Foundations of Rome

Darius von Guttner

From myths to modernity, a journey through the Eternal City This series explores the history of Rome from its legendary beginnings to its place in the modern imagination. Each short, focused episode traces a key moment, theme, or transformation in the city’s long life: from Romulus and Remus and the struggles of the early Republic, through Hannibal’s shock and Caesar’s rise, to Augustus’s new order, Nero’s burning Rome, and the grandeur of papal and Baroque splendour. Later episodes follow Rome into the age of the Grand Tour, the upheavals of revolution and unification, and Mussolini’s attempt to...

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Foundations of Rome

Episodes (14)

Mar 10th Episode 14: Baroque Rome – Art, Ecstasy, and Absolutism
Feb 17th Episode 13: Renaissance Rebirth – From Ruins to Raphael
Feb 8th Episode 12 - The Popes, the Borgo, and the Building of Papal Rome

Foundations of Rome

Mar 10, 2026
9½ minutes
12 MB

In this episode, I will guide you into the heart of Baroque Rome—a city transformed into a theatre of faith. From Bernini’s sweeping embrace at St Peter’s Square to the ecstatic vision of Saint Teresa and the illusionistic wonders of Jesuit churches, this episode unpacks how art, architecture, and spectacle became tools of the Counter‑Reformation. Discover how seventeenth‑century Rome proclaimed Catholic triumph not through armies, but through light, movement, and emotion carved in stone.

Foundations of Rome

Episode 14: Baroque Rome – Art, Ecstasy, and Absolutism

Darius von Guttner

00:00 -08:39