London,
11
October
2016
|
13:20
Europe/London

Photographs explore ‘shared geography’ of Londinium and London

Londinium 43 AD, a photographic wall installation at the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Library, takes you on a journey to show how much of London’s Roman settlement has been preserved over the last 2,000 years.

Photographer Eugenio Grosso uses the layout of Roman London and contemporary maps to reveal a shared geography, where history and modern day collide, to produce a series of vivid images of ordinary places with an extraordinary past.

Londinium 43 AD, which will be displayed at Guildhall Library from 17 October to 31 March, highlights City locations that were once home to significant Roman sites – for example, a Roman wall, remains of a Roman bath, or the remains of a temple swallowed up by a construction site.

Eugenio Grosso said:

London has transformed herself many times since a Roman army division settled on the north bank of the Thames in 43 AD. The capital has been sacked, abandoned, grown up, burnt down, bombed, and rebuilt again but, despite everything that has happened, the deepest core of the city has been preserved over the centuries.

“The City of London is situated in the same spot as the Roman settlement of Londinium and even though new constructions have crossed the old topography over two millennia, you can still see traces of Roman life. Present day maps and those of Roman Londinium overlap, and you can see how many modern roads run on the same route as the Romans roads. I hope that visitors to Guildhall Library will enjoy exploring Londinium as much as I did.”

The City of London Corporation, which owns and manages Guildhall Library, invests £80m every year in heritage and cultural activities of all kinds. It is the UK’s largest funder of culture after the government, the BBC, and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

Londinium 43 AD runs from 17 October – 31 March 2017 at Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London, EC2V 7HH - Telephone 020 7332 1868/1870 – FREE ADMISSION

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday: 9.30am – 5pm

Wednesday: 9.30am – 7.30pm

Saturday: 9.30am – 5pm on alternate Saturdays. Please see website for more details. The library is closed on Bank Holidays.

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/guildhall-library/Pages/default.aspx

For interview and image requests, please contact:

Andrew Buckingham, Media Officer, City of London Corporation

Tel: 020 7332 1452 / Mobile: 07795 333060 / Email andrew.buckingham@cityoflondon.gov.uk

About the City of London Corporation:

The City of London Corporation is a uniquely diverse organisation. It supports and promotes the City as a world leader in international finance and business services and provides local services and policing for those working in, living in, and visiting the Square Mile. It also provides valued services to London and the nation. These include the Barbican Centre, Barbican Music Library, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Guildhall Library, Guildhall Art Gallery and Roman Amphitheatre, London Metropolitan Archives, a range of education provision (including three City Academies); five Thames bridges (including Tower Bridge and Millennium Bridge), Central Criminal Court at Old Bailey, over 10,000 acres of open spaces (including Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest), and three wholesale food markets. The City of London Corporation is London’s Port Health Authority and also runs the Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow. For more details, visit www.cityoflondon.gov.uk