The Roman Forum, part III

Ruins in Modern Imagination: The Roman Forum (part 3, Enlightenment to World War II), an ARCHES video, speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker

[JessmanChicken]

I'm subscribed to over 200 channels on YouTube. This is currently my favorite. I can't stop watching, amazing content, thank you.

[hlb]

as an italian, I'm conflicted about mass tourism: on one side, the trivialization and commercialization of sites can be really annoying and can detract something from the experience (bitterly ironic: the pandemic restrictions recently allowed me to see many places with much more quietness, but this is not the way I wanted it to happen...), but there's a prositive side: being with many people from many corners of the planet, seeing them engaged and truly interested, sharing with them - at least partially - some of the aesthetic language, enjoying actually being in the true environment (and not on a screen or vr headset) - enables the joy of sharing fragments of cultures, and makes me hope that in that moment they are also reclaiming (regardless of their main culture) the historical roots that are not only "mine", but also theirs. Or at least, I hope they can begin considering our regional history, their history too.

The real sadness for me are not the crowds, but people running from famous point A to famous point B to snap a selfie to post on Instawhatever, without being touched by what they see. Frequently they didn't have the time to prepare, nor have been introduced to what they see.
If they absolutely don't want any guide, introduction, etc I'd really like to suggest them to at least take half a day off their "work", distance from their organized tour just a little bit, to wander around in a museum, and just stop and really look at what they instinctively like, not what others tell them it's "important" or "famous". From that little *truly personal* preference, in time, spontaneously, an entire language can be learnt.

[garfreed]

Beautiful and poignant video. Thank you!

[michelbuchsenmann]

such a great 3 Part Video! So inspiring, and a perfect view on the roman forum. Thank you so much for this intelligent free content. Learned so much :)

[jileel]

Excellent series on the Roman Forum. Also I don't think anything on the scale of Ancient Rome will ever happen again.

[noahkidd]

This is one of the most fascinating videos I've seen on YouTube. Thanks!

[Sasha]

Nothing like a little ~existential crisis and chill~ session to humble you. It's interesting to see the intersection of art and time. There's so many examples of what people choose to focus their creativity on and just as many reasons why.

[Tflexxx]

The Imperial Forum in its heyday was anything but the tranquil, semi-pastoral landscape of 19th Century Romanticism, or even of what it is today. It was the hustle and bustle of modern Rome.

[eaaronross]

Wow, great video. Amazing important context that is often left out.

[lablackzed]

To really see Rome would take several lifetimes when one thinks only 20% of it has been excavated so much is still undiscovered and remains to this day awaiting to be revealed in all its Glory.

[dk]

Do you guys have a video on the Blue Mosque in Istanbul?

[miranda]

Its really dizzy to look at this big things that stayed millenia under the ground

[c]

There is a beauty in the ruin. Many scholars idealize the ethereal whiteness of Ancient Roman marbles, when in fact they were originally colored brightly. It's no surprise that those fascist dictatorships adopted the "whiteness" and "purity" aesthetic. It would be funny to imagine that if fascist art had emulated them accurately, that they'd all be painted vibrantly! 🌈