The volume published by Electa celebrates, with the Parco archeologico del Colosseo and FENDI, the return to the community of one of the most iconic monuments of the Roman Empire, after the completion of the restoration and enhancement of the Temple of Venus and Roma, the result of a technical sponsorship by the Maison.
In addition to its exceptional size, the largest building in ancient Rome owes its extraordinary interest to the originality of the architectural design, which combined Hellenistic proportions and spatial qualities with Roman urban planning and construction techniques, creating a completely innovative form. Over 200 columns in gray granite and proconnesian marble surrounded a single rectangular volume, divided between the two counterposed cult chambers: one dedicated to Venus Felix, the goddess of generative nature, the mother of Aeneas and an ancestor of Augustus and therefore of the imperial family, facing the Colosseum; the other dedicated to the goddess Roma Aeterna, the sacred personification of the city and its dominion over the territories of the Empire, facing the Capitol.
The architecture was embellished by the richness of the architectural decorations, their splendor increased by the use of gold leaf on the stucco work, porphyry columns and the symphony of polychrome marbles in the paving: the purple-red of porphyry and brecciato pavonazzetto contrasting with the iridescent green of cipollino and giallo antico. The walls, faced with marble slabs, contained marble statues in niches, while the gigantic seated cult statues of the divinities stood out in the apses.
The volume, with its raw canvas cover with a laminated graphic design, evokes the fundamental colors of the monument, its splendor revealed by leafing through the rich photographic reportage by Stefano Castellani, combining archival images with photos taken during and after the different phases of restoration work, as well as of the exceptional Fendi Couture fashion show hosted in the cella of Venus in July 2019.
€ 50,00