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Part of
Progress in Colour Studies: Cognition, language and beyond
Edited by Lindsay W. MacDonald, Carole P. Biggam and Galina V. Paramei
[Not in series 217] 2018
► pp. 419–439

Chapter 23
Colour in the Pompeiian cityscape

Manifestations of status, religion, traffic and commerce

| Lund University, Sweden
| Uppsala University, Sweden

Research on colour in Roman Pompeii has so far dealt almost exclusively with interiors. As part of a larger project on Pompeii’s urban space this study deals with the exterior colours of façades and pavings. Using as source material the existing remains of the town, excavation reports and artistic and other reproductions, we have tested the hypothesis that the colour character exhibited in the well-known and colourfully illustrated findings of Vittorio Spinazzola is also valid for the rest of the town. This hypothesis was supported for some streets and clearly contradicted for others. We have found certain patterns regarding colour and status, function and traffic and identified a number of typically different colour characters for different types of streets.

Keywords: Pompeii, urban space, façade colour
Article outline
  • 1.Background and aim
  • 2.General presentation of Pompeii’s urban space
  • 3.Sources and method
    • 3.1Own investigations in situ
    • 3.2Excavation reports and publications
    • 3.3The cork model in Naples
    • 3.4Artistic and other reproductions of the living and the excavated town
    • 3.5Literature on architecture and building technique
    • 3.6Method
  • 4.Material preconditions for colour in the urban space
    • 4.1Building materials and stones
    • 4.2Painting and pigments
  • 5.Hypothesis: Formulation and testing
  • 6.Results
    • 6.1Colour and status
    • 6.2Colour and function
    • 6.3Colour and wheeled traffic
  • 7.Concluding comments: Typical features in the cityscape
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 26 November 2018
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/z.217.23fri
References
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