Petrarch, Freud and others have observed that to stroll down a Roman street or to pause in a piazza is to be ensconced in history: here, the Archangel Michael saved the city from plague; while over there, Charlemagne was crowned, and on that hill, Cola di Rienzo roused the crowds and established a secular republic. But, like hiking through a canyon with no geological awareness, traversing the city’s sites and strata can be a disorienting—if still pleasant—experience. How best to make Rome’s silent stones speak?
This challenge is particularly pressing for Rome’s medieval period, which has not received as much attention as ancient or early modern strata. Indeed, much medieval evidence was either bypassed and destroyed by excavators of the ancient city, or refurbished and replaced by patrons during the early modern and modern eras. Only recently have studies and excavations shed new light specifically on medieval Rome, driving scholars to question past assumptions. To provide a firm and informed ground on which to base new hypotheses, we propose to collect and visualize—if only digitally—the vast amount of extant physical and textual evidence pertinent to medieval Rome. To this end, our interdisciplinary, collaborative workshop of historians, art historians, geographers and digital designers centered around Dartmouth College, the University of Oregon and Stanford University will work together to merge a complex array of data sets onto a single, historically and topographically accurate, digital geo-database. The richness of Rome’s medieval urban fabric will, once and for all, be interpretable again.
Though features such as Rome’s churches, towers, houses, roads, bridges, wells, streets and sewers, as well as pilgrimage itineraries and processional routes are recounted and cataloged in sources from various centuries, never before have these data sets been united in a meaningful way to present holistic visualizations of medieval Rome. The variety of research questions generated by our collaborators will drive our creation of tabular, textual and cartographic information. For example, in order to quantify and interpret the accessibility, visibility, defensibility and circulation around a structure or neighborhood we will outline the plans of buildings—rather than merely use conventional point representations like dots. Likewise, by having collaborators input their new research onto a single database, we will not only be able to trace previously invisible networks of power, such as the ever-shifting territory of feuding families or the confines of parishes (each entered by a different scholar), but also be able to relate these to essential resources such as streets, wells or bridges (entered by yet other experts). In sum, our collaboration will yield a more complete vision of the medieval city with profound repercussions for humanistic studies. We believe that engaging medieval Rome’s silent stones in unison will permit us to re-visit a thousand years of history and—given the city’s rich urban fabric and its spiritual and political importance—re-evaluate the medieval period more generally.
Such a project must be collaborative, interdisciplinary and multi-year. We have delineated three, roughly yearlong stages for each of which appropriate collaborators have been selected. Using the digital interface created by our digital design experts, student researchers will insert evidence from authoritative publications, while some of the world’s experts on medieval Rome will input and plot data from their ongoing research. The team will convene annually to discuss challenges and achievements. The latter will be presented by our researchers in peer-review journals and book-length publications replete with original visualizations produced jointly from our collaboration. The other deliverable includes the open-access database accessible via both a web browser and a GPS-enabled mobile application, which will be an enduring resource for students, scholars or discerning tourists interested in medieval Rome.
We believe mapping medieval Rome is valuable in itself, but it is also part of our now decade-long effort to explore Rome’s topography through virtual means—a task for which we have already received grants from the ACLS, Kress and Getty Foundations. Mapping Medieval Rome is a collaborative research project of scholars and digital designers united to generate new knowledge whose significance will reach beyond the confines of medieval Rome and whose impact will be felt in disciplines as far afield as history, art history, religious studies, medieval studies, urbanism and architecture.
The scope of our cartographic production is quite simply to assemble onto a dynamic map the urban features that comprised medieval Rome. A relational geodatabase will store primary and secondary sources in both analog and digital format, making available a virtual library of information. With each of the approximately 1,500 urban features identifiable on the map, we will associate a variety of textual and visual metadata. This metadata will include dates for a site’s construction, consecration, restoration and, in many cases, its eventual destruction, as well as lists of patrons and artists responsible for their history. The historic metadata can be selected to custom design a map, and can also be accessed in transcribed and translated textual form or tabulated and cross-referenced to create scatter plots, timelines and similar visualizations.
Furthermore, images like modern photographs, historic photographs, plans, sections and elevations will comprise the essential visual apparatus available upon accessing individual sites. Users will also be able to filter information according to its source, so complete data sets—such as the 315 churches redacted by Cencio Camerarius in 1192—could be mapped alongside near contemporary pilgrimage itineraries to examine the relationship between these strategic pathways, church construction and upkeep. Alternatively, Cencio’s list could be plotted in relation to earlier and later catalogs to determine what areas of the city lost or gained churches over time—a likely indicator of more profound demographic shifts and thus an instrumental bit of evidence for scholars like Dey and Andrews who have interests in the city’s depopulation and repopulation over time.y selecting and filtering data on the basis of chronology, patronage, building typology, location, etc. ”
S. MARIA IN COSMEDIN
The church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
 |
General InformationAuthor: Caitlin Gleason Common Name: Santa Maria in Cosmedin |
 |
Important Dates493-534: brick-stamps of Theodoric (493-526) and Athalaric (426-534) found among the tile used in the roof of the church 7th century: land was donated for the diaconia by Eustathius and Geogius 8th century: mosaics of the Epiphany from the Vatican Basilica implemented under John VII later demolished under Paul V 772-795: under Hadrian I, the large tufa structure overhanging the diaconia demolished, basilica greatly enlarged and rebuilt from the foundation 795-816: Leo III gave a corona and liturgical vestments 827-844: Gregory IV donated a cloth with scenes of the Nativity and Resurrection 855-867: secretarium reconstructed, portico restored, oratory and of a triclinium constructed under Nicolas I 1118-1119: diaconia enriched with gifts of property, gold, silver by Gelasius II 1123: addition of the campanile, murals, cosmatesque pavement and main alter financed by Alfano, frescos painted on the upper and lower registers of the nave arcade, building consecrated by Callixtus II 1295-1304: ciborium of the main altar was completed by Deodatus 1639: mosaic panel depicting the Virgin and Child donated by the canon of Ghezzi 1671: restorations financed by titular cardinal Leopold Medici 1684: chapel constructed by Canon Stefano Rodolfo Ciatti, additional light barrel vaults above the nave and aisles constructed 1686: chapel constructed and decorated by Canon Christophorus Bianchi 1687: winter choir constructed and decorated 1717: crypt restored by Canon G. M. Crescimbeni 1718: new façade constructed by G. Sardi, financed by Cardinal Annibale Albani 1719: piazza rebuilt 1727: baptistery constructed 1871: pavement restored by Cardinal Spada 1892-1899: restored under the direction of G.B. Giovenale, Sardi façade, vaults in the nave and baroque decoration demolished 1961-1962: campanile and nave restored
|
 |
AnnotationsThe complex of Santa Maria in Cosmedin functioned as both a church and as one of Rome’s first diaconia. Its topographical location between the Tiber and the Circus Maximus, near the Forum Boarium, suggests the early welfare center’s connection to Imperial Roman traditions of governance. Building upon the site’s classical function, contemporary diaconia to S.M. in Cosmedin at San Giorgio in Velabro and San Teodoro held a similar topographic location, history and purpose. The site prior to the church’s construction consisted of a network of streets, which flanked the structure to the northwest side, evidenced in pavements below the narthex floor. The eastern half of the church stands on the remains of a classical podium consisting of an opus quadratum construction in Anio tufa. The western half of the church was build within the colonnades of an arcaded loggia, which faced the Forum Boarium. As it stands, the axis of the church runs northwest to southeast and the structure is a three-aisled, three-apsed basilica entered through an arcaded narthex. The orientation and subsequent irregularities of the plan are due to the preceding buildings being incorporated into the structure. The building’s earliest incarnation is unclear, with the loggia dating from the late fourth or early fifth century, while brickwork found in the roof tiles of the church bear kiln stamps from the rein of Theodoric and Athalaric. The structure of small single naved diaconia hall, which has since been integrated into the larger church structure, was constructed using similar building techniques to that of welfare centers in sixth-century Naples, with roots in Greek building traditions. The construction method of the hall at S. M. Cosmedin is unique to the city of Rome during the period and suggests a similar sixth century date. The hall was flanked by service rooms on two levels and supplied food to pilgrims and Roman locals alike. During the eighth century the church was expanded under Hadrian I, nearly doubling in size from the earlier structure. Some of the Roman ruins were torn down, and the hall was extended eastward across the site of the pre-existing podium. Clearstory windows were inserted. A crypt was incorporated directly into the classical structure beneath the church floor on the eastern part of the nave. The addition of the crypt may speak to a revival of the cult of the catacombs and their relics in the last part of the eighth through the middle of the ninth century. |
 |
ReferencesMap Link: http://nolli.uoregon.edu/map/index.html?xurl=24.074&yurl=-25.012&surl=2000 Nolli Number (NN): 1086 Nolli Name: Ch.Colleg.Insigne,eparoc.diS.M.inCosmedinD.C.dettalaboccadellaVeritàeruinedelTempiodellaPudicizia |
 |
BibliographyVincenti, Valentina. “L’Ara Maxima Herculis e S. Maria in Cosmedin. Note di Topografia Tardoantica.” Ecclesiae Urbis: Atti del Congresso Internazionale di Studi sulle Chiese di Roma: IV-X secolo, Roma 4-10 settembre 2000, vol. 1, 353-75. Rome: Cittàdel Vaticano, 2002. Derbes, Anne. “Crusading Ideology and the Frescoes of S. Maria in Cosmedin.” The Art Bulletin, Vol.77 (1995): 460-478. Osborne, John. “The Tomb of Alfanus in S. Maria in Cosmedin- Rome and its Place in the Tradition of Roman Funerary Monuments.” Papers of the British School at Rome, Vol. 51 (1983): 240-247. De’Maffei, Fernanda. “Riflessi dell’epopea corolingia nell’arte medievale: Il ciclo di Ezechiele e non di Carlo a Santa Maria in Cosmedin e l’arco di Carlo Magno a Rome.” In Atti del Convengno internazionale sul tema: La poesia epica e la sua formazione, 351-86. Rome: Accademia nazionale dei Lincei, 1970. Short, Ian. “Le Pape Calixte II, Charlemagne et le fresques de Santa Maria in Cosmedin.” Cahiers de Civilisation Medievale, XIII, 13 (1970): 229-238. Krautheimer, Richard. “The Crypt of S.ta Maria in Cosmedin and the Mausoleum of Probus Anicius.” In Essays in Memory of Karl Lehmann, ed. Lucy Freeman Sandler, 171-175. New York: Augustinin Komm, 1964. Krautheimer, Richard. Corpus Basilicarum Christianarum Romae: The Early Christian Basilicas of Rome. Vol. II. Rome: Cittàdel Vaticano, 1959. Krautheimer, Richard. Corpus Basilicarum Christianarum Romae: The Early Christian Basilicas of Rome. Vol. IV. Rome: Cittàdel Vaticano, 1959. Giovenale, G.B. La basilica di S. Maria in Cosmedin. Roma: P. Sansaini, 1927. Grisar, H. “S. Maria in Cosmedin,” Civ. Catt. Series 17, VIII, (1899), p.725. Grisar, H. “Sainte Marie in Cosmedin,’ Rev. de l’art Chretien, IX (1898), p 181. Stevenson, E. “Scoperte a S. Maria in Cosmedin,” Romische Quartalschrift, VII (1893), p.11. Crescimbeni, G.M. L’istoria della basilica diaconale collegiata, e parocchiale di S. Maria in Cosmedin di Roma. Rome, 1715. Crescimbeni, G.M. Stato della basilica … di S. Maria in Cosmedin di Roma … descritto da Gio. Mario Crescimbeni … Con varie giunte, e correzioni dell’ Istoria di essa basilica, scritta, e pubblicata dallo stesso autore; e con un’ appendice all’altra sua Istoria di S. Giovanni avanti Porta Latina. Rome, 1719. |
