This week’s readings and digital resources helped provide a better understanding of the architecture and the lives of normal people in Rome. For example, in the reading on Church Decoration in Rome by Arnold Witte, it covers how how church design changed over time in Rome during the Baroque era, from the concept of making a unified church interior seen initially in Il Gesu to the addition of a dome. In addition, the reading covers how the Early Christian Revival influenced church design, like the addition of naturalistic frescos which were deemed “historically accurate”. In the reading on Urban Spaces by Irene Fosi, it covers how people interacted with Rome’s identity and vice versa, from the role foreigners played in Rome to how Rome’s reputation as the center of Catholicism impacted its residents.
2. The digital resource project I found the most fascinating was Envisioning Baroque Rome. Although it wasn’t finished and still had many parts that lacked sufficient detail, the passageways that were completed provided a great representation of how it would have felt to walk in Rome during the Baroque era. In addition, seeing some of the ornate buildings during that time from the perspective of a normal person was quite fascinating. Another digital project I found interesting was Emory Redux Views of Rome, since I thought the fact that it allowed many books that contained plans for specific Greco/Roman buildings to be more accessible was a beneficial project which could allow people that can’t travel to Emory to still access books in Emory’s collection for research.