Tusculum I

Focusing on the historical and intellectual rediscovery of the ancient Roman town of Tusculum, this monograph examines the evolution of modern archaeology through the study of Italian library and archival sources spanning from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries. The investigation traces how humanists, antiquarians, and early archaeologists reinterpreted classical texts—particularly those linked to Cato and Cicero—and transformed literary admiration into empirical field research. By analyzing early manuscript descriptions, the development of epigraphy, topographical cartography, art collecting, and the romantic integration of ruins into the Landscape, the narrative demonstrates how individual passion and shifting societal mentalities gradually structured archaeology into a rigorous scientific discipline. Published under the auspices of the Spanish School of History and Archaeology in Roma (CSIC), the work establishes a comprehensive historiographical foundation for subsequent interdisciplinary studies on the Tusculum archaeological site.