient city founders and their modern successors; looks at new evidence for Roman colonial foundations to reassess their aims; and considers the many ways post-Roman urbanism looked back to the Roman model with a constant re-appropriation of the idea of the Roman.

      Table of Contents
      Series preface Acknowledgements List of figures List of contributors 1. Introduction: Decolonising the Roman grid Sofia Greaves and Andrew Wallace-Hadrill Part I. City planning and Ideals of the city 2. Greek colonies and ideals of equality Irad Malkin 3. Ancient ideals and modern interpretations Andrew Wallace-Hadrill 4. Urban ideals in the medieval world: spatial order, ruling the realm and the design of towns under Edward I Keith Lilley 5. The making of men and cities: Francesc Eiximenis and urban development Sam Ottewill-Soulsby 6. Ancient cities in new worlds: neo-Latin views and Classical ideals in the sixteenth century Javier Martínez-Jiménez and Sam Ottewill-Soulsby 7. Ideals of the city in the early Islamic foundation stories of Kufa and Baghdad Edward Zychowicz-Coghill 8. The grid enframed: mapping the enframings of the American Grid Reuben Rose-Redwood Part 2. Roman colonization and urban experimentation 9. The practice of urban settlement in Emilia Romagna: between spontaneous development, master-planning and post-antique adaptation Alessia Morigi 10. The long-term aspects of urban foundation in the cities of Africa Proconsularis Andrew Dufton 11. Late antique new cities Efthymios Rizos 12. Foundational grids and urban communities in the Iberian Peninsula in Antiquity and the Middle Ages Javier Martínez Jiménez 13. Town planning from Falerii to Isurium: understanding and enhancing the archaeological evidence Martin Millett Part 3. The impact of the Roman urban model 14. From Potentia to Porto Recanati: the Roman coastal colony and its modern legacy Frank Vermeulen 15. New towns of the twelfth to fourteenth centuries and the grid plan Wim Boerefijn 16. Re-imagining the grid in the nineteenth century: to be, or not to be Rome Sofia Greaves 17. Searching for Rome: French colonial archaeology and urban planning in Morocco Said Ennahid 18. Planning the colonial capital: Khartoum and New Delhi Robin Cormack 19. Roma rediviva: the uses of Roman heritage in Fascist-era urbanism Aristotle Kallis 20. Urban planning and ideology: the Fascist layer on Rome’s city centre and the EUR district Flaminia Bartolini

      Recently viewed products

      © 2026 Book Curl

        • American Express
        • Apple Pay
        • Diners Club
        • Discover
        • Google Pay
        • Maestro
        • Mastercard
        • PayPal
        • Shop Pay
        • Union Pay
        • Visa

        Login

        Forgot your password?

        Don't have an account yet?
        Create account