Remembering Parthenope: The Reception of Classical Naples from Antiquity to the Present

by: Hughes, J. Buongiovanni, C.

Offers an interdisciplinary approach to the history of the city of Naples, drawing on art, architecture, archaeology, politics, and a range of ancient and later literary genres
Introduces a dialogue between the history of Naples and that of other sites on the Bay of Naples (such as Pompeii and Herculaneum), as well as other cities in Italy (such as Rome, Florence, and Venice), and the rest of Europe
Brings the work of a selection of prominent Italian scholars to an English-speaking audience

This edited collection focuses on how the ancient past of the city of Naples has been invented, shaped, transmitted, and received in literature, art, and material culture since the time of the city's foundation. Adopting a chronological approach, chapters examine important moments in Naples' reception history from the Roman period (when the city was already several centuries old) to the present day.

Among the topics covered are representations of the city's early history and mythology in texts and temples of the Roman period; later uses of Roman spolia (marble sculptures and architectural elements) in Christian churches; the importance of antiquity to the rulers of the Angevin and Swabian periods; the appropriation of the city's classical heritage by Renaissance humanists; the image of the 'local' poets Virgil and Statius in later eras; humanist images of the ancient aqueducts and catacombs that ran beneath the city; representations of classical monuments in early modern city guides; images of ancient ruins in contemporary Catholic nativity scenes; and the archaeology and philosophy of the city's Metro system.

Featuring contributions from an interdisciplinary range of scholars, this comprehensive volume provides a highly accessible point of entry into the vast bibliography on ancient Naples.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
List of Contributors
1: Introduction: Entering the Siren's City, Claudio Buongiovanni and Jessica Hughes
2: Setting the Agenda: The Image of Classical Naples in Strabo's Geography and other Ancient Literary Sources, Lorenzo Miletti
3: The Temple of the Dioscuri and the Mythic Origins of Neapolis, Rabun Taylor
4: Colonizing the Past: Cultural Memory and Civic Identity in Hellenistic and Roman Naples, Kathryn Lomas
5: Greek Magistrates in Roman Naples? Law and Memory from the Fourth Century BC to the Fourth Century AD, Mauro De Nardis
6: Between Classical and Modern Naples: 'Cultural Forgetting' at the Time of the Gothic War, Giovanni Polara
7: Marmora Romana in Medieval Naples: Architectural Spolia from the Fourth to Fifteenth Centuries AD, Angela Palmentieri
8: Virgiliana Neapolis urbs: Receptions of Classical Naples in the Swabian and Early Angevin Ages, Fulvio Delle Donne
9: Naples: A Poets' City and its Attitude towards Virgil and Statius in the Fifteenth Century, Giancarlo Abbamonte
10: Memories from the Subsoil: Discovering Antiquities in Fifteenth-Century Naples, Bianca de Divitiis
11: City Branding and the Antique: Naples in Early Modern City Guides, Harald Hendrix
12: Ex dirutis marmoribus: The Theatins and the Columns of the Temple of the Dioscuri in Naples, Fulvio Lenzo
13: Reshaping the Past, Shaping the Present: De Jorio and Naples' Classical Heritage, Annalisa Marzano
14: 'No Retreat, Even When Broken': Classical Architecture in the Presepe Napoletano, Jessica Hughes
15: Neapolis and the Future of Naples' Museums, Stefano De Caro
16: Parthenope on the Metro: or, Links with the Past, on the Journey into the Future, Luigi Spina
Bibliography
Index

Remembering Parthenope: The Reception of Classical Naples from Antiquity to the Present

by: Hughes, J. Buongiovanni, C.

• ISBN-13: 9780199673933 / 978-0-19-967393-3
• ISBN-03: 0199673934 / 0-19-967393-4
• Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2015