The Routes of Rome website is a digital research portal that invites you to explore the pilgrimages routes of a sixteenth-century guidebook to Rome.
The project
The overall goal of the website is to explore a relatively unknown, untranslated sixteenth-century Roman guidebook called Itinerarium Urbis Romae. The original work is a 48-page manuscript written in Latin by a Florentine Franciscian friar, Fra Mariano da Firenze in 1517, during the days of Pope Leo X. The manuscript describes nineteen itineraries that guide pilgrims of Rome through the city.
The author synthesizes information about churches, religious relics, plenary indulgences, mythical legends, modern-day palazzi, new architectural works of the day, and ancient Roman monuments.
More than 500 years have elapsed since its original production, and the work, so far, has been overlooked in scholarship. This research project provides visitors the first-ever English translation of the guidebook in the format of a digital, interactive experience, giving visitors around the world the opportunity to walk virtually in the footsteps of pilgrims of Early Renaissance Rome.
Our mission
To bring this Roman guidebook to life for a wider audience of both learned scholars, future students, aficionados of Rome, and all those whose hearts forever remain in Rome.
Author
The Routes of Rome project is created and authored by Elizabeth Averyanova, an architectural designer, web designer, and creative director of Studio Classica. Elizabeth earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Notre Dame, specializing in classical and traditional architecture.
“My work began in the same way that many research projects on buildings and cities do: I started with the collection and analysis of data based on direct observation. With the written Latin manuscript transcription in hand, I walked in the footsteps of Rome’s pilgrims. The streets and buildings of Rome served as my primary sources, while historic maps, published articles, other documents, and photographs served as secondary and archival sources. Using a combination of traditional and digital skills and techniques to analyze and discover the contents of the guidebook.”
You can learn more about the story behind the project background by clicking here:
Support
This project has been generously supported through a number of academic research grants from the University of Notre Dame.
Undergraduate Travel Research Grant from the Nanovic Institute for European Studies
Fagan Memorial Grant from the School of Architecture
Albert Ravarino Italian Studies Travel Scholarship from the Italian Studies Program
The project is also made possible with the support of the following people:
MENTORS & RESEARCH ADVISORS
- Ingrid Rowland, PhD, Professor, Rome, Architectural History
- Giovanna Lenzi-Sandusky, Director of Rome Program, Associate Professor of the Practice
- Jennifer Parker, Head, Architecture Library
- John Stamper, PhD, AIA, Associate Dean and Professor, Architectural History
- Steven Semes, Professor, Former Academic Director of the Rome Studies Program
- David Mayernik, Associate Professor, Architecture
WEBSITE DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT
- Patricia Graudina, Web Designer, Riga, Latvia
DIGITAL RESOURCES
We would also like to thank the following organizations which we found highly useful during our research initiatives. Thank you for providing public access and ongoing commitment to archival materials, online resources, public GIS data, historic maps, and the historic buildings themselves.
