Total immersion tropes: Environmental materiality and Roman world-formation

This chapter explores the complexity of world-building, centred on receptions of Rome as a vehicle for ‘total immersion’. Giovanni Battista Piranesi, known for his visionary architectural drawings blending fantasy and realism, reshaped perceptions of ‘eternal’ Rome. The city’s enduring significance, rooted in self-production and architectural symbolism, epitomized by the eternal flame in Vesta's temple, reflects its own iconic narrativization: a tension between monumental permanence and vulnerability, defensive imperialism and internal political strife. This exploration juxtaposes ancient authors' perspectives with Piranesi's distortions, highlighting themes of destruction and rivalry in Roman world-building, and interrogating the place of human perception amid natural and political forces in ways that continue to resonate. These tensions reflect Roman interest in a competitive, multi-layered, worldview, and Piranesi's creations exemplify and build on this dynamic. Ultimately, this entanglement of media and approaches illuminates an enduring fascination with immersive experiences of Rome, bridging ancient and contemporary readings and representation.