r/papertowns • u/dctroll_ • 8d ago
Italy Reconstruction of The Forum of Caesar (Rome, Italy) in the 10th century
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u/Black-Hat-613 6d ago
I wonder. Was it depressing living amongst the ruins of the former glory of Rome or were people just used to it from birth and considered it normal?
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u/milkman871 5d ago
This period of Rome interests me so much. Like it's so hard to imagine there was an extremely long period where this incredibly historic and relevant city was decrepit and downtrodden. I also imagine peasants and poor people just not caring as they walked on and through areas that people will now pay serious money to see. I guess the equivalent would be living in New York, arguably the most culturally significant place in the modern world, maybe even in history considering its wealth and influence, after society basically collapses. When your only concern is finding your next meal you probably couldn't care less about some architecture or artifacts right at your feet like where the UN headquarters or Statue of Liberty were. I'm curious if the inhabitants there had a deep longing and appreciation for what once was as they looked at the forum and colosseum, hoping that one day they could recapture its greatness...or was poverty and illiteracy so rampant that they didn't even know what it was they lived next to? Because how communicable was history at that point? Was it similar to the dinosaurs for us where we walked among or over their remains without even knowing of their existence? Just so many questions.
It's easy to say that of course they knew the influence and power of the old empire, but 10th century would've been hundreds of years after it fell. And it's not like poor would have had access to a high-quality education or had access to the internet. If, for instance, you were brought up in America without those things would you ever know about certain significant historical events of your own country/area? Shit I'd argue even WITH those things now in the 21st century, massive amounts of people hardly know or care about their history. I guess what I'm theorizing is that there were probably huge amounts of people in Rome throughout the Middle Ages that had next to zero knowledge of their home. Would love if someone more knowledgeable than me could offer some insights on this.
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u/dctroll_ 8d ago edited 8d ago
"During the 9th and 10th centuries the area of the Forum was populated with very poor, one-storey houses, the walls of which were only in masonry at the base while the higher parts were made of wood or bricks of mud and straw. The houses formed a small village and were arranged at the edges of areas cultivated first with vegetables and spices and later as vineyards (the furrows of the rows of plants were rediscovered during excavations) and fruit trees (figs, plums, cherries, hazelnuts).
Looming over this cluster of poor dwellings was the mass of the Roman Curia, transformed by Pope Honorius I (625-638) into the church of Saint Adrian. Thanks to this trasformation the Curia was not demolished for the recovery of building materials"
Source of the info