James Cosmo reads “Giano” by writer-poet Gabriele Tinti

In the Roman Forum, at the intersection of the Argiletum and the Via Sacra, in the area of the Curia-Comitium, there once stood a small, dual-doorwayed building that housed the oldest and most important shrine to Janus. The only image that we have of this sacellum has come down to us on a Neronian-age coin.

On 9 January, the Romans celebrated the first festival of the year – the Agonium – dedicated to Janus himself. Tinti’s verses take the form of brief epigraphs and Cosmo’s reading aims to evoke the rich symbolism of the god’s simulacrum, emblem of every passage and every beginning.

Cosmo’s reading is part of the series of “poetic walks” #CantidiPietra through the Roman Forum, Domus Aurea and Colosseum. View the complete playlist here: <https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9je-v4_ripdlzbVhYp5UuvLDkzpKiTAH>