Untitled I (2025), CORPVS ROMÆ curated by Daniela Beltrani & John O'Donnell in collaboration with PAR PERFORMANCE ART ROME, Teatro Marcello & Portico di Ottavia, Rome IT

In this performance, I presented a ritual of transformation rooted in the layered history of the area surrounding the Teatro Marcello, where among other landmarks stood the Columna Lactaria, the Forum Holitorium (a vegetable market), and the Circus Flaminius. The Circus hosted the Ludi Plebei in November, ancient celebrations honouring the Roman plebs and their social and political role. It was surrounded by temples dedicated to Apollo, Bellona, Pietas, Spes (Hope), Janus, and Juno Sospita.

Julius Caesar began constructing the Teatro Marcello, demolishing existing buildings; Augustus expanded the project, incorporating part of the Circus Flaminius. The theatre thus transformed a historically ritualistic space into a permanent venue for performances in ancient Rome.

Nearby, the Columna Lactaria marked a public site where infant abandonment, a socially accepted but tragic practice, occurred. Fathers who did not recognise or care for their children exposed here infants, who might be taken, sold, or left to die. Some mothers secretly sent slaves to nurse abandoned infants, while others adopted children with their husbands' acceptance.

Through symbolic gestures and objects, I explored memory, vulnerability, and transition, evoking cycles of care and separation, connection and detachment. I highlighted the fragility of presence and the potential for renewal that arises from breaking bonds, honouring the ongoing dialogue between permanence and impermanence in body and space.

Photo 1 Daniele Ottavi

Photo 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 Paola Fatelli

Photo 6, 9, 10, 11, 12 Silvia Stucky

CORPVS ROMÆ was held under the patronage of Rome department of culture (Assessorato alla Cultura)