Description

The house at this site presents an intersection of medieval and ancient Rome. The colonnaded portico, clearly distinct from the otherwise modern appearance of the house's exterior, is an excellent example showing the practice of using ancient marble spoils taken from ruins or other buildings in the construction of medieval houses. Ornamentation of medieval structures using spoiled elements was a consistent feature in Rome, but this was not always the fate of Roman marble - architectural features and statuary frequently was fed to the lime kilns during the medieval period. For those pieces which survived, Richard Krautheimer argues that without the threat of paganism, these spoils could be viewed appreciatively as "quotations" of the craftsmen of the past. Colonnaded porticoes specifically appear to have become a feature of upper class housing in high medieval Rome, with columns and architraves almost always being spoils. When rows of houses with porticoes were built, the continuous portico along the street would have provided some shade or protection from rain for pedestrians. In this house, a fragment of an ancient frieze is also an ancient spoil, featuring magnificent lion heads and palmette decoration.

Creator

Ben White (2017)

Source

Krautheimer, Richard. Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.