WHO LOST OUT WHEN ROME’S MONUMENTS WENT UP? THE DARKER SIDE OF ARCHITECTURAL BENEFACTION AND URBAN REDEVELOPMENT IN ANCIENT ROME

Urban redevelopment creates winners and losers. The monuments of ancient Rome are visually impressive, but they often overlie residential areas. Many Greek and Latin authors eulogize feats of construction, but others express uneasiness about, even hostility to, such works. While the double-edged sword of urban development in contemporary cities continues to be the focus of intense scrutiny, scholarship on the Roman world predominantly emphasizes the positive aspects of monumental architecture – baths, forums, temples, entertainment complexes. Yet what was the impact of these large structures on the people who actually lived around them? What was the opposition to such projects? Questioning the assumption that ‘public’ buildings necessarily benefit the ‘public’, this paper examines the harmful side of building activity in antiquity.