OpenStax-CNX module: m36624 1

Roman Topography ∗

Sander M. Goldberg

This work is produced by OpenStax-CNX and licensed under the

†
Creative Commons Attribution License 3.0

Abstract
A basic introductory bibliography to the topography and monuments of the ancient city of Rome.

1 Topography of Rome
1.1 Edited by Mary Jaeger, University of Oregon

maryjaeg@uoregon.edu

1.2 Archaeological Guides:

Claridge, A. 1998 (2 ed. 2010). Rome. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
A convenient, very well illustrated guide to the major archaeological sites of ancient Rome.
Coarelli, Filippo. Rome and Environs. An Archaeological Guide. Berkeley: Univ. California Press, 2008.
Long considered the denitive guide by a major gure in Roman topography, Coarelli's famous Guida is
now available in a revised English version by J. J. Clauss and D. P. Harmon of the University of Washington.

1.3 Topographical dictionaries:

Lugli, G. Itinerario di Roma Antica. 1970.

Nash, Ernest. Pictorial Dictionary of Ancient Rome. 2 Vols. 2nd ed. London. 1964.
Platner, S. B. and T. Ashby. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Oxford. 1929.
Richardson, Lawrence, Jr. A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Baltimore. 1992.
Richardson's Dictionary gives denitions (e.g., of domus, insula, atrium, horti, villa, etc.) and useful lists
(e.g., under Domus, all known owners). It has no map, which is an inconvenience. However it works nicely
in conjunction with the maps on the website The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire (www.roman-
empire.net/maps/rome1 ).
Steinby, E.M., ed. Lexicon topographicum urbis romanae. 6 Vols. Oxford. 1993-.
Steinby's Lexicon, now the dentive reference work of this kind, includes entries by a number of scholars
active in research on Roman topography. It covers Christian as well as pagan buildings constructed within
the Aurelian walls through the early seventh century CE, with major bibliography included. Most, but not
all, articles are in Italian.
∗ Version 1.2: May 12, 2011 10:57 am -0500
† http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
1 http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/rome/

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1.4 Topographical websites:

1.4.1 Rome:

The Illustrated History of the Roman Empire .

www.roman-empire.net/maps/rome2 . Maps of Rome, with specic sites and monuments highlighted.
A virtual plan of Rome:
www.unicaen.fr/services/cireve/rome/index.php.3
Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project.
formaurbis.stanford.edu/docs/FURmap.html4
An extremely helpful, multi-faceted introduction to a key tool for the study of the ancient city, the
Severan Marble Plan (Forma Urbis Romae ).
The Ara Pacis
cdm.reed.edu/ara-pacis/5
A wonderful site on the Ara Pacis, created by Charles S. Rhyne, Professor Emeritus of Art History at
Reed College, providing excellent illustrations, background, references, etc. to this extraordinary monument.
The Rome Reborn Project
www.romereborn.virginia.edu6
The Rome Reborn aims to create three-dimensional digital models illustrating the urban development of
ancient Rome from the rst settlement in the late Bronze Age (ca. 1000 B.C.) to the depopulation of the
city in the early Middle Ages (ca. A.D. 550). The current version centers on the city as it was in 320 CE.
The Digital Roman Forum Project
dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum7
The Roman Forum Project under the auspices of UCLA's Experiential Technology Center combines
digital models of the Forum Roman at various historical periods with online resources for the study of its
main structures. The site includes a link to open an interactive version of the ancient forum in Google Earth.

1.4.2 Outside of Rome:

Everything Ostia:
www.ostia-antica.org8
The Princeton Enyclopedia of Classical Sites
icarus.umkc.edu/sandbox/perseus/pecs/index.html9

2 http://www.roman-empire.net/maps/rome/
3 http://www.unicaen.fr/services/cireve/rome/index.php
4 http://formaurbis.stanford.edu/docs/FURmap.html
5 http://cdm.reed.edu/ara-pacis//
6 http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/
7 http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Forum/
8 http://www.ostia-antica.org/
9 http://icarus.umkc.edu/sandbox/perseus/pecs/index.html

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