The city of Rome does not feature prominently in the Bible; nevertheless, it developed a nuanced memorial landscape in Christian Late Antiquity. The Eternal City derived its lasting importance for the new and increasingly dominant religion not only from its political role as capital of the Roman empire, but also from the ideological significance of the martyrdom of the Princes of the Apostles. While, however, the narrative about Paul in the canonical Acts of the Apostles ends in the Roman capital, only extra-canonical traditions tell us about the later life and final fate of Peter. All the more prolific was speculation “Beyond the Canon”: legends, memorial traditions, and cult blossomed, producing a rich apocryphal literature of various genres, a wealth of monuments that stand out to this day, and a stational liturgy which eventually was to shape the worship of the whole Latin West.

The envisaged Summer School will explore the stupendous importance of extra-canonical traditions and the complex interplay between texts, rituals, and material culture in the formation and development of the Christian memorial landscape in late antique Rome. It shall investigate the literary heritage of extra-canonical writings, trace their influence in archaeology, iconography, and art, and explore how they reverberate even in the Roman liturgy, which, on its surface, appears extremely biblical. Although the primary focus will be on Late Antiquity, the long-term reception history in later periods with their magnificent rituals, art, and architecture will not be neglected. We shall spend ca. half of the time in the classroom and half of the time on-site, visiting the monuments. Lectures by the instructors, common reading of extracts from key sources, and contributions by the participants will alternate with and be informed by visits to outstanding monuments, some of which are not regularly open to the wider public. Instruction language will be English.