The students are expected to possess a general knowledge of the geography of the Mediterranean area and of the most important civilizations that flourished before the Romans.

The course will tackle the most important aspects of the Roman world and civilisation: economics, family relationship, warfare, religion, slavery, women’s condition, and culture in its broader meaning.

At the end of the course the students will be able to appreciate the contribution of the Roman civilisation to the progress of mankind in many fields, such as art, politics, science, law.

Lectures will be delivered in presence and will mostly take the form of frontal lessons; however, there will be room for debates and brain-storming sessions on topic particularly stimulating for the students.

Written test

The exam can be booked online. It will take place in the first half of June (more precise indications will be given in due course)

Programma esteso

- Times and Places: Chronological and geographical Overview

- Pre-Roman Italy and the Birth of Rome: Myth and History

- Roman Society in the Archaic Period: Economy, Family, Warfare, and Politics

- The Organisation of the Republic and the Late Years

- Rome, the Greeks and Egypt

- The Major Features of Late Republic: Literature, Politics, Society

- The Transition to the Principate: Julius Caesar and Augustus. The Role of the Intellectuals and the Usage of Myth and Religion

- The Age of the Emperors: Overview of the Dynasties up to the III cent. CE

- Being a Philosopher Under a Tyrant: The Case of Seneca the Younger

- What is Left of Them? Usages of Rome in Modern History

Materials will be provided by the teacher