Bettina Reitz-Joosse is Associate Professor of Latin Language and Literature at the University of Groningen (Netherlands).

• Introduction


• 1. Making Memories: Representing Construction in Rome


• 2. Debating the Draining of the Fucine Lake


• 3. Writing Cities, Founding Texts: The City as Poetological Metaphor


• 4. Engineering Poetry: The Aesthetics of Construction in Statius' Silvae


• 5. Walls of Song: The Myth of Amphion


• 6. Conclusion. Construction in Reverse


• Epilogue. Constructing romanità: The Obelisk at the Foro Mussolini


• Bibliography

Building in Words explores the relationship between text and architecture in the Roman world from the perspective of architectural process. Original readings of literary texts are placed in dialogue with epigraphic and archaeological material. Through its focus on construction, this book furthers our understanding of the aesthetics of Roman architecture and literature.