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Document Details :

Title: Seeing the Colosseum Valley as a Flavian District
Subtitle: Urban Space as a Demonstration of Imperial Ideology in the Flavian Period (69-96 CE)
Author(s): VAN DER HEIJDEN, Rogier E.M.
Journal: BABESCH
Volume: 97    Date: 2022   
Pages: 113-132
DOI: 10.2143/BAB.97.0.3290536

Abstract :
As an area that was fundamentally transformed twice within two decades, the Colosseum Valley provides a well-suited case study for understanding the complexity of imperial ideology and architecture in first century CE Rome. Imperial architecture was a crucial element in expressing issues of power and legitimacy, but studying them on their own is not enough. This article studies the interrelatedness and interdependence of monumental architecture, ideology, imperial power and urban experience in the Colosseum Valley during the Flavian period by taking a sensory approach, arguing that contemporaries’ experiences are equally as important for ideological communication as the buildings themselves.

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