Monuments of Rome in the Films of Federico Fellini: An Ancient Perspective

Abstract

The films of Italian director Federico Fellini that take place in modern Rome rely upon monuments in order to define the city as a unique microcosm of humanity. This setting is so enormous and diverse that it frequently overwhelms the onlooker with its antiquity and grandeur. Because Rome’s monuments constitute a palimpsest of Western civilization, Fellini calls upon a selection of these mnemonic markers in order to summarize specific aspects of the city’s layered past according to first-hand experiences. In order to make sense of Rome’s voluminous history and ultimately make the city his own, Fellini follows in the footsteps of his ancient literary progenitors by appropriating monuments on a personal level and employing them towards the creation of a chronologically and thematically synoptic Rome. By juxtaposing a selection of Fellini’s films with works from the Augustan age by authors such as Horace, Livy, Virgil, and Ovid, this comparative study demonstrates that Rome is able to transcend time and space by means of its monuments and thereby become part of the imagination for all to invent and experience uniquely.