Building Tabernae

'Building tabernae' explores the economic history of investment in commercial space in Roman Italy, seeking to come to a better understanding of the history of urban consumer economies in the late republic and the imperial period. While it is clear that there was a sharp increase in the maximum scale of building projects involving shops, a phenomenon especially visible in Ostia and Rome, the dynamics of this development have not been understood.

In addressing this issue, this research attempts to revive the debate on urban economies and move it away from the vexed question of urban manufacturing which has dominated it since the 1980s. Through a monograph, this research will shed light on the emergence of large-scale investment in commercial space, its spread over the peninsula and its relation with consumer demand. The book aims both to evolve a new understanding of the economic history of urban communities in the Italian peninsula and to evaluate a methodological and theoretical framework for the study of urban commerce in the Roman world, and beyond.

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