Ravenna and the Traditions of Late Antique and Early Byzantine Craftsmanship

Ravenna and the Traditions of Late Antique and Early Byzantine Craftsmanship PDF

Author: Salvatore Cosentino

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-08-10

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 3110684349

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In the last twenty years scholarship on late antique and early medieval Ravenna has resulted in a certain number of publications mainly focused on the fields of architecture, mosaics and archaeology. On the contrary, much less attention has been paid on labour – both manual and intellectual – as well as the structure of production and objects derived from manufacturing activities, despite the fact that Ravenna is the place which preserves the highest number of historical evidence among all centres of the late Roman Mediterranean. Its cultural heritage is vast and composite, ranging from papyri to inscriptions, from ivories to marbles, as well as luxury objects, pottery, and coins. Starting from concrete typologies of hand-manufactured goods existing in the Ravennate milieu, the book aims at exploring the multifaceted traditions of late antique and early Byzantine handicraft from the fourth to the eighth century AD. Its perspective is to pay attention more on patronage, social taste, acculturation, workers and the economic industry of production which supported the demand, circulation and distribution of artefacts, than on the artistic evaluation of the objects themselves.

Ravenna and the Traditions of Late Antique and Early Byzantine Craftsmanship

Ravenna and the Traditions of Late Antique and Early Byzantine Craftsmanship PDF

Author: Salvatore Cosentino

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-08-10

Total Pages: 473

ISBN-13: 3110684438

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In the last twenty years scholarship on late antique and early medieval Ravenna has resulted in a certain number of publications mainly focused on the fields of architecture, mosaics and archaeology. On the contrary, much less attention has been paid on labour – both manual and intellectual – as well as the structure of production and objects derived from manufacturing activities, despite the fact that Ravenna is the place which preserves the highest number of historical evidence among all centres of the late Roman Mediterranean. Its cultural heritage is vast and composite, ranging from papyri to inscriptions, from ivories to marbles, as well as luxury objects, pottery, and coins. Starting from concrete typologies of hand-manufactured goods existing in the Ravennate milieu, the book aims at exploring the multifaceted traditions of late antique and early Byzantine handicraft from the fourth to the eighth century AD. Its perspective is to pay attention more on patronage, social taste, acculturation, workers and the economic industry of production which supported the demand, circulation and distribution of artefacts, than on the artistic evaluation of the objects themselves.

The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City

The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City PDF

Author: Nikolas Bakirtzis

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-01-31

Total Pages: 719

ISBN-13: 0429515758

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The Byzantine world contained many important cities throughout its empire. Although it was not ‘urban’ in the sense of the word today, its cities played a far more fundamental role than those of its European neighbors. This book, through a collection of twenty-four chapters, discusses aspects of, and different approaches to, Byzantine urbanism from the early to late Byzantine periods. It provides both a chronological and thematic perspective to the study of Byzantine cities, bringing together literary, documentary, and archival sources with archaeological results, material culture, art, and architecture, resulting in a rich synthesis of the variety of regional and sub-regional transformations of Byzantine urban landscapes. Organized into four sections, this book covers: Theory and Historiography, Geography and Economy, Architecture and the Built Environment, and Daily Life and Material Culture. It includes more specialized accounts that address the centripetal role of Constantinople and its broader influence across the empire. Such new perspectives help to challenge the historiographical balance between ‘margins and metropolis,’ and also to include geographical areas often regarded as peripheral, like the coastal urban centers of the Byzantine Mediterranean as well as cities on islands, such as Crete, Cyprus, and Sicily which have more recently yielded well-excavated and stratigraphically sound urban sites. The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City provides both an overview and detailed study of the Byzantine city to specialist scholars, students, and enthusiasts alike and, therefore, will appeal to all those interested in Byzantine urbanism and society, as well as those studying medieval society in general.

Byzantium, Venice and the Medieval Adriatic

Byzantium, Venice and the Medieval Adriatic PDF

Author: Magdalena Skoblar

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2021-04-15

Total Pages: 425

ISBN-13: 1108897959

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The Adriatic has long occupied a liminal position between different cultures, languages and faiths. This book offers the first synthesis of its history between the seventh and the mid-fifteenth century, a period coinciding with the existence of the Byzantine Empire which, as heir to the Roman Empire, lay claim to the region. The period also saw the rise of Venice and it is important to understand the conditions which would lead to her dominance in the late Middle Ages. An international team of historians and archaeologists examines trade, administration and cultural exchange between the Adriatic and Byzantium but also within the region itself, and makes more widely known much previously scattered and localised research and the results of archaeological excavations in both Italy and Croatia. Their bold interpretations offer many stimulating ideas for rethinking the entire history of the Mediterranean during the period.

City Walls in Late Antiquity

City Walls in Late Antiquity PDF

Author: Emanuele Intagliata

Publisher: Oxbow Books

Published: 2020-06-30

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1789253675

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The construction of urban defences was one of the hallmarks of the late Roman and late-antique periods (300–600 AD) throughout the western and eastern empire. City walls were the most significant construction projects of their time and they redefined the urban landscape. Their appearance and monumental scale, as well as the cost of labour and material, are easily comparable to projects from the High Empire; however, urban circuits provided late-antique towns with a new means of self-representation. While their final appearance and construction techniques varied greatly, the cost involved and the dramatic impact that such projects had on the urban topography of late-antique cities mark city walls as one of the most important urban initiatives of the period. To-date, research on city walls in the two halves of the empire has highlighted chronological and regional variations, enabling scholars to rethink how and why urban circuits were built and functioned in Late Antiquity. Although these developments have made a significant contribution to the understanding of late-antique city walls, studies are often concerned with one single monument/small group of monuments or a particular region, and the issues raised do not usually lead to a broader perspective, creating an artificial divide between east and west. It is this broader understanding that this book seeks to provide. The volume and its contributions arise from a conference held at the British School at Rome and the Swedish Institute of Classical Studies in Rome on June 20-21, 2018. It includes articles from world-leading experts in late-antique history and archaeology and is based around important themes that emerged at the conference, such as construction, spolia-use, late-antique architecture, culture and urbanism, empire-wide changes in Late Antiquity, and the perception of this practice by local inhabitants.

A Companion to Byzantine Italy

A Companion to Byzantine Italy PDF

Author:

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2021-02-01

Total Pages: 847

ISBN-13: 9004307702

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This book offers a collection of essays on Byzantine Italy which provides a fresh synthesis of current research as well as new insights on various aspects of its local societies from the 6th to the 11th century.

A Companion to Byzantine Italy

A Companion to Byzantine Italy PDF

Author: Salvatore Cosentino

Publisher: Brill's Companions to the Byza

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 829

ISBN-13: 9789004307698

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"This book offers a collection of essays on Byzantine Italy, the area from which we have inherited the richest and best-preserved historical evidence among all of the regions of the former Eastern Roman Empire up to the 11th century. The collection aims to provide readers with a critical overview of current research as well as new insights concerning political, institutional, economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects of the Italian regions under Byzantine rule. The methodological approach of the volume combines history with archaeology and art history, while remaining focused on the general framework of the early medieval Mediterranean. The result is a fresh and up-to-date synthesis that can be useful both for specialists and students. Contributors are Lucia Arcifa, Paul Arthur, Isabella Baldini, Massimo Bernabo, Brunella Bruno, Salvatore Cosentino, Nathaniel Cutajar, Francesco D'Aiuto, Paola Degni, Deborah Deliyannis, Vera von Falkenhausen, Sauro Gelichi, Federico Marazzi, Jean-Marie Martin, Alessandra Molinari, Enrico Morini, Annliese Nef, Ghislaine Noye, Annick Peters-Custot, Vivien Prigent, Mario Re, Denis Sami, Pier Giorgio Spanu, Enrico Zanini"--

Roman Pottery and Glass Manufactures: Production and Trade in the Adriatic Region and Beyond

Roman Pottery and Glass Manufactures: Production and Trade in the Adriatic Region and Beyond PDF

Author: Goranka Lipovac Vrkljan

Publisher: Archaeopress Publishing Ltd

Published: 2022-09-22

Total Pages: 382

ISBN-13: 1803273690

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32 papers consider issues of pottery production in the wider Adriatic area during Roman times, in particular relation to landscape and communication features, ceramic building materials, as well as general studies on ceramic production, pottery and glass finds.

The Classical Tradition

The Classical Tradition PDF

Author: Anthony Grafton

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2010-10-25

Total Pages: 1188

ISBN-13: 9780674035720

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The legacy of ancient Greece and Rome has been imitated, resisted, misunderstood, and reworked by every culture that followed. In this volume, some five hundred articles by a wide range of scholars investigate the afterlife of this rich heritage in the fields of literature, philosophy, art, architecture, history, politics, religion, and science.

Rome, Ravenna, and Venice, 750-1000

Rome, Ravenna, and Venice, 750-1000 PDF

Author: Veronica West-Harling

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2020-03-12

Total Pages: 721

ISBN-13: 0198754205

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The richest and most politically complex regions in Italy in the earliest middle ages were the Byzantine sections of the peninsula, thanks to their links with the most coherent early medieval state, the Byzantine empire. This comparative study of the histories of Rome, Ravenna, and Venice examines their common Byzantine past, since all three escaped incorporation into the Lombard kingdom in the late 7th and early 8th centuries. By 750, however, Rome and Ravenna's political links with the Byzantine Empire had been irrevocably severed. Thus, did these cities remain socially and culturally heirs of Byzantium? How did their political structures, social organisation, material culture, and identities change? Did they become part of the Western political and ideological framework of Italy? This stusy identifies and analyses the ways in which each of these cities preserved the structures of the Late Antique social and cultural world; or in which they adapted each and every element available to them to their own needs, at various times and in various ways, to create a new identity based partly on their Roman heritage and partly on their growing integration with the rest of medieval Italy. It tells a story which encompasses the main contemporary narratives, documentary evidence, recent archaeological discoveries, and discussions on art history; it follows the markers of status and identity through titles, names, ethnic groups, liturgy and ritual, foundation myths, representations, symbols, and topographies of power to shed light on a relatively little known area of early medieval Italian history.