When in Rome
What do the films “Cleopatra”, “Ben-Hur”, “Gangs of New York”, “The Passion of the Christ”, and HBO’s television series “Rome” have in common?
They were all filmed at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, the largest and oldest film studio in Europe.
The studio has amassed a collection of mementos from the various productions which have been filmed there, but the gift which truly keeps on giving is the sprawling outdoor set of “Rome”. The two-season series told the story of the Roman civil wars which marked the fall of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Empire, and it aimed to humanize the ancient world and those who lived in it in a way that had not been attempted before. The set reflects that dedication as rather than presenting an ancient world of white marble, it instead recreated Rome’s vivacious reality, and even for those who have never seen the show, it is well worth going to the studio and taking a tour of the “Rome” set.
Upon arrival, follow an 1863 New York street where rival gangs once prowled for dominance to its end, then find yourself transported even further back in time as you enter the Roman Forum, back to a time when men were on the verge of becoming gods.
According to Jonathan Stamp, the historical consultant for “Rome”, his goal was to help bring to life an authentic Roman environment rather than necessarily an accurate one. While the show’s script was missing his input, to the credit of the show runners, his influence on the set was noticeable, and the atmosphere of “Rome” has been praised ever since for its authenticity. The need to be authentic as opposed to accurate is often the highest bar achievable in the entertainment industry, and on “Rome” it is best demonstrated in the Roman Forum.
Despite the show beginning in 52 B.C., the Forum looks more Augustan than Caesarian simply due to the fact that much of the Forum was under construction during the civil wars. The biographer Suetonius quoted the Emperor Augustus stating that he, “found it [Rome] of brick but left it of marble”. While this poetic expression speaks of the beauty of Augustan Rome, it also contrasts pre-Augustan Rome as being functional but not necessarily beautiful, a condition which does not align with audience expectation. Rome had known little peace in the centuries leading up to the fall of the Republic. War and strife filled years had left their mark in the form of neglect upon the city. Individuals, not the state, were responsible for restoring the temples and buildings their ancestors had built, albeit, sometimes at public expense. Not surprisingly, those who had the resources and opportunity tended to prefer to build new rather than to restore. So it was that the Rome of the late Republic was a unique mixture of crumbling infrastructure and displays of ever-increasing power and wealth. Beginning to address this problem, and to further his own dignitas, around 54 B.C. Julius Caesar began what would become a large-scale redesign of the Roman Forum. However, Caesar was unable to complete his plans before his assassination in 44 B.C. leaving Augustus to finish what his adoptive father had started.
The Basilica Julia, for example, was begun in c. 54 B.C. but Augustus had to both finish and repair later fire damage to it, aggrandizing it along the way. While there is very little evidence for what the Caesarian Basilica Julia looked like, there is a much clearer picture for the Augustan Basilica Julia. “Rome” fashioned theirs after the known Augustan design which is believed to have been similar to the Caesarian original. The building was 107 m x 51 m, had open arches covered in white marble, and the number of its steps diminished the further uphill it ran along the Via Sacra, a nice detail the set included to help sell the illusion of a rising incline on an otherwise fairly flat surface. Likewise, the set Comitium (meeting place for the electoral assemblies) and the Rostra (speaker platform) are a strong representation of their Augustan inspirations. Historical evidence for how the Comitium appeared is limited, and much of its remains are still unexcavated beneath the Arch of Septimius Severus, but scholars believe that it was likely modeled after the Greek ekklesia (people’s assemblies) giving it an open-aired, theatre-like design. The Rostra was incorporated into the structure in an unknown way.
As the Republic grew and the functions of the Comitium were shifted to other locations, the Comitium shrunk, giving up space to the ever-expanding Curia (senate house). By the time the last half of the first century B.C. came about, the Comitium had nearly ceased to be used at all except for the Rostra. The modest, easily overlooked Comitium on the “Rome” set may be somewhat dramatically underwhelming, but after Augustus tried to retain its presence in the Forum by having important statues displayed on its steps, it is possible that he eventually built his triumphal arch commemorating the Battle of Actium over it, so it is nice to see represented at all. The independently standing Rostra, meanwhile, is premature to see in 52 B.C. having been dedicated by Marcus Antonius early in 44, but that is a minor detail in a show already drowning in history. This new Rostra borrowed heavily from the Comitium’s Rostra design with a raised platform and a curved front, and it incorporated the original ship rostrae from which the platform got its name. Augustus later built onto it and straightened its front from curved to straight which is what is seen on the set piece. The set Rostra is placed in the wrong spot to its actual location, but it is respectfully clumped together with the Comitium and Curia, the three together forming the core of Republican government.
It is the Curia and the Temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus which the set designers took the most liberty with. The two buildings have very different footprints and architectural designs in reality, yet they appear with very similar footprints and a templated design, albeit, one reminiscent of the quasi-contemporary Pantheon. The Curia, in fact, was in the early stages of construction in 44 B.C. after Caesar decided to have the previous Curia, the Curia Cornelia, torn down to make room for the additional 300 senators he had appointed. Caesar’s new Curia wasn’t dedicated until 29 B.C. by Augustus and the design was foundational to Diocletian’s rebuild, present in the Forum today, allowing scholars to make educated deductions for how the Curia Julia looked: tall and blockish with three front windows. Likewise, the Temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus was an enormous structure, and, being one of the oldest temples in Rome, was designed in the Etruscan style. Scholars debate its exact dimensions though one estimate has it being 50 m x 60 m; for comparison, Athens’ Parthenon is 69.5 m x 30.9 m. Rather than a structure with terracotta figures lining the roof and multiple rows of columns guarding the three cult statues housed inside open alcoves (the Temple to Jupiter was also dedicated to Juno and Minerva), the set temple is missing these, among other differences. The set temple does, however, cast an impression of awe which the original temple unreservedly would have done in its lifetime too.
The “Rome” set does not stop at the Forum but expands into the maze-like, colourful streets of the common people. Coming fresh from the modern city of Rome with its packed streets and equally maze-like neighbourhoods, imagining the set being filled with lost commuters, loud merchants, rambunctious kids, and desolate beggars is not a difficult task. Everywhere you look there are world-building details such as crumbling insulae propped up by concerned tenants- or uncaring landlords, lararia for the neighbourhood lares placed at crossroads, the warehouse of a wine trader, and the outdoor dyeing vats of a cloth dyer. With such a vast environment created, one of the smaller details which perhaps best showcases the show’s vision of presenting an authentic Rome is the extensive graffiti.
The importance graffiti played in the Roman world, and which is attested to by the innumerable examples from Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Oplontis, is unquestionable. From endorsing political candidates, to making consumer recommendations on the best (or worst) wine and prostitutes, expressing opinions, sharing jokes, and providing a canvas to create works of artistic expression, ancient graffiti functioned similarly to social media today. The streets of the set were brightly painted and upon it were endless examples of ancient inspired graffiti. There were stick figures recreating gladiator fights, sexually rude suggestions, and written opinions, all enriching and providing a faithful recreation of the look and feel of daily life in the streets of ancient Rome which were dirty, confusing, and visually loud.
The “Rome” set at Cinecittà is one of incredible detail and fans of the show appreciate the care given to creating a believable, authentic environment for the events of the Late Republic to play out upon. While the set has been devastated by two major fires, there is still much to experience, for truly, with very little imaginative effort, it is easy to let yourself experience Rome as it used to be.
You can find more information on touring the set at: https://cinecittasimostra.it/en/opening-hours-and-prices/
Stephanie M. Matthews
Stephanie earned her B.A. in Classics from Memorial University of Newfoundland and continues her passion for the Classics in her own time focusing on the culture and society of the Late Roman Republic and Early Empire. In addition to having presented at a number of undergraduate conferences, she’s also written for, and contributed to, other Classics focused articles and publications. Stephanie is a published author of fiction and has a new novel being released in November 2020. To learn more about Stephanie’s writing, you can visit her at www.stephaniemmatthews.com, Instagram @stephaniem.matthews, or Facebook, Stephanie M. Matthews. Follow her travels and Classics based photography on Instagram @wandering19.1
Trained at the University of Turin, where she obtained her three-year degree in Cultural Heritage Sciences and her master's degree in History of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Heritage, she specialized at the University of Milan, graduating in Archaeological Heritage. Freelancer, she deals with computer archeology and virtual heritage, museum displays, 2D graphics and multimedia products applied to cultural heritage. Collaborates with various public and private bodies in the field of projects related to the research, enhancement, communication and promotion of cultural heritage. She deals with the creation of cultural itineraries relating to the entire Italian Peninsula and the development of content (creation of texts and photographic production) for paper and virtual publications. Her study interests include the development of new techniques and means of communication for the enhancement of cultural heritage and the evolution of the symbolism of power between the Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.
