Assignments

Mapping Project

For this project, you will need to have a detailed street map of Rome. I suggest that you purchase MICHELIN Map No. 38 of "Roma." This is a fold-out map with a street index and index of "Useful Telephone Numbers" attached.

The map can be purchased at any book store that carried maps and travel guides. I've seen it at Chapters-Indigo (all over the city), the World's Biggest Bookstore (20 Edward Street), and Open Air Books and Maps (25 Toronto Street). Alternatively, you may purchase it online at Amazon.com, for example. It costs about $13.00. Try to get a copy that is up to date; the most recent one I've seen is dated 2007.

Research Assignment: Piazze of Rome

Objectives
For this assignment, I ask you to prepare a detailed and well-crafted oral presentation on one Roman piazza (a square, typically surrounded by buildings and/or other architectural structures) based on research you undertake in Toronto/Canada in advance of the course. Your presentation will be made in situ, which means in the piazza itself, once we arrive in Rome. My objectives are as follows:

  • to have you become familiar with one urban space in Rome and to share your knowledge of that space with your classmates in FACS 2800B and FACS 3800B.
  • to have you consider the changing character of one urban space within the city over time.
  • to give you an opportunity to compare your knowledge of the piazza derived through your research to your first-hand experience of the piazza once in Rome.

Piazza Assignment
I list below a range of piazze (the plural of piazza) as they are known by name in Italian, along with a rough English translation for your reference, as well as their location by rione (neighbourhood) in capital letters.

If you made a firm commitment to a specific piazza when we discussed the options informally, your name is listed after the word “reserved.” If you gave me some idea of your interests, your name follows the word “suggested.” If, after some preliminary research,  you aren’t satisfied with your assignment, please contact me, preferably with another option in mind. Alternatively, feel free to trade piazze. But please confirm your assignment /selection via email by Wednesday, 14 May 2008.

  • Piazza Navona (“Navona” does not translate literally into English.) PARIONE
    Reserved: Amanda della Rocca
  • Piazza San Pietro (St. Peter’s Square) BORGO
    Reserved: Rachel Rumbaoa
  • Campo dei Fiori (Meadow/Field of Flowers) PARIONE
    Suggested: Michelle Kwan
  • Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere (Square of [the church of] Saint Mary in Trastrevere) TRASTEVERE
    Reserved: Stephanie Nicolo
  • Piazza dei Mattei (Mattei Family Piazza) SANT’ ANGELO
    Suggested: Viktoryia Urukova
  • Piazza del Campidoglio (Piazza of the Capitoline Hill) CAMPITELLI
    Open
  • Piazza di Spagna (Square of the Spanish People) CAMPOMARZIO
    Suggested: Julie Nguyen
  • Piazza del Popolo (People’s Square) CAMPOMARZIO
    Suggested: Mila Volpe
  • Piazza di Trevi (Trevi [Fountain] Square) TREVI
    Suggested: Michelle Allard
  • Piazzale Giuseppe Garibaldi (Garibaldi Square; piazzale literally means “large square”) MONTE GIANICOLO
    Suggested: Jesse Lantsman

The piazze I have selected are those for which there is sufficient material in English for you to work with. This means that they are also among the most well known in Rome. We will explore others that are a little more off the beaten track in different ways during the course.

Research
Begin by reading the entry titled Rome, § II: Urban Development, available in Grove Art Online, which can be accessed through Scott Library’s online system. This will provide you with an overview of the city 

From there, locate images of your piazza, either in books or online. In some ways, working online is easier as you can call up many more images in short order via Google Images. The purpose of this task is to familiarize yourself visually with the piazza you will be researching and eventually making your presentation in.

Once you have completed these tasks, begin researching the piazza. A couple of the piazze on the list have entire books devoted to them. Books on the urban development of Rome will also make reference to them as will books on the architects and artists who contributed to the development of the piazza. But you will also need to seek out articles on the piazza itself. This can be done using various e-indices available through Scott Library’s online system; in particular, I suggest the following indices:

  • Bibliography of the History of Art (BHA)
  • Avery Index to Architectural Periodicals

If you are unfamiliar with how to use indices to access articles, please consult with a reference librarian or contact me.

Organizing your Material
Use your research to develop a narrative about the piazza you’ve selected, keeping in mind that most have a long history and have changed character over the course of time. Each piazza will suggest a different way of proceeding. But here are some questions you might want to consider:

  • What is the origin of the name of the piazza?
  • What is the location of the piazza within its rione (is it central or peripheral?)
  • What is the shape of the piazza and the space it contains? Is this significant?
  • What defines the piazza (for example, architecture, other built forms, sculpture, fountains, green space)?
  • What are the functions of the piazza, today? What were the functions in the past?

These questions may suggest a simple search for factual information. But taken together, they should help you to piece together the character of the space.

Once in Rome
Once you arrive in Rome, visit your piazza prior to your presentation. Compare what you’ve learned through your research with what you experience when in situ and consider how first-hand experience augments (or perhaps contradicts) your research. Ask yourself the following questions:

  • How does it feel to be inside a three-dimensional space as opposed to looking at a two-dimensional image of the space from the outside?
  • Who is in the piazza with you? (I mean this is a general way.)
  • How is the piazza animated? In other words, what is actually taking place in the space?
  • How does time of day and weather impact on your experience of the space?

Presentation Details
Your presentation in situ should be about fifteen to twenty minutes long;  you are welcome to use notes or cue cards if you feel this would enhance your delivery. At the very least, I strongly suggest that you bring your research notes with you so that you can review your material before you make your presentation.

Once you’ve visited your piazza, try to come up with an angle/hook/device with which to bring your presentation alive. Is there something you’d like us to do or think about as part of your presentation? Also, consider posing a question at the end of your presentation to start a discussion with your classmates and I.

Post-Presentation
Please write a critical analysis of your presentation, outlining your strategy and goals at the outset, what worked and, if applicable, what did not work. In addition, please attach a bibliography of all sources you consulted in researching your piazza.

The analysis will be written in Rome and is due four days after your presentation. The bibliography should be prepared before you leave Toronto. Please ensure that you have formatted it correctly in MLA style.

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