A Companion to Roman Italy explores the diversity and regionality of the Italian peninsula, exploring at what point the forces of cohesion transformed Italy from a landmass jutting into the Mediterranean to a powerful political entity centered around Rome. It investigates the impact of Rome in all its forms—political, cultural, social, and economic—upon Italy’s various regions, as well as the extent to which unification occurred as Rome became the capital of Italy.
Leading contributors not only make accessible the most recent work on Roman Italy, but also present new archaeological data on Roman Italy alongside new theories on understanding cultural change in the Italian peninsula. Contributions focus particularly on the themes of the changing relationship between Rome and the rest of Italy, and the extent to which Rome acted as a model for other Italian towns; how Italy’s privileged position within the Roman empire gradually evolved; the interconnectedness of different parts of the peninsula; the interaction between town and country; and the distinctiveness of the regions of Italy in terms of their cultures and societies.
