The Petrified City: Reading the Marble Plan of Rome
A Lecture by
Dr. Susann Lusnia
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Nunemaker Auditorium
Monroe Hall, 3rd floor
8 pm
free admission and free parking on campus
Co-sponsored by the Classical Studies program and the New Orleans
Society of the Archaeological Institute of America

Nearly 1,800 years ago, a map of ancient Rome was carved on several
dozen slabs of marble on the wall of a room within the complex of the
Temple of Peace. The surviving fragments of this map, the Forma Urbis
Marmorea – also known as the Severan Marble Plan – offer us a
tantalizing glimpse of the urban structures of ancient Rome.
The audience will learn about the erratic fortunes of the Marble Plan that
followed its initial discovery in the 16th century. The lecture will then
explore several issues surrounding the original form and setting of the
Marble Plan – e.g., what was its purpose? How was it read? Was it
unique?
Dr. Susann Lusnia is associate professor of Classical Studies at Tulane
University. She has received several awards and honors, including at
Fulbright grant and the Rome Prize for the American Academy in Rome.
Her research interests include the architecture and monuments of Rome
from the reign of Septimius Severus.