Mosaics in the Eternal City

Mosaics in the Eternal City presents a composite portrait of Rome between 400 and 1300 by examining the major works of monumental public visual art that remain there from this period: the mosaics in the apses, on the arches, and on the walls of eight churches. Drawing on recent research in archeology, art history, and the history of religion, the book examines the contexts in which these mosaics were made and the contexts in which they are experienced now. It also discusses such related issues as papal patronage, the effects of religious and political conflicts, the material and demographic texture of Rome over time, the obsession of the City with reusing and reinterpreting its past, and the influence of pagan, Jewish, and Christian stories and traditions on its civic identity and its public art. Intended for the informed general reader as well as for the specialist, the book contains sixty-five illustrations in color and six in black and white, including maps, plans, archival drawings, and photographs of architectural and urban sites.