Author: F. Sommaini

Download article as .pdf: Un protagonista dimenticato dell’edilizia: la figura del redemptor delle costruzioni nella Roma imperiale

This paper is the first in-depth study of the figure of the redemptor (the building contractor at the head of a construction company) in ancient Rome, with particular reference to the Imperial period. The introductory section analyses the sources in order to understand the generally unflattering opinion of these figures expressed by ancient writers. This is followed by a careful study based on historical, epigraphic and iconographic sources, aimed at assessing more objectively who the redemptor was in Roman society. Drawing primarily on evidence from the imperial period, but also incorporating occasional and valuable testimonies from the late Republic and Late Antiquity, the study reconstructs the role and professional profile of the redemptor. At the same time, new proposals are put forward concerning the organisational structure of building companies, as well as the characteristics and functioning of the place par excellence of the redemptor and his workers: the building site.