Towards a New Reading of the Terracottas from the Via di San Gregorio

The pedimental terracottas discovered along the Via di San Gregorio in Rome have been the focus of increased scholarly attention thanks to the highly generative co-authored article of Anselmino, Ferrea, and Strazzulla (1991) and the thorough re-study of the pediment by Ferrea (2002). In the wake of the latter publication and the new display of the terracottas, alternative arrangements and varying identifications have been offered by Torelli (2004), Strazzulla (2008), Coarelli (2012), and Lippolis (2016), among others. None of these proposed solutions has resulted in consensus. The interconnected difficulties in determining the location of the temple, the cult, the patron, and the chronology are many, but the basis for any future interpretation which might gain widespread acceptance must lie in close re-reading of the terracottas themselves. Drawing on focused analysis of the pedimental terracottas, as well as Late Republican comparanda in other media, this paper proposes alternative arrangements of the surviving figures, reformulating some of the least satisfactory elements of the current reconstruction mounted in the Palazzo Caffarelli. While adopting novel solutions, the ‘problems’ addressed are those that have been raised by other authors, such as Strazzulla and Lippolis. Furthermore, the study of the iconography of sacrifice and ritual in other media offers the possibility of cautiously proposing new identifications for key figures within the pediment, altering the terms of the current debate. By questioning certain common assumptions about the terracottas, I offer the first steps towards a modified interpretation.