Roman architecture between the XIII and the XIV centuries seems defined – even within the civil context – by the selection, reuse and display of spolia on the most representative sections of the buildings. However, this distinctive trait of displaying remarkable elements in porticoes appears not to be limited to the Roman context. The peculiarity of the Roman model emerges if we analyse some examples of buildings with porticoes in Rome (taking into consideration typology and functions) and compare them with possibly related architectural expressions from other Italian cities from the same period – such as Bologna, Padua and some other cities in the Subalpine area. It is possible to find a potentially similar case in the urban context of the city of Tivoli, during the supremacy of Rome. Yet, the strong consciousness of city identity expressed throughout antiquity, coupled with the original re-elaboration of classical models, further distinguish structures with porticoes in Rome between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
