The book addresses a key question for those researching the restoration of ancient Rome's monuments over the centuries: what were the Roman attitudes towards their built heritage? And why did the Romans restore their buildings in the way they did? The author concludes that Roman sensibilities towards the restoration of their historic architecture differed from modern ones, that they were generally appreciative of innovative rather than conservative restoration, but that the status of a building might affect the way its restoration was conceptualised and approached.
The first chapter sets the context, aims and limits of the research: restoration, as discussed in the book, refers to the extensive remaking of buildings and engages primarily with Rome's public architecture. In so doing, the author cross-references surviving archaeological evidence with information provided by the literary sources, focusing on monuments that played a key role in Rome's political and religious life and whose restoration offered matter for debate in contemporary elite society. Chronologically and geographically, the book's focus is tight but dense: Rome's central district, the Capitoline and Palatine hills, between the reigns of Nero and Hadrian, a time of intense architectural restoration and urban renewal. Yet, despite these quite specific boundaries, the book addresses some very broad questions that will be relevant for scholars who want a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between the Romans and their built environment and how they related to the remaking of some of their most iconic buildings.
Ch. 2 addresses some key aspects of Roman architectural restoration, notably, why buildings were rebuilt, who oversaw their restoration and what rebuilding involved. The author suggests that the rebuilding of Roman public monuments would generally entail an update of their design in accordance with aesthetics and practices common at the time of their restoration, rather than an attempt at preserving or reproducing their original layout. Consequently, any manifestation of continuity and preservation should be addressed and properly explained. In this vein, the author discusses two examples where a degree of continuity in architectural restoration can be identified: the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, discussed in ch. 3, and the Casa Romuli, discussed in ch. 4.
Through a detailed analysis of these buildings, the author demonstrates how important it is to contextualise Roman restoration and rebuilding practices not only in the political and ideological context of a monument's remaking, but also in the wider context of a building's cultural and social significance. The Temple of Jupiter, for example, underwent several reconstructions that changed its elevation and external layout, in line with the concept of innovative restoration outlined in ch. 2. At the same time, the plan of the building was kept unchanged, and the author convincingly suggests that this rather conservative approach may be the result of the constraints posed by the temple's religious prescriptions. A point of caution here would be not to underestimate the role posed by existing structural constraints on the design and layout of a new building. Those who have researched Rome's built environment are painfully aware of the limits posed by existing structures and underground infrastructures to the planning and design of new buildings, especially on the city's hills.
The final two chapters focus on the analysis of literary responses to restoration and destruction, showing the generally positive view Romans had of innovative design and how mourning the loss of historic architecture was a rare occurrence. The author argues that responses to the innovative restoration of the temple of Jupiter were multifaceted: objections were, however, morally framed, censoring excessive expenditure rather than the choice to move away from the original design of the building. Consistently positive responses to the innovative restoration of Rome after the great fire of a.d. 64 show again a widespread appreciation for the innovative way buildings were restored and no apparent sorrow for the loss of the city's historic environment.
In conclusion, this is a very interesting book that will be relevant to archaeologists, historians and architectural historians who are interested in the relationship that Romans had with their past and built environment. It will open new questions for future research. One wonders, for example, about contemporary responses to the less radical but more numerous restoration works that did not imply a radical transformation of the buildings, but were still publicly celebrated through inscriptions across the city. Some of them may fit into the frame of innovative restorations, some may not, and might have implied the keeping of some or most of a building's original features, to provide legitimation for a newcoming dynast. It would also be interesting to see domestic architecture being included in the discussion. In a society where elite housing played such a significant role in the public life of the city, one wonders how the concepts discussed by the author would apply to the destruction and renovation of domestic buildings. The restoration of Augustus’ house on the Palatine, for example, reflected the change in status of the residence up to Octavian's rise to power, during his reign and after his death, and an assessment of such changes from the point of view of architectural restoration would help in developing a more nuanced approach to the topic. Finally, the book shows that there is considerable potential to extend the research to a wider chronological range, especially when one thinks about the extensive restoration works carried out across the city during the Severan period, and how the concept of innovative restoration may be applied to the interventions of Maxentius and Constantine in the urban fabric of the city in the early fourth century.
