Beyond The Emperor’s Disgrace: Reconstructing The Architectural, Topographical, And Landscape Design Of Domitian’s Rome

While Domitian’s damnatio memoriae led to the destruction of the emperor’s image, the massive architectural footprint he left on the city of Rome was indelible. Most scholarly assessments of Domitian’s building program emphasize the Flavian emperor’s continuity with Vespasian and his more retrospective connection with Augustan policy. On closer inspection, however, his architectural projects exhibit an undeniable thirst for innovation. This dissertation provides the first systematic analysis of the entire building program carried out by Domitian in Rome between 81 and 96 A.D., and repositions this emperor among the great urban planners. His building program is characterized by scale and lavishness as a reflection of his grandeur and by an unprecedented planning for crowd management and circulation in larger public spaces. The imperial complex on the Palatine — the palace, the Domus Tiberiana and the Vigna Barberini — responded efficaciously to the increasing needs of the imperial self-representation and bureaucracy and remained in use after Domitian’s death. Hyperbolic ornamentation met functionality. Traffic control was obtained by the use of original architectural forms such as a horsehoe shape and off-axis entry points in the Porticus Absidata in the forum Transitorium and the innovative solutions adopted in the stadium vestibule in the Campus Martius. The most “Domitianic” aspects of his building program can be identified in regulation of paths of traffic and topographical connections, sightlines and vistas, innovation in architectural design, sensorial experience of Domitian’s Rome, special interest in libraries and horrea, and, last but not least, the importance of water features and landscape design. In conclusion, Domitian’s Rome was beautiful and opulent, functional and comfortable, a city for the emperor but also for the people. This city deserves to be examined and visualized in a way that is holistic, complete, and reflective of its patron’s innovative vision. New architectural and topographical designs aimed at beautification, but also at directing traffic and presenting the viewer with breathtaking vistas, made the Rome of Domitian eternal beyond the emperor’s disgrace

The historical procession of Andrea Mantegna’s Triumphs of Caesar: from Mantua to Hampton Court

This dissertation centers on Andrea Mantegna’s masterful series of nine canvases, the Triumphs of Caesar, painted for the Gonzaga family of Mantua in the late Quattrocento. The project considers the history of the series, including the circumstances of its commission, the use of the Triumphs within the court culture of Mantua, and the recontextualization of the series in England after its sale to King Charles I in 1630. I argue that the series was intended to serve as a form of permanent palatial decoration, and that only through a series of unforeseen events was the Triumphs ultimately used as a backdrop for theatrical performances. At Hampton Court Palace, outside of London, the Triumphs took on a new role, one which changed over the centuries, dependent upon the occupant of the palace. The first chapter explores the iconography of the Triumphs of Caesar and addresses Mantegna’s possible visual and literary sources. I situate the series within the context of Renaissance triumphal imagery and argue that the strictly classical nature of Mantegna’s Triumphs sets it apart from other fifteenth-century depictions. The second chapter turns to the patronage of the series. Though the majority of scholars believe either Lodovico II or Francesco II Gonzaga to have been the patron, I suggest instead that it was Federico I Gonzaga who commissioned the series from Mantegna. I propose that Federico intended to display the Triumphs in the modern palace he was constructing, the Domus Nova, where the series would impress upon visitors both the military might and cultural attainments of the Gonzaga. After Federico’s sudden death, however, his son Francesco inherited the series, and it was only then that the lightweight canvases were put to use as backdrops for theater and other ephemeral events, a topic addressed in chapter three. The fourth and final chapter turns to England and the role of the Triumphs at Hampton Court Palace, the home of the series for the past four centuries. I argue that the Triumphs of Caesar functioned differently for each occupant of the palace in turn, serving as political, cultural, or decorative instruments

La lengua del ciclismo en francés : análisis semántico y lexicológico

Tesis de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Filología, Departamento de Filología Francesa, leída el 20-11-2002El ciclismo, deporte eminentemente popular, ha creado, en la lengua francesa, un vocabulario de extraordinario interés. Pocos campos y, y no sólo dentro del ámbito deportivo, que presenten una mayor riqueza, complejidad y vivacidad de vocabulario. Participa a la vez de la lengua periodística, de la lengua técnica (en su doble vertiente de técnica deportiva y de tecnología aplicada a la bicicleta) y del argot profesional. En esta tesis se lleva a cabo, a partir de un glosario de más de tres mil términos y locuciones, un análisis semántico y lexicológico de la lengua francesa de este deporte. A la hora de crear su vocabulario, el ciclismo utiliza todos los medios lingüísticos a su disposición (derivación, composición, acortamiento, préstamo externo e interno), aunque lógicamente no en la misma medida. El análisis lingüístico no puede hacerse en abstracto, sino teniendo siempre presente el propio carácter de este deporte, así como su relación con el mundo deportivo en general y con la sociedad en la que se desarrollaDepto. de Estudios Románicos, Franceses, Italianos y TraducciónFac. de FilologíaTRUEpu

S.P.Q.R. Wheeled team

This paper presents the design and implementation issues that have been addressed for the realization of the S.P.Q.R. Wheeled team of soccer robots. The team is formed by "senior" soccer robots that have participated to previous RoboCup competitions as well as by new robots developed for completing the team. By exploiting our previous experience in designing and developing soccer robots, we have developed innovative techniques for vision, localization, planning and coordination