Rirella Editrice was founded to disseminate the studies of archaeologist Marina De Franceschini, and wants to reach a broader, attentive, and informed audience with books that go beyond the the academic borders, reserved for specialized scholars.
The books are richly illustrated with new and previously unpublished pictures of some of the most important sites and buildings of Roman antiquity. Accurate descriptions are based on real-life study of the monuments and thorough historical and archival research. They cover a variety of topics: Archaeology, Archaeoastronomy, Art, and Roman and Late Antiquity history in general.
Archaeological Studies
Marina De Franceschini is one of the leading scholars of Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, about which she has published several books, the first of which, «Villa Adriana. Mosaici, pavimenti, edifici» (italian edition only) remains a reference text for the study of one of the most extraordinary monuments of Roman antiquity.
The book «Villa Adriana. Architettura Celeste. I Segreti dei Solstizi», (italian edition only) published by Rirella Editrice, will take you on a virtual tour of the Accademia building at Hadrian's Villa, a building little known to many since it is still privately owned and has never been open to the public. T
he book has new and previously unpublished photographs of magnificent sites such as the Temple of Apollo, which was seen and designed by some of the greatest architects of the Renaissance, including Francesco di Giorgio Martini and Andrea Palladio.
The buildings of Accademia and Roccabruna, together with the Accademia Esplanade where they stood, are a separate complex on its own within the Tiburtine Villa. They could be reached via a winding and hidden itinerary, essentially an initiatory path, which led to the highest part of the Villa, a veritable Acropolis. The book explains their hidden symbolic meaning, going beyond traditional interpretations and opening new horizons in understanding the buildings' function.
Marina De Franceschini is a leading expert on ancient Roman villas, on which she has published several books, one dedicated to the Roman Villas of Venetia and Histria and the other to the Roman Villas in the Ager surrounding Rome, two essential reference texts on the subject.
Several short articles, available free of charge in PDF format on the Rirella Editrice blog, illustrate other ancient Roman villas, such as the Villa La Regina in Boscoreale near Naples, the Villa of Poppaea in Oplontis (Torre Annunziata), and the Villa Jovis in Capri.
Archaeoastronomy Studies
Between myth and science, Archaeoastronomy investigates the relationship between ancient Man, Earth, and Cosmos. Together with Giuseppe Veneziano (Astronomical Observatory of Genoa), Marina De Franceschini is a pioneer in studies of the astronomical orientation of ancient Roman buildings.
Her books and articles published by Rirella Editrice give voice to the astronomical knowledge of Ancient Rome, revealing the hidden symbolic meaning of temples and tombs, with illuminations and rituals that linked the Cosmos to the Earth, and linked the Sun to the Power of the emperors.
Particularly significant in this regard are her studies and discoveries regarding two of the most important buildings constructed by Emperor Hadrian: the Pantheon and his Mausoleum, now Castel Sant'Angelo.
«Pantheon. Architecture and Light» (english edition) traces the millennia-long history of one of the grandest monuments of ancient Rome, which still boasts the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome. The book reveals its construction secrets and tells the story of its transformation into a church that saved it from destruction. It underwent devastating restorations and the theft of precious materials, such as the original gilded bronze beams and tiles.
The book illustrates with magnificent photographs the magical illuminations discovered by the author: the Arc of Light and the Square of Light, which are visible for a few days only twice a year. Their dates coincide with the feasts of some of the most important deities of the Roman pantheon.
Thanks to those discoveries, it was possible to fully understand the symbolic meaning of the Pantheon, linked to the passage of Time and to the very essence of imperial power. The book is also published in English.
COPERTINA CASTELLO INGLESE
«Castel Sant'Angelo. Mausoleum of Hadrian. Architecture & Light» is dedicated to another magnificent monument built by Emperor Hadrian, whose history is inextricably intertwined with that of Rome.
Created as a new imperial Mausoleum and dynastic tomb, it was decorated with magnificent architectural marbles, of which very few fragments of extraordinary beauty have survived.
Its tower-like shape and its strategic location along one of the main access routes to Rome from the north, made it a key element in controlling the city.
After having resisted the barbarian invasions of the Huns, the Goths and the Vandals, it was destroyed and abandoned. At the end of the fifteenth century, great transformations began, with the construction of walls and towers that made it an impregnable fortress where the Popes took refuge during sieges and sackings such as that of the Landsknechts.
Those same popes called upon some of the greatest artists of the Renaissance to decorate the papal apartments. After a troubled period in which it was transformed into a prison and barracks, the Mausoleum was given a new life, becoming one of the most important Museums in Rome.
The book will help you rediscover the original parts of the Mausoleum, including the Hall of the Burial Urns, virtually freeing them from the Renaissance shell that envelops them. Thanks to Marina De Franceschini's archaeoastronomy discoveries, with magic illuminations during the days of the Summer Solstice, the book offers a new and unprecedented reconstruction of its ancient appearance.
A true Guide to visit the Mausoleum with new eyes, understanding its hidden symbolic meaning. The book is also published in English.
History Studies
From the origins of Rome to the decline of the Empire, to the beginnings of the Early Middle Ages, Rirella Editrice's blogs recount the long journey of Roman civilization through the stories of its most important figures and emperors, from Augustus and Hadrian to the late Empire with Diocletian, Maxentius, and Constantine.
The articles in PDF format, available exclusively on the Rirella Editrice website, illustrate some of the most significant monuments built by various emperors over the centuries. They are set within their historical, territorial, economic, and also symbolic-religious contexts, to provide the most complete picture of their meaning and function.
This is the case of the article «The Mausoleum of Romulus on the Appian Way», built by Emperor Maxentius to commemorate his son, who died young under mysterious circumstances, which discusses the sacred legitimation of imperial Power. There are other blogs dedicated to Augustus, Tiberius, and Hadrian.