Roma dall'inizio della Repubblica all'incendio gallico: "la Notte del V secolo" (A. Piganiol)

Recent discoveries partly change the image of immobility and crisis traditionally pictured for the 5th century BC in Rome: while the first decades of the Republican era are in continuity with the flowering of the late monarchy, since 470 BC we faced with an apparent slowdown. The most macroscopic signal is represented by the interruption of the dedications of temples between 509 and 484 BC, respectively the dates of the temple of Jupiter and that of Castor, until the fall of Veii in 396 BC. Firstly, the paper examines the data on the major temples in the light of the result of new excavations, in particular about the temple of Jupiter, the temple of Castor, the temple of Juno Sospita (?) in the area of the sanctuary of the Magna Mater, the two sanctuaries at the north-eastern slopes of the Palatine, and the temple near Santa Maria della Vittoria on the Quirinale (dedicated to Hora Quirini?). After a review of the architectural and votive sculpture evidences already known in the archaeological literature, the paper considers the results from the 5th century stratigraphy resulted from the excavations of residential facilities in the heart of Rome (Caesar's Forum before the Gallic fire; area of the Aedes Vestae), and the immediate suburbs (Villa Auditorium) that demonstrate a productive vitality. Looking at ceramic production, it appears a lowering of the quality in the course of the century, especially when compared with the richness and variety of ceramics classes of the previous period, but the general framework is still under definition, since traditional types in red-brown impasto and <> remain in use for a long period without a substantial morphologic evolution.The work review also the adoption of sumptuary laws inspired by Solon since the Servian age, leading to an almost complete absence of funerary documentation in the following period. Austerity in the ceremony, recognizable both in theGreek laws, in the Roman Twelve Tables and in the almost total absence of funerary goods, is not fully reflected in the choice of funeral rites and graves structures. The incineration, adequately represented in the Roman necropolis, is withoutdoubts a very expensive ritual, and it would seem to contradict the exaggerated rigor of the funerary set. In fact, even the resumption of the cremation ritual, although rehabilitated only for some elements distinguished by age, sex and/or statuswithin the community, it is associated with an identical elimination or contraction of the grave goods. The containers of the bones and ashes, often stone sarcophagi and small urns, appear an expensive novelty compared to the tree trunk or the terracotta urns of the previous phase. The spread of chamber tombs, with no grave goods, especially in the suburbs and along the major routes running out from the city, emphasize the family ties and show a commitment of considerable expenditure. It was suggested that the phenomenon should be attributed to a more private dimension of the funeral ceremonies. The archaeological researches presents quite a varied picture, with regard to the sculpture productions in the oldest period and the pottery during the entire 5th century. Even if it still remains to clarify an overall framework of the Roman production landscape, combining the review of published data and recent discoveries, it seems that Rome had a solid productive organization and partly remained inserted in the Greek ceramic distribution system throughout the 5th century BC. Compared to other periods the lack of grave goods and the absence, from 480 BC, of new temples (which not excluded the maintenance of those previously voted) have fostered a negative view of the period.