Rome, Pollution and Propriety: Dirt, Disease and Hygiene in the Eternal City from Antiquity to Modernity

341 Pages·2012·9.27 MB·English

by  Mark Bradley

Rome,PollutionandPropriety
Rome,PollutionandProprietybringstogetherscholarsfromarangeof
disciplinesinordertoexaminethehistoricalcontinuityofdirt,disease
and hygiene in one environment, and to explore the development
and transformation of these ideas alongside major chapters in the
city’shistory,suchasearlyRomanurbandevelopment,Romanpagan
religion, the medieval Church, the Renaissance, the Unification of
Italy,andtheadventofFascism.Thisvolumesetsouttoidentifythe
definingcharacteristics,functionsanddiscoursesofpollutioninRome
in such realms as disease and medicine, death and burial, sexuality
and virginity, prostitution, purity and absolution, personal hygiene
andmorality,criminality,bodiesandcleansing,wastedisposal,decay,
ruinsandurbanrenovation,aswellasstudyingthemeansbywhich
thatpollutionwaspolicedandcontrolled.
markbradleyisAssociateProfessorofAncientHistoryattheUni-
versity of Nottingham. His main research and teaching interests are
inthevisualandintellectualcultureofancientRome,andhisrecent
workhasbeenparticularlyconcernedwithexploringculturaldiffer-
encesinperception,aestheticsandsensibilities.Hisfirstbook,Colour
andMeaninginAncientRome(Cambridge,2009),waslonglistedfor
the2011WarwickPrizeforWriting,andhehaspublishedwidelyinthe
fieldofRomanvisualcultureandthemodernreceptionofantiquity.
He is Editor of Papersof the BritishSchool atRome, and is currently
workingonabookonFoulBodiesinAncientRome.
british school at rome studies
SeriesEditors
ChristopherSmith
DirectoroftheBritishSchoolatRome
BryanWard-Perkins
ChairofPublicationsandmemberoftheCounciloftheBritishSchoolatRome
GillClark
RegistrarandPublicationsManageroftheBritishSchoolatRome
BritishSchoolatRomeStudiesbuildsontheprestigiousandlongstandingMonographs
seriesoftheBritishSchoolatRome.ItpublishesbothdefinitivereportsontheSchool’s
ownfieldworkinRome,ItalyandtheMediterranean,andvolumes(usuallyoriginating
in conferences held at the School) on topics that cover the full range of the history,
archaeologyandarthistoryofthewesternMediterranean.
Rome, Pollution and Propriety
Dirt, Disease and Hygiene in the Eternal City
from Antiquity to Modernity
Editedbymark bradley
withKennethStow
cambridgeuniversitypress
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,
Singapore,Sa˜oPaulo,Delhi,MexicoCity
CambridgeUniversityPress
TheEdinburghBuilding,CambridgeCB28RU,UK
PublishedintheUnitedStatesofAmericabyCambridgeUniversityPress,NewYork
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107014435
(cid:2)C CambridgeUniversityPress2012
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2012
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Rome,pollution,andpropriety:dirt,disease,andhygieneintheeternalcityfromantiquityto
modernity/editedbyMarkBradleywithKennethStow.
pages cm.–(BritishSchoolatRomestudies)
ISBN978-1-107-01443-5(hardback)
1.Urbansanitation–Italy–Rome–History. 2.Publichealth–Italy–Rome–History.
3.Pollution–Italy–Rome–History. 4.Qualityoflife–Rome–History. I.Bradley,
Mark,1977– II.Stow,KennethR.
TD80.R65R66 2012
363.7309456(cid:3)32–dc23 2012010804
ISBN978-1-107-01443-5Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyinternetwebsitesreferredto
inthispublication,anddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
ForMaryDouglas
(1921–2007)
MaryDouglas.Photoreproducedbykindpermissionofthe
BritishAcademy.

Contents
Listofillustrations [pageix]
Noteoncontributors [xii]
Preface [xvii]
Acknowledgements [xix]
Introduction [1]
mark bradley and kenneth stow
1 Approachestopollutionandpropriety [11]
mark bradley
part i antiquity [41]
2 Pollution,religionandsocietyintheRomanworld [43]
jack lennon
3 PurificationinancientRome [59]
elaine fantham
4 Pollution,proprietyandurbanisminRepublicanRome [67]
penelope j. e. davies
5 The‘sacredsewer’:traditionandreligioninthe
CloacaMaxima [81]
john hopkins
6 CrimeandpunishmentontheCapitolineHill [103]
mark bradley
7 OntheburialofunchasteVestalVirgins [122]
celia e. schultz
part ii modernity [137]
8 FraGirolamoSavonarolaandtheaestheticsofpollutionin
fifteenth-centuryRome [139]
alessio assonitis
vii
viii Contents
9 Purgingfilth:plagueandresponsestoitinRome,1656–7 [153]
david gentilcore
10 Wastheghettocleaner...? [169]
kenneth stow
11 Urbanablutions:cleansingCounter-ReformationRome [182]
katherine rinne
12 Theclashofpicturesquedecayandmoderncleanlinessin
latenineteenth-centuryRome [202]
taina syrja¨maa
13 Vilebodies:VictorianProtestantsintheRoman
catacombs [223]
dominic janes
14 Delinquencyandpederasty:‘deviant’youngstersinthe
suburbsofFascistRome [241]
martina salvante
Envoi.Purityanddanger:itslifeandafterlife [258]
judith l. goldstein
Bibliography [265]
Index [310]
Illustrations
MaryDouglas.PhotoreproducedbykindpermissionoftheBritish
Academy. [pagev]
0.1 H.A.Schult,‘TrashPeople’,PiazzadelPopolo(March2007).
Photo:H.A.Schult. [2]
4.1 MapofRomeshowing1.Esquilineburials;2.Emporium;3.Circus
Maximus;4.Theatre–PorticoofPompey;5.GardensofJulius
Caesar;6.BathsofAgrippa,a.CloacaMaxima;b.AquaAppia;
c.AquaAnioVetus;d.AquaMarcia;e.AquaTepula;f.AquaJulia;
g.AquaVirgo;h.AquaAlsietina.Map:PenelopeDavies. [68]
4.2 RomanForumandnorthernslopeofthePalatine,showing
remainsofRepublicanhouses.Photo:PenelopeDavies. [71]
4.3 PavedsectionoftheSacraViaintheRomanForum.
Photo:PenelopeDavies. [73]
4.4 PorticogardenofPompey,hypotheticalreconstructiondrawingby
L.CockerhamCatalano.Imagereproducedwiththepermissionof
KathrynGleason. [76]
4.5 CloacaMaxima.Photo:PenelopeDavies. [78]
5.1 ThecloacaeofancientRome.JohnHopkins,after
C.MoccheggianiCarpano. [83]
5.2 CloacaMaximabeforevaulting.Reconstruction:John
Hopkins. [84]
5.3 CloacaMaxima.Earliesttract(incappellaccio)withlaterconcrete
vault.Photo:JohnHopkins. [85]
5.4 MapoftheCloacaMaxima.JohnHopkins,afterH.Bauer. [86]
5.5 CloacaMaxima.DomitianictracteastoftempleofMinervain
lapisAlbanus.Photo:JohnHopkins. [91]
5.6 CloacaMaxima.AugustantractunderForumTransitoriumin
lapisGabinuswithDomitianicconcretevault.Photo:John
Hopkins. [91]
5.7 CloacaMaxima.DetailofAugustantufoandDomitianicconcrete
underForumTransitorium.Photo:JohnHopkins. [92]
5.8 BoccadellaVerita`,hereproposedasadraincoverforCloaca
MaximawithreliefofOceanus.Photo:JohnHopkins. [98] ix