Architectura Picta. Towards a database of Roman-era depictions of architecture: a preliminary draft
The study of ancient building representations was mostly developed along two lines of research: one
dealt with early modern painting, Renaissance drawings in particular, the second one was connected
to the study of a specific monument to compare historical records and artistic representations of the
same building. Single elements were examined to better understand building techniques or specific
activities like ancient gardening. However, there was no attempt to create a comprehensive catalogue
that could match up architectures and architectural features as they were represented through
different media and on a variety of materials such as frescoes on walls, paintings on terracotta vases,
detailed marble reliefs and metal coins with plainer designs. The proposed research aims to enhance the understanding of ancient architecture through the creation of a comprehensive catalogue. This
will allow a large cross-comparison between similar subjects regardless of the precise identification of
the represented building with a real one, open to the contribution of different cultural institutions
and extended to scholars from various disciplines (architecture, art, archaeology, geology, literature,
etc.).
