Inventare, trasformare, tramandare: luoghi e pratiche della memoria delle origini di Roma

The paper explores the dynamic processes through which the memory of Rome’s origins was constructed, transmitted, and spatially embedded within the urban landscape of the ancient city. It argues that Rome functioned as a stratified “memoryscape,” where mythological traditions of the origins were continuously reinterpreted and materialized through places, monuments, toponyms, and ritual practices. Particular attention is given to the coexistence and eventual harmonization of diverse and often conflicting origin myths. The study highlights how these narratives were selectively integrated and ideologically reshaped, especially in the Augustan period, to serve political and ideological agendas. Through case studies such as the Arcadian tradition of Evander, the limited urban presence of Aeneas, and the pervasive topographical imprint of Romulus, the paper demonstrates how myth was spatialized and activated through rituals and commemorations. The memory of Rome’s origins was not only a literary construct but also a lived, spatial, and ritual experience embedded in the city’s evolving urban tissue.