Transformation Matters: The Appropriation and Reuse of the Ancient Past in Rome through Time

The Master's programme 'Spatial Design' are hosting an open lecture on the medieval custom of reusing Roman building elements from Antiquity. 

From Late Antiquity and through the medieval period ancient Roman buildings were appropriated or recreated through the use of spolia, a practice of recycling which was the rule rather than the exception in the vast areas of Western Europe once dominated by the Empire.

In this lecture, Maria Fabricius Hansen will take her point of departure in the relations between the buildings of Antiquity and the medieval and later re-productions in order to discuss the concepts of reception and appropriation in more general terms. For the first time in centuries, the concept of growth no longer has unambiguously positive connotations. In our age of consciousness of resources, the history of Roman architecture can help to raise awareness of the values inherent in the reuse and continuation of the past in the present. 

The public talk is part of the master’s programme Spatial Design’s lecture series about re-appropriation of historical spaces.

About Maria Fabricius Hansen
Maria Fabricius Hansen is professor of art history at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, University of Copenhagen. Her areas of research include the appropriation of older buildings and building material in medieval Rome, published in various articles, in the Dr.Phil. dissertation The Eloquence of Appropriation: Prolegomena to an Understanding of Spolia in Early Christian Rome (Rome: “L’Erma di Bretscheider, 2003) and Genbrugskirker i Rom: Når antik bliver til middelalder /The Spolia Churches of Rome: Recycling Antiquity in the Middle Ages (Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2012/2015).