The colloquium > History

The international congresses concerning the Roman provincial art began in the 1980s ' under the aegis of the countries of the Central Europe. Pushed by the need to finish the catalog of CSIR dedicated to the study of the Roman provinces corresponding to current Austria, the bases were put for the first one of these international colloquiums. It was kept in 1989 in the Austrian city of Graz and its main theme suggested solving the problems connected to the study of the Roman provincial art, mainly in the Balkan provinces.

Now established as a biennial event, the second meeting was held in Veszprém (Hungary) in 1991 under the title “Die Steindenkmäler der Provinzen, Noricum, Raetien und Pannonien und ihre Beziehungen zu Italien” (“The stone monuments of the provinces of Noricum, Raetia and Pannonia and their relationship with Italy”).

The third Colloquium was organized in 1993 in Bonn (Germany) and treated barbaric invasions and their influence on the Roman provincial plastic art. These first three colloquiums collected around thirty participants every time, coming mainly from de central Europa.

The fourth meeting, in 1995 to Celje ( Slovenia), opened its doors to the others, coming from more oriental provinces, and in of new specialities attracted by the theme, the problems of dating and the symbologie.

In 1997, the event moved in the Netherlands in Maastricht and opened in other regions of the empire, around the theme Typology, Ikonographie und soziale Hintergründe der provinzialen Grabdenkmäler und Wege der ikonographischen Einwirkung (The typology, the iconography and the social environment of funerary monuments and modalities of iconographic influence).

The 6th Congress in 1999 gathered the participants in Budapest (Hungary). Three official languages were then retained: German, English and French. Two themes were for the honor: Chronology und Ikonographie der Grabmäler und Grabplastik (The chronology and the iconography of funerary monuments) and Elemente der repräsentativen Baukunst (The elements of ornamental architecture).

Cologne (Germany) welcomed the 7th congress and about sixty congress participants around a reflection led on Romanization und Resistenz in Plastik, Architektur und Inschriften des Imperium Romanum (Romanization and resistance in the plastic arts, the architecture and the epigraphy of Roman Empire).

In 2003, the 8th Congress is kept in Zagreb (Croatia) in a frame(executive) more and more internationnal, Italian being added as official language. The subject of this meeting was Religion und Mythos als inspiration der provinzialrömischen Plastik (Religion and myths as an inspiration for provincial Roman plastic arts).

The 9th Congress found another time Austria in Innsbruck around a reflection on Die Selbstdarstellung der römischen Gesellschaft in den Provinzen im Spiegel der Steindenkmäler (The self-service restaurant-portrait of society Roman in the provinces mirrored by the works of art in stone).

It is that for the 10th Congress that the opening in the oriental western and extreme provinces of the Empire was obvious, during the meeting which was held in Arles (France): it collected more than 100 participants around the subject Regional sculpture workshops: technique, style and iconography.

The following Congress took place to Mérida (Spain) in 2009: these meetings appear henceforth as reference point for the sculpture. The reserved subject was Rome and provinces: model and distribution (Roma y las Provincias: modelo difusión).

In 2011, Pula (Croatia) welcomed the 12th Congress around two thématics: Dating of Stone Monuments and Criteria for Determination of Chronology, and Representations of women and family.

Finally, in 2013 the 13th Congress was held in Rumania (Bucarest-Alba Iulia-Constanta) around the main subject, Cult and votive monuments in the Roman provinces: Sculpture techniques, sources of stone material, craftsmanship and decoration– Iconography and symbolism.