During the building of an apartment house on the Via Latina in Rome in 1955 a small Christian catacomb was brought to light, a chance archaeological discovery that turned out to be a startling revelation. The architectural form and painted decoration of the catacomb were much remarked - not only were they exceptionally lavish, they also proved exceedingly difficult to fit into the traditional picture of the development of Christian art in late antique Rome.The Via Latina Catacomb: Imitation and Discontinuity in Fourth-Century Roman Painting is the first in-depth study of the monument in terms of its structure and function. A single question that arises from the monument itself serves to focus the discussion: Why was the last chamber in the catacomb made as a copy of one of the first? But the question is also one that demands a comprehensive approach. Thus the catacomb is examined with regard to its construction, plan, and architectural form, as well as its style of painting and imagery.

The Via Latina Catacomb: Imitation and Discontinuity in Fourth-Century Roman Painting (College Art Association Monograph)

Arts & Photography

Tronzo, William

History & Criticism

Penn State University Press

The Capella Palatina in Palermo, one of the best known monuments of medieval Europe, dates from the construction of the palace in Sicily of Roger II, king of Sicily in the mid-twelfth century. This book proposes that this royal chapel preserves virtually intact--and uniquely so--an ensemble of architecture and the arts of the period, and it sets out systematically to investigate every major component of the decoration and furnishing of the chapel. It propounds a new chronology for the edifice, which fixes a new frame of reference for understanding how the chapel functioned under the Norman kings.
 One of the major accomplishments of this book is to establish a plausible context for the appearance of Muslim elements in the chapel, like the great muqarnas ceiling of the nave. Rather than simply a quotation from a foreign culture for decorative purposes, the muqarnas ceiling was an integral part of a royal program that was devised under Roger II. For his successors, however, it was something of an embarrassment that needed to be manipulated. The change in emphasis summarizes the history of the Cappella Palatina: created as an exemplum of the great multicultural experiment of King Roger, it was reframed as a purely Christian edifice by subsequent generations in order to fit a concept of the "Western" cultural tradition, to which the protean island of Sicily itself has also been made to conform.

The Cultures of His Kingdom

Princeton University Press

Almost everything we know about the past comes from physical and narrative fragments. Yet a fragment is not simply the static part of a once-whole thing. It is itself something in motion over time, manifesting successively or variously as object, evidence, concept, and condition.
The pieces gathered in this volume—written by scholars of art, art history, archaeology, literature, philosophy, psychology, numismatics, and film—investigate the significance of the fragment, whether received or created. Each essay offers a meditation on a distinctive moment in the history of the fragment, ranging from spolia in late antique architecture to the practice of collage in the modern period. Complementing these texts is a visual essay by the English sculptor and installation artist Cornelia Parker, whose oeuvre contemplates not only the power of relics but also the meaning conveyed by found objects made into art.

The Fragment: An Incomplete History (Issues & Debates)

Getty Research Institute

Two leading American experts on the subject offer the first comprehensive English-language review of Naples’ architecture and urban development from late antiquity to the high and late Middle Ages. William Tronzo treats the early Middle Ages, from the end of the western Roman Empire to the end of the Duchy, or from about 400 to 1139. He covers a range of topics, including the development of the city’s urban fabric and chief monuments, including the catacombs, Sta. Restituta, the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, the forum area including San Paolo Maggiore and the early history of San Lorenzo Maggiore and the Pietrasanta. Caroline Bruzelius then picks up the narrative and analysis from the twelfth century to the end of the Angevin period. She brings up to date and nuances many of the findings and themes of her The Stones of Naples. She revisits some of the same material on the early medieval city from a different perspective, that of religious foundations and urban topography. She proceeds to patronage — religious, mercantile, noble and royal — and then moves on to the role of Tuscan artists in Naples, concluding with the Angevin reconfiguration of the city in the late Middle Ages. Clearly and concisely written, this book is an ideal introductory survey for the scholar, student and general reader to medieval Naples, its chief monuments and to the scholarly discussions and interpretations of the material, visual and documentary evidence. 160 pages. Preface, select bibliography; appendices, including the Tavola Strozzi with key, Map of Medieval Naples with thumbnail key; index. 83 black &amp; white figures, plus 60 thumbnail images. List of links to online resources from A Documentary History of Naples, including primary-source readings; image galleries containing over 450 additional images in full color; and links to full bibliographies with ongoing supplements. History of art, urban studies, cultural history.

Medieval Naples: An Architectural & Urban History, 400–1400

Bruzelius, Caroline

Italica Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tronzo, William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Tronzo, William

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Tronzo, William. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Via Latina Catacomb: Imitation and Discontinuity in Fourth-Century Roman Painting (College Art Association Monograph)

The Cultures of His Kingdom

The Fragment: An Incomplete History (Issues & Debates)

Medieval Naples: An Architectural & Urban History, 400–1400