With the participation of numerous experts, this volume explores the holdings of the Museo Gregoriano Profano, one of the largest collections of Roman architectural elements in Rome. It does so with a view to the Vatican's collecting and exhibition practices in the first half of the 19th century, a period in which ornamented architectural elements were first taken seriously as evidence with their own historical significance, in the context of the buildings of Rome and Lazio, and with the inclusion of previously marginalised types of architectural elements. This provides surprising new insights into the buildings and the practice of monument preservation in the Papal States.
The Museo Gregoriano Profano was established in 1844 to make the antiquities found during excavations in the first half of the 19th century accessible to visitors to Rome. Until 1963, it was housed in the Lateran Palace north of the Basilica of St. John and was presented to the public in 1970 in a newly constructed wing of the Vatican Museums. Since 1991, in collaboration between the Directorate of the Vatican Museums and the Research Archive for Ancient Sculpture at the University of Cologne, the holdings have been systematically catalogued in scientific illustrated catalogues, with priority initially given to figurative monuments, following the catalogue compiled by Otto Benndorf and Rudolf Schöne in 1867 focused on ancient sculptures – i.e. excluding architecture – and without any images.
Although this volume is keeping these traditions, it breaks new ground by comprehensively exploring one of the largest collections of Roman architectural elements in Rome, namely the holdings of the Museo Gregoriano Profano. This is done in three chapters, each of which contains specifically discussed results: 1) takes a detailed look at the Vatican's collecting activities and exhibition practices, particularly in the first half of the 19th century, a period in which ornamented architectural elements were first recognised and taken seriously as evidence with their own historical significance; 2) As part of the work, previously largely unknown architectural elements have been attributed to some of the most prominent monuments in Rome and Latium. These include the Forum of Augustus, the Theatre of Pompey and the Hadrianeum in Rome, as well as the imperial villas in Castel Gandolfo and Tivoli, but also the extensive papal excavations and Ostia, and previously unknown monuments such as a tomb on the Via Nettunense. The pieces occasionally allow for new reconstructions or supplement our knowledge of the history and reception of the monuments.
3) Documenting the entire inventory inevitably drew attention to previously marginalised types of architectural elements, such as wall consoles with some highly original solutions, altars and ceilings, which are presented and evaluated in detail for the first time in this volume. It also brought to light unusual architectural elements, such as figural capitals with Pegasus protomes and cornices with water distributors. All these disparate components provide a wealth of insights into the development of Roman architecture and enrich our understanding of it, while also offering insights into the activities of monument preservation in the Papal States.
Henner von Hesberg has lived and researched in Berlin since 2014. He studied Classical Archaeology, Ancient History, Classical Philology and Art History in Bonn, Würzburg and Marburg, where he completed his doctorate in 1975. After holding professorships in Munich and Cologne, he was appointed Director of the German Archaeological Institute in Rome in 2006 and was relieved in 2014. His research focuses on ancient architecture, with individual publications on Hellenistic and Roman items and various field projects carried out together with colleagues from the architectural department (Apollonia, theatre; Castel Gandolfo, Villa of Domitian, theatre and cryptoporticus; Cori, Temple of Dioscuri; Durres, amphitheatre; Minturnae, theatre; Rome, Mausoleum of Augustus and the necropolis under St. Peter; Rome, Temple of Matidia). In addition, his work in Cologne, together with other colleagues, has led to the publication of various aristocratic English collections (Holkham Hall, Chatsworth, Hever Castle). Other topics include the art and cultural history of Hellenism.
Johannes Lipps holds a chair of Classical Archaeology and is fellow at the Gutenberg Research College at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität at Mainz. He studied Classical archaeology and ancient history in Marburg, Rome, Bonn and Cologne. He completed his PhD in 2008 at Cologne, which was followed by an assistant professorship at LMU Munich from 2009–2014 and a junior professorship at Tübingen from 2014–2019. His research interests concern architecture, urbanism and sculpture especially in ancient Rome and the provinces. Recently, he published the monograph Die Stuckdecke des Oecus Tetrastylos im sog. Augustushaus im Kontext antiker Deckenverzierungen (Rahden/Westf. 2018).
Preface