On the occasion of the pictorial cycle restoration of the Ninfeo della Pioggia in the Horti Farnesiani, Palatino, Parco archeologico del Colosseo will house an international thematic conference entitled “Nè spelunca o caverna è fra gli sassi…”. Ancient and modern nymphaea in Rome and Lazio. Archeology and Fortune of a polysemic space, hosted by Alfonsina Russo, Roberta Alteri, Alessio De Cristofaro which will take place on the 13th -14th -15th of December 2023 at the Curia Iulia.

According to archaeological literature, environments and architectural structures that readapt or artificially imitates natural caves (specus aestivi, coenationes, etc), placed inside imperial residences, domus and villas as preferred context for cultual symposium, otium, political and private relationships, are habitually defined as nymphaea. From an architectural point of view, they represent the central cells of ancient residences as private spaces of excellence representation, giving a crucial contribution to the creation of organisms made of buildings and artificial landscapes, real or imagined.

With the Renaissance and the rediscovery of the ancient world architecture, the roman nymphaeum, based on ancient authors and monumental testimonies, become inspirational for palaces, villas and gardens, directing architectural and landscape creations intended to reshape the italian and european residential architecture and establishing a tradition that will last until the XX century.

The Congress aims to critically analyze this bi-millennial phenomenon, both with precise focus on single contexts and monuments, and with cross and multidisciplinary research which allows to explore the archaeological, architectural, landscape, figurative, literary and – broadly speaking- historical-cultural aspects connected to this very long-lasting building form.

Congress will be structured as:

• 20 minutes speech, distributed in the various sections
• contributions to be exhibited in a poster session
• admitted languages: Italian, English

Speeches and posters may concern topics about ancient (specus aestivi, coenationes, triclinia, etc) and modern nymphaea following at least one of these thematic areas:

1. Stratigraphic excavations and architectural archaeology analyses
2. Lexicon and ancient and modern literary evidence
3. Architectural form, function and uses
4. Decorative apparatuses and figurative programs
5. Garden and landscape architectures
6. Visual perception, literary memory and Fortune of the Antique
7. Reception and use in the 20th Century
8. Conservation, restoration and enhancement

Those wishing to participate must send the participation proposal via email, containing the abstract of their speech, the title and the authors, using the attached participation form, by June 23rd 2023,
to the following address: pa-colosseo.convegni@cultura.gov.it

The forms must be drawn up exclusively in .DOC/.DOCX format, using the spaces provided. The texts must have a maximum length of 5000 characters including spaces and will be collected in a brochure that will be distributed before the Conference, in order to encourage the scientific debate.

The curators and the Scientific Committee will select the papers by July 21st 2023, considering the relevance to the topics of the Congress, the scientific interest and the innovative features therein.

Curators: Alfonsina Russo, Roberta Alteri, Alessio De Cristofaro

Scientific Board: Maria Beltramini, Matteo Cadario, Marcello Fagiolo, Francesca Ghedini, Fulvio Cairoli Giuliani, Henri Lavagne, Giada Lepri, Arnold Nesselrath, Salvatore Settis