MRand

. . . do yourself a big favor and run, don't walk to watch the online lectures on Roman architecture by Yale Professor Diana Kleiner before your trip. We just returned from Italy and unfortunately I didn't watch these until we got back. Makes me want to turn around and get back on the plane to Rome asap.

Even if you just watch the first one or two lectures, I think your trip could be incredibly enriched. Even better, the lectures are also downloadable from iTunes/iTunes University in video (preferable) or audio format so you can take them with you to Italy, and even play them at 1 1/2 speed to condense the time spent watching.

Here's the link:

http://www.academicearth.org/courses/roman-architecture

caze17

Thanks for the suggestion! This looks like a great idea for my husband and I to watch on a few evenings with a glass of wine!

boom_boom

Thanks for the suggestion!

Liadan

Thank you for the suggestion! I'll definitely check these out.

wayfinder45

Very handy, thanks!

annhig

thanks, MRand.

I just signed up for our college's trip to Rome in February - we'll be spending a week doing 4 hours italian every morning, then activities and excursions in the afternoon so this is ideal preparation.

MRand

I love classical and especially Roman history, but even on this latest visit to the Forum, I forget the provenance of the various ruins, not to mention not knowing the architectural evolution.

We particularly enjoyed the Teatro Marcello, a quiet but impressive monument near the Forum that I had not been to before. Again, I wish i had seen Prof. Kleiner's description of this before our recent trip.

Sassafrass

Thanks a lot. A must before our next trip.

kelsey22

Bookmarking - thanks so much!

annig - That sounds like so much fun! Will you write a trip report?

annhig

kelsey - of course i'll do a trip report. I did one on my 1st trip to Italy to attend a language school in southern Tuscany - i had a terrific time.

I might even try it in italian. [not really!]

catcrazyaf

These look fantastic! Tho I won't be going back to Rome in the next couple of years I'll enjoy them. I appreciate you sharing this website with us.

MRand

A little further digging reveals that Dr. Kleiner and Yale have graciously provided a link to the written materials for her Roman Architecture course as well, including transcripts of her lectures and lists of the photographs of the various ruins and sites she discusses in her lectures:

http://oyc.yale.edu/history-art/hsar-252

I think this all means we're supposed to go back to Italy soon.

2010

Fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing this!

MRand

I'm now 2/3 of the way through watching Prof. Kleiner's lectures, and can't recommend them highly enough. I find her lecture style to be very clear and the opposite of a dry, boring academic. From time to time, she even interjects her personal travel recommendations about sites and restaurants. Plus their availability on iTunes makes them portable and easy to watch on plane or car trips. If you don't have time to watch the whole series, you can also pick and choose those individual lectures about the specific sites you're interested in.

So that others planning upcoming trips to Roman sites in Rome, Tivoli, Ostia, Pompeii, Herculaneum, or other Roman sites don't miss the opportunity (like I did) to see some or all of these before or during your trip, I may top this post from time to time.

annhig

thanks for the reminder.

I haven't got time to look at them at present, but perhaps over Christmas?

davispeets

Bmrk -- Thanks. It's also great for after the trip. I think post-trip reading actually has more impact on me. I started a lecture and need to go back and finish.

I am reading Steven Saylor's "Roma" a historical novel of ancient Rome which is taking longer than usual as I stop after a few pages to read up on the real history online. Once I am done, I hope to restart the lectures, the tip on 1 1/2 speed is great-- need to figure that out.

Snowflake25

Bookmarking for Rome trip

MRand

Okay, I've finished all of Dr. Kleiner's lectures and I thought the whole course was just tremendous. She does a great job of mixing in an overview of Roman history and tourist recommendations along with the heavy dose of architecture. Others, however, may not have the time to listen to all 23 of them (well worth it though), so I made some notes below on the lecture numbers applicable to particular cities or sites, some in Italy and some elsewhere. Lecture 1 and 2 are mandatory regardless of where you may be going:

Introduction - 1 & 2
Rome - 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 (Arch of Septimius Severus), 19, 22 & 23
Tivoli - 3, 15 & 16
Ostia - 16
Pompeii - 4, 5, 7 & 8
Heculaneum - 6
Oplontis - 7
Capri - 11
Terracina - 4
Palestrina - 4
Athens - 17, 20 & 21
Eleusis - 20
Aosta - 21
Arles - 21
Nimes - 21
St.Remy - 21
Segovia - 21
Algeria (Timgad) - 18
Libya (Leptis Magna) - 18

annhig

MRand, thank you so much for topping this and doing all the spade work for us.

I'm looking forward to looking at it over christmas/new year.

Alec

I've watched a couple of podcast and they were great. Detailed but non-technical, with a light touch such as recommendations for best gelaterias!