Alessandro Sebastiani – författare

In this book, Alessandro Sebastiani examines how architecture and urbanism can be used to construct national identity. Using Rome as his case study, he explores how the city was transformed to accommodate different political ideologies in the period from 1870 to the end of World War II. After unification, Rome's classical architecture served as a reference point, guiding transformations of the urban fabric that met contemporary needs but also supported the agenda of the newly-formed Italian state. The advent of fascist state in the 1920s ushered in a different order of ideological placemaking. The monuments of ancient Roman were isolated in order to enhance their structural elegance, a scheme that powerfully conveyed political messages in support of Mussolini's regime. Sebastiani's volume offers a new approach to understanding the sophisticated relationships between archeology, urban planning, and politics within the city of Rome. Moreover, it highlights the consequences of suppressing historical evidence from monuments and archaeological sites.

This volume is the first in a series of works detailing the archaeological investigations of the ager Rusellanus, in coastal southern Etruria, undertaken by the Alberese Archaeological Project. It focuses on the Roman temple and sanctuary dedicated to Diana Umbronensis, located at Scoglietto (Alberese – GR) on the ancient Tyrrhenian coast. In so doing it adds to the study of trade and settlement networks in ancient Italy, and provides new data on the character of Roman and late antique Etruria. The book discusses the changing aspect and character of the sanctuary over approximately eight centuries – from its foundation in the mid-2nd century BC and substantial refurbishment in the Antonine period, to its destruction in the 4th century AD and the varied use and reuse of the site through the following two centuries. It includes archaeological, historical and landscape studies, as well as detailed architectural and material culture studies for a composite interpretation of the site and its history.