Page - 119 - in The Power of Urban Water - Studies in premodern urbanism

7 Aquatic Pasts& theWateryPresent:Water andMemory in the Foraof Rome 119 created a space that became the intersection of place andmemory – and the notion of water formerly flowing through the space takes on a symbolic value for those using the forum. By celebrating Rome’s historical, mythical, and mytho-historical past, the patrons were able to construct a cohesive assemblage ofmonuments that allowed those in the forum to reflect on the importanceof thegloriousaquaticpastof thecity. Ina timewhenwaterwasnotas immedi- ately abundant as in later periods, the monuments constructed in the Forum Romanum are successful in their evocationofwater,without actually displayingmovingwater. The water-related programme of the monuments of the city centre of Rome, it could be argued, then set up amodel for other Roman cities throughout the Empire. For example, the fountainsof thecityofCorinth inGreecehavebeenpresentedbyBetseyRobinsonas ‘historiat- ed’water-displays,whichduringtheImperialperiodevokethevibrantandrobustmythicalpast of that city.78 In Rome, however, themonuments of the ForumRomanumare able to provide thestimulus forpassers-bytocreatememoriesassociatedwithwater,despite the lackof flowing water, aswas the case in Corinth. The effective and suggestive use ofwater-related structures in theForumRomanumhelps toestablisha foundation therewhollypredicatedonwater, illus- trating its importance to the city. Further,with the additionof the Imperial Fora and their new water-displays later, an ensembleofmonuments throughout the centre ofRome is created that allows passers-by to associate the space and its structureswithwater – and its importance to the Roman state, society, and culture. Finally, with the prominence of the structures in the metaphysical topography of the city centre, those experiencing them formed memories that helped tocreatea sharedsenseof identity that couldgobeyond thecityofRome.Themythical and historical events celebrated in the Forum Romanumwere part of the Roman ethos and identity–andcouldbe tapped into empire-wide. The experienceof thesemonuments inRome provided away inwhich the importance ofwatermanifested itself in the built environment of theRomanworld,whether ornotwaterwasactually flowing. IllustrationCredits Fig. 1: Courtesyof theRomeRebornProject (www.romereborn.org). Image copyright 2019Fly- over ZoneProductions.All rights reserved. Fig. 2: AfterHopkins 2012, fig. 5.1. Fig.3: Photo©User:Michiel1972 /WikimediaCommons /CC-BY-SA-3.0 <https://en.wikipedia.​ org/​ wiki/Lacus_Juturnae#/media/File:BronJutarna.jpg> (12.07. 2019). Fig.4: Courtesyof theRomeRebornProject (www.romereborn.org). Image copyright 2019Fly- over ZoneProductions.All rights reserved. Fig. 5: Photo©User: Lalupa /WikimediaCommons /CC-BY-SA-3.0 <https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/​ Lacus_Curtius#/media/File:Campitelli_-_Campidoglio_Tabularium_-_Lacus_Curtius_ 1020814_-_cropped.​ jpg> (12.07.2019). Fig.6: PhotoANS 1937.158.323,AmericanNumismatic Society. Fig. 7: Photo©User: Szczebrzeszynski /WikimediaCommons /CC-BY-SA-3.0 <https://upload.​ wikimedia.​ org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/MCR_-_colonna_rostrata_di_C_Duilio_1150130.​ JPG> (12.07. 2019). Fig.8: AfterMeneghini –Santangeli Valenzani 2007, Fig. 15. Bibliography Albers 2013: J. Albers, CampusMartius.DieurbaneEntwicklungdesMarsfeldes vonderRepublik bis zur mittlerenKaiserzeit, Studien zur antikenStadt 11 (Wiesbaden2013). 78 Robinson 2013. Formoreonwater-displays in fora across theEmpire, seeRogers 2018a, 180–183.