L’eccezionalità dei portici romani tra XIII e XIV secolo

Abstract

Roman architecture between the XIII and the XIV centuries seems defined – even within the civil context – by the selection,
reuse and display of spolia on the most representative sections of the buildings. However, this distinctive trait of displaying
remarkable elements in porticoes appears not to be limited to the Roman context. The peculiarity of the Roman model emerges
if we analyse some examples of buildings with porticoes in Rome (taking into consideration typology and functions) and
compare them with possibly related architectural expressions from other Italian cities from the same period – such as Bologna,
Padua and some other cities in the Subalpine area. It is possible to find a potentially similar case in the urban context of the city
of Tivoli, during the supremacy of Rome. Yet, the strong consciousness of city identity expressed throughout antiquity, coupled
with the original re-elaboration of classical models, further distinguish structures with porticoes in Rome between the Middle
Ages and the Renaissance.