Description
Book SynopsisBy combining textual evidence, comparative historical material, and contemporary urban theory with architectural and art historical analysis, this book charts the street's key role in the social and political lives of Romans and restores its rightful place as the primary venue for social performance in the ancient world.
Trade Review'Focusing especially on evidence from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Rome, Hartnett brings Roman streets to life, weaving together information from roadbeds, street monuments, and building facades with historical and literary descriptions, inscriptions, and representations in art. This topic is rarely tackled, says Hartnett, because of the reliance on birds-eye plans and a focus on grand public spaces. His book is divided into an introduction and three parts of multiple chapters: the activities of the street itself - traffic, social interaction, and self-display; the scale and frame of the street, including facades, sidewalks, and benches; and case studies of two specific streets, one in Pompeii and one in Herculaneum. … the author brings to light the flow of the city and the intersection of citizens and slaves. Readers can picture the sounds, sights, and smells of the street as a stage for posturing, displaying respect, and enacting disgrace and revenge. Hartnett cites sources liberally and usefully provides many original Latin texts in footnotes on each page. The bibliography is thorough, and illustrations are ample throughout the book.' Choice
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Repopulating the Street: 1. Street forms, street movements; 2. Life in the street; 3. The street's social environment; Part II. The Street and its Architectural Border: 4. Sidewalks under siege: houses, owners, and urban context; 5. House facades and the architectural language of self-presentation; 6. The 'in' and the 'out': streetside benches and urban society; Part III. The Street in Microcosm: 7. On the edge of the civic: a Herculaneum street; 8. A contentious commercial street in Pompeii; Epilogue.
