An overview of the physical state of Rome in the year 900, followed by an introduction to each of the major categories of material culture to be discussed: architecture, painting, icons, sculpture, inscriptions, manuscripts, ceramics, and coins. A rationale is provided for the format of the book: not a diachronic chronological survey as such, but instead organized around four overarching themes.

This chapter addresses the theme of ‘Death and Burial’, focussing on what little is known about prestigious burials in Roman churches, including various popes and the emperor Otto II.

A historical overview of Rome’s political, economic, and social history between 900 and 1000. The first six decades are dominated by four generations of the ‘House of Theophylact’, lay magnates who control the papacy, restore the Roman economy, and provide the principal source of patronage; and the final four decades by the Saxon emperors, Otto I, Otto II, and Otto III, who vie with the Roman aristocracy for control of both the city and the papacy.

This chapter examines visual evidence for the cult of the saints, with a focus on murals in S. Clemente and S. Maria Antiqua, and sculpture in S. Maria in Aventino.

A gazetteer of Roman churches with murals plausibly assigned to the tenth century, and a rationale for such.

An introductory examination of written texts dealing with the tenth century, focussing on Liutprand of Cremona and Benedict of Monte Soratte. These constitute our principal historical sources in the absence of Liber pontificalis entries for this century.

This chapter addresses the theme of patronage, with specific examples considered for each of three categories: papal, lay, imperial.

Summary and conclusions

An examination of the role of monasticism in material culture, especially following the important role of Odo of Cluny in introducing the Benedictine rule to Roman monasteries. Examples covered include mural paintings in the churches of S. Maria Antiqua and S. Saba, and the silver covers of a Gospels manuscript created for the convent of SS. Ciriaco e Nicola.

Lomas de Angelópolis (Lomas) is a large-scale suburban gated community in Puebla's metropolitan area that originated in the early 2000s with the expectation that it would provide around 21,000 housing units over 900 ha. This chapter focuses on the third scale of the gatedness analysis framework, in which the case study is analysed locally, mentioning the differences between the stages of the research project. The analysis explores the conditions that enabled the construction of this gated city, emphasising deregulation, financialisation, municipal disarticulation, and the privatisation of urban management. It also explores the different cognitive dispositions regarding the enclave's slogan, ‘Life as it should be’, its private governance, and the visions of a safe community. Finally, it explores the different physical borders that delimit the enclave, focusing on the differentiated lives of those inside and outside the fortified compound.

Structural incentives and constraints for gated communities’ developers

Lomas de Angelópolis is just one of hundreds of gated communities built in Puebla's periphery since the 1980s. The enclave is located over former agricultural land used by local communities for livestock and crops, aided by the bordering Atoyac River, which strengthened the fertility of this floodplain. This enclave developed beyond the supposed state-defined city edge, the ecological ring road. Therefore, the developers required planning modifications and flexibility for this project to exist, since tenure, land-use restrictions, and soil conditions were not the most favourable for urban development. The direct support of Puebla's State government, influential businesspeople, and municipal public officials facilitated this ambitious project even when planning regulations, infrastructure, services, transport, or security were inadequate.