- Between Ostrogothic and Carolingian Italy
- Edited by Fabrizio Oppedisano
The Imperial Image of Theoderic: the Case of the Regisole of Pavia
- Carlo Ferrari
- © 2022 Author(s) |
- CC BY 4.0
- DOI: 10.36253/978-88-5518-664-3.07
The contribution intends to retrace the history of Pavia’s famous equestrian statue, known as the “Regisole”, destroyed in 1796. The statue, in gilded bronze, represented a Roman emperor and was transferred from Rome to Ravenna, most likely by Theoderic. At a certain point, probably between the eighth and tenth centuries, the Regisole arrived in Pavia, even if it is difficult to establish who was responsible for that. The most logical solution is to attribute the transfer of the monument to a Lombard king, specifically to Aistulf, who conquered Ravenna in 751. It is possible to argue that by transferring the Regisole – which was believed to represent Theoderic – to the capital of the Lombard kingdom, Aistulf intended to promote an imperial image of himself, at a time when the conquest of the Exarchate raised him to the rank of “new Theoderic”.
- Keywords:
- Early Middle Ages,
- Ravenna,
- Pavia,
- Theoderic,
- Aistulf,
- Regisole,
University of Pisa, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0002-3968-4687
Chapter Information
Chapter Title
The Imperial Image of Theoderic: the Case of the Regisole of Pavia
Authors
Carlo Ferrari
Language
English
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-664-3.07
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Bibliographic Information
Book Title
Between Ostrogothic and Carolingian Italy
Book Subtitle
Survivals, revivals, ruptures
Editors
Fabrizio Oppedisano
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
262
Publication Year
2022
Copyright Information
© 2022 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/978-88-5518-664-3
ISBN Print
978-88-5518-663-6
eISBN (pdf)
978-88-5518-664-3
eISBN (xml)
978-88-5518-666-7
Series Title
Reti Medievali E-Book
Series ISSN
2704-6362
Series E-ISSN
2704-6079