The Worcester (MA) Art Museum will be presenting a free lecture entitled Living it Up int he Late Roman World: The Country Mansions of the Mega-Rich, Sunday, April 15 at 3pm. The lecutre will be presented by Dr. Roger Wilson, Professor and Head, Classical, Near Eastern and Religious Studies, University of British Columbia.
The country villas of the late Roman aristocracy give us unique insights into the lifestyles of the super-rich as well as their taste and preferences in the interior décor of their mansions. This lecture will begin with a review of some of the characteristics of Roman imperial country retreats at the beginning of the fourth century—not only the well-known ‘villa’ of Diocletian at Split, but also more recent discoveries such as the estate of Galerius at Gamzigrad in Serbia and the suburban palace of Maximian at Cordoba in Spain.
Architectural links will be explored between these places and some grand, fourth-century, palatial mansions in the Roman countryside, which are likely to have belonged to private, albeit very rich, individuals. In all cases, both the use of architectural space and the choice of subject matter for the principal mosaic floors will be analyzed in the light of the ways each owner chose to show off his wealth, status. Free.
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