Visual Politics on the Street: Art and Rhetoric in the Rome of Paul III (1534-1549)

Probably the most transparent mirror of Paul III’s vision of the papacy and of himself is the fabric of Rome, which was meant to reflect three main objectives of the pope: restoring authority to the papacy, highlighting the imperial roots of the papacy and ensuring his own family’s future standing.

In order to achieve these goals, Paul III envisioned a programme of interventions comprising large-scale urban plans, splendid buildings, complex decorative schemes and lavish ephemeral celebrations, which produced an impression of self-confidence and rebirth, and erased, at least on the surface, the memory of the traumas suffered during the previous years.

Utilising a range of little-known sources, this lecture focuses on the “regeneration” of the Via del Corso, including ephemeral and permanent architectural transformations connected to its ritual and political use.

Guido Rebecchini read History of Art at the Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, before going to the Università degli Studi di Siena, where he took an MA on the classical tradition. In 2000, he obtained his PhD at the Warburg Institute and subsequently taught at the Università di Siena from 2001 until 2009, and at the New York University and Syracuse University study-abroad centres in Florence in the years 2010-2012. Guido has joined The Courtauld Institute of Art in Autumn 2013 as Lecturer in sixteenth-century Southern European Art. In January 2019, he took up the position of Associate Dean for Students.

Participation will be possible via zoom, following the link HERE
(no registration required)

Scientific Organization: Anna Chiara Giusa