Rome in History Lessons (Straub & Huillet 1972)
History Lessons begins with these views of three similar maps, linked by jumpcuts. These are the only maps in the film. They are, Martin Brady told us yesterday (16.03.2019), when introducing the film at the NFT, Fascist period maps showing the expansion of the Roman Empire. They are shown in reverse order, as if the Empire were retracting. They mimic the film's own ostensible return to the past, though of course the film remains always in the present.
The statue of Julius Caesar that follows was (MB again) erected by Mussolini:
The statue of Julius Caesar that follows was (MB again) erected by Mussolini:
The statue overlooks the Via dei Fori Imperiali. Jacqueline Maurer tells me that the maps are further down the same street, behind these hoardings:
Via dei Fori Imperiali 23 - Google Street View October 2014
This post is a mapping of some of the Rome locations of the film - the statue of Caesar from the opening of the film, the three car journeys through the city that punctuate it, and the Fontana del Mascherone that closes it:
On this map, the statue is the red square and the fountain is the blue square:
The first car journey is the red line. It starts on the Via Garibaldi and advances east through these places: Via Goffredo Mamelli, Via Agostino Bertani, Piazza di S. Cosimato, Via Natale del Grande, Via Cardinale Merry del Val, Viale di Trastavere, Piazza Mastai and Via della Luce, ending just before the junction with the Via della Lungaretta:
The second car journey is the black line. It starts on Via de Baullari and advances west through these places: Piazza Campo di Fiori, Via dei Cappellari, Via del Pellegrino and Via dei Banchi Vecchi, ending at the junction with the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II:
The third car journey is the blue line. It starts on the Vicolo della Frustra and heads north through these places: Vicolo del Cedro, Via del Mattonata, Via Garibaldi, Via della Scala, Piazza di S. Egidio, Via della Pelliccia, Vicolo del Bologna, Via Benedetta, Via di Santa Dorotea, Via di Porta Settimiana and Via della Lungara, ending near the junction with the Lungotevere Gianicolense:
This is, I think, the first time I have mapped a film in a city other than London, Paris or Geneva. I have only broken my rule because this was the film, when I saw it aged 19 or so, that taught me to love difficult art.