Abstract
This research aims to investigate models, behaviours and features of violence against women in Rome (VIII century BC – V century AD) through an analysis of the sources (literary, historiographic, epigraphic, legal, numismatic), and to identify the historical and cultural superstructures that may have produced or justified the phenomenon of violence against women in Western society from ancient times to present. This research aims to interpret the guidelines indicated by the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025, among whose priority areas is the explicit fight against gender violence. However, knowledge of this phenomenon from a historical, legal, economic and anthropological perspective is a crucial prerequisite for any intervention strategy. The female body has been a cultural and symbolic place for the construction of gender identity and relations between sexes, and an entity from which models, norms and behaviours arise. Therefore, this research aims to verify the validity of these premises by looking at the history of ancient Rome which, for Western culture, is the main historical, ideological and symbolic reference from the post-classical age to today. This research involves several parallel paths: the systematic analysis of the sources will highlight the protagonists, the different forms of violence, the motivations behind the violent action, the narrative format, and the lexicon/vocabulary. The investigation will be focused on the cases attested in the ancient sources during the Republican period and on the persistence of the phenomenon during the Imperial and Late Antique eras. The focus allows us to trace the cultural and anthropological origins of gender asymmetry, to explore imaginary and symbolic perspectives, to reconstruct long-lasting historical dimensions, to read correctly the historical and cultural superstructures that still persist in today’s Western society. The sagas of the regal period will be valued not for the reconstruction of the historical fabric, but as a privileged context for the codification of the system of values, thus for the understanding of social roles of ancient Rome.
Results achieved
The activities carried out by the UL (Girotti–Uglietti) have consolidated and expanded the interpretative framework concerning the social and cultural dynamics of Imperial Rome, with particular attention to the construction of gender identities, the social role of women, and the processes of inclusion and exclusion in ancient societies. The comparative and interdisciplinary approach adopted has facilitated the integration of different types of sources and methodological perspectives, thereby contributing to the advancement of research in the field of Roman studies. Furthermore, dissemination and public engagement activities have promoted the wider circulation of research findings and strengthened third mission initiatives, fostering dialogue between academic research, cultural heritage, and civil society. Dissemination/ PE - Planning and direction of MASC (Workshop Mondo antico e sensibilità contemporanee) 2023/2024 Violence Against Women in the Ancient World. Casi di studio, letteratura, storia, epigrafia e lingua, finalizzati all'aggiornamento degli insegnanti delle scuole secondarie (S.O.F.I.A.) UniBo & Associazione Italiana di Cultura Classica – (Feb. 15 – March 28, 2024) - Lecture: “Narratives of Gender Violence between Classical Sources and Storytelling for the Roman History Course,” Università di Bologna (22/11/ 2023) - Presentation of “Il grido di Andromaca: voci di donne contro la guerra” (16/05/2024) - Photography Workshop (April 2024) - Photography Exhibition (November 2024) Training/Dissemination -ACADEMY UNIBO (may 2025) https://eventi.unibo.it/academy-etiamego-bologna-2025 https://eventi.unibo.it/academy-etiamego-bologna-2025/programma https://eventi.unibo.it/academy-etiamego-bologna-2025/relatori Conference Planning and Organization - “Violence against Women in collaboration with EuGeStA Project – Gender Studies and Classical Scholarship (24-25/10/ 2024) online meeting; -Bologna, 02/24/2025: M. Cassia (UniCT), Living in Late Antique Cappadocia: Women's Experiences in the Family of Gregory of Nazianzus G. Arena (University of Catania), Women of Sin and Men of God: Prostitution and the Church in Late Antique Syracuse. Conference Presentations (B. Girotti) - VIOLATE. Rethinking violence against women between the ancient world and modern representations. Event held within PRIN 2022 projects “Women, Theatre, Fascism”; “Mediterranean Multipolarity and Roman Unipolarity. Power Competition and Collaboration in Graeco-Roman Geopolitics and “WInGS – Women Intellectuals in Greek Society”: ottobre 2025 - Romania, Iasi, Simpozion Antichitatea november 2024https://litere.uaic.ro/antichitatea-si-mostenirea-ei-spirituala-28-29-11-2024/ - Turin, Sept. 2025 (with V. Uglietti): Women and Violence in Roman Times: Historical Roots of a Contemporary Issue; - Strasburg november 27, 2025: Expressions de la religiosité féminine sous l’Empire romain - Bologna, dec. 4th, 2025: Violence, Trauma, and Sexuality: Interrogating the Trace between History and Psychoanalysis in #ETIAMEGO V. Uglietti: - Lisbon Nov 21–22, 2024 Wo men and Writing in the Roman West International Conference: M. Mongardi – V. Uglietti, Nomine suo: Female Agency in Public Writing of Roman Italy (1st–2nd century AD) Publications 1) B. Girotti e V. Uglietti (eds.), Dure a morire. Parole di Violenza contro le donne, Bologna 2025 2)Girotti B., Foetida e fatua. Vizi e pregiudizi duri a morire., in Dure a morire. Parole di violenza contro le donne, Bologna 2025, 35-56 3) Girotti B., Animo deforme, deforme proposito, deformi rovine. Strategie di comunicazione per rappresentazioni relative all’integrità corporea ma non solo (secc. IV e VI d.C.), in ETHICAL CHALLENGES Sfide Etiche nell’Impero Romano: valori, personaggi e contesti sociali tra continuità e trasformazione, Bologna 2025, 205 – 225 4) Girotti B., Introduzione, in ETHICAL CHALLENGES (n. 3), Bologna 2025, 9-15 5)Girotti B., Pratiche di discredito dalla storiografia pagana del IV sec. d.C.: muliebristas vs. virilitas nelle rappresentazioni di potere, «C&C;» 2025, 20/2, 2025, 365-383 Uglietti V., Santissima, in B. Girotti e V. Uglietti (eds.), Dure a morire, Parole di Violenza contro le donne, Bologna 2025.Dettagli del progetto
Responsabile scientifico: Beatrice Girotti
Strutture Unibo coinvolte:
Dipartimento di Storia Culture Civiltà
Coordinatore:
Università degli Studi di TORINO(Italy)
Contributo totale Unibo: Euro (EUR) 53.925,00
Durata del progetto in mesi: 24
Data di inizio
28/09/2023
Data di fine:
28/02/2026
