An urban image in an urbanized landscape

Measuring the visual impact of Tibur's amphitheater

Bibliographic Data

ID12372000
AuthorsMatthew Notarian (0000-0003-1845-0264, Hiram College, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume37
Issue1
Pages53-88
Publication date2024-03-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Roman Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-7594 • E-ISSN: 2331-5709
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1047759424000059
OpenAlexW4393097142
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited60

Though infrequently used and largely superfluous, amphitheaters were often the most physically imposing and ideologically charged structures in a Roman city. The preponderance of extramural amphitheaters in Italy and their appearance in visual culture confirm they were potent markers of urban life and civic status. This paper contextualizes Tibur's imperial amphitheater within the Roman suburbium's persistent urban sprawl and villas, especially Hadrian's Villa, using a novel GIS visibility analysis. Its apparent size from various points in the surrounding landscape is quantified within empirical and qualitative scales developed for modern visual impact assessments. The results demonstrate the amphitheater's suburban location did more than integrate Tibur's extramural growth into the older urban center. It emphasized the city's urban appearance, even from long distances, and monumentalized alternate routes to the city used by the villa-owning elite, countering the ambiguous status of a liminal city that was both Rome's annex and an autonomous municipium

Art · Cartography · Environmental planning · Geography · Urban landscape · Visual arts · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Historical and Architectural Studies · Urban Green Space and Health