The Genesis of Roman Architecture by John North Hopkins (review)

The subject of Hopkins' work is the history of Roman architecture from the eighth century bc through the Archaic age down to the Early Republic, thus fitting into a wave of recent scholarship on the earliest phases of Roman art and architecture.

As the author explains in the Introduction, "the majority of research on Roman visual culture begins only with the middle Republic" (1). His work therefore crosses "that traditional Roman barrier in the study of Roman art and architecture" (2) and offers a detailed and innovative account of the earliest monuments and urban development of Rome. As Hopkins says, one of the main objectives of his book is "to promote a conversation about the long-overlooked role that archaic Rome played in the greater history of Roman art, architecture and urban design" (2).

After a review of the history of studies and archaeological investigations focusing on early Rome (4-12), Hopkins lays out the parameters for his study and identifies the models used to assess the earliest evidence of Roman architecture, thus introducing the concept of "connectivity" (12-19). In his words, "the place of archaic and classical Rome in the scholarly framework has been largely in isolation" and in the shadow of the better-studied Greek civilization. Nonetheless, the different cultures of the Mediterranean area should not be considered as opposed to and separated from each other. The author draws attention to recent archaeological discoveries in Rome and Latium that have revealed the existence of communities interconnected with each other and with the other cultures of the Mediterranean basin. It is with this perspective and methodological approach that Hopkins traces the history of the earliest stages of Rome's development over time, development that he sees as integrated with the other cultures of the Mediterranean.

Proceeding in chronological order, Hopkins starts his treatise on the architectural history of Rome with a chapter titled "The Makings of a City" (20–38), where he analyzes the archaeological evidence from the earliest phases of occupation at Rome. Obviously, when looking at the tantalizing evidence from the earliest settlements on the hills of Rome, one cannot avoid entering the debate about the beginning of urban forms. In this respect, Hopkins explains the urban phenomenon in Rome with a model that sees isolated settlements on the hills, which gradually unified into a single centre, a process somewhat "sealed" by the reclamation of the Forum basin during the first half of the seventh century bc. The reclamation of the Forum basin is therefore seen as the very first collective enterprise undertaken by what had become a community of Romans, a community that concentrated its efforts on gradually shaping its urban landscape.

In Chapter 2, "Coherence and Distinction, ca. 650–550" (39–65), the study proceeds with an analysis of the crucial transformation that occurred in Roman architecture during the century following the revolutionary transformation of the hills area in the mid-seventh century bc. This change mostly consisted in the use of stone and terracotta in architecture, with the appearance of stone foundations and decorated terracotta roofs. In doing this, the author draws attention to the most important discoveries that document such a revolutionary change, such as the area of the Regia and the Sepulcretum (where Hopkins points out the importance of the so-called house of the Valerii, which is one of the first houses known in Rome featuring a terracotta roof).

Then the author critically examines the archaeological record related to the first building phase of the Regia, whose importance for the history of Roman architecture lies in the style of the roofing system inspired by the Campanian area, and in particular Cumae (the disk acroterion) and Corinthian pottery (the frieze decorated with felines, birds, and bull-headed man). These are of crucial importance for supporting Hopkins' view of Rome as an entity interacting with the wider Mediterranean world, and not as an isolated culture.

In the discussion of this...