Understanding style and identity in the Mediterranean oikoumene: the case of the sanctuary of Aesculapius at Fregellae

Abstract

The sanctuary of Aesculapius at Fregellae provides a useful case study to understand the complex dynamics of cultural interaction and formation. The thesis will study its forms and what they could have meant at a socio-cultural level. While this question has already been addressed before, the approach followed static, linear conceptions of cultural interaction. Here, a more dynamic framework will be adopted, taking into consideration the heightened connections between local and “global” realities. What this implies is that Fregellae, as a local reality, could assert its own presence within the wider Mediterranean landscape without being a passive pawn in the hands of supralocal forces. The sanctuary will reflect these dynamics at an architectural level, whereby “global” elements that belong to a Mediterranean oikoumene are combined with localised architectural developments according to “glocalising bricolage.” At a more socio-cultural tier, the sanctuary embodied these local-“global” dynamics by conveying different ideas of self-portrayal at different levels: local, regional and pan-Mediterranean.