Ostrogothic Cities 105
civitates (“Formula regarding the appointment of the count of the Goths in
each city”, Variae 7.3) and some passages of the so-called Laus Liberii (Variae
2.16), which reports the praise given by Theoderic when, around 510, he cel-
ebrated the great work of the patrician Liberius to ensure the peaceful settle-
ment of the Goths following their arrival in Italy.20 In short, both texts make
evident the fact that Romans and Goths lived side by side in towns. A potential
source of problems, it was expected that mutual respect and respect for civili-
tas would mediate trouble. This attitude, evident in the Laus Liberii, was an
essential piece of political ideology that celebrated the force of law and the
interdependence of both peoples. The Variae acknowledge the judicial con-
troversies that could arise between Goths and Romans (both with respect to
property rights and various crimes committed between the two peoples) and in
each circumstance, cities were the stage where legal disputes would have been
resolved. It bears emphasizing that the city was the place where the two peoples
would have met and where terms of cohabitation would have been forged.
Programme versus Propaganda in the Cities of Ostrogothic Italy
But what kind of framework would cities actually have provided for the king’s
plans? Reuse of buildings and materials, displacement of building materials
from one place to another, concessions to individuals for the use of buildings
and spaces contrary to their traditional purposes, and the commencement
of the restoration of existing buildings: these are topics treated by the Variae
concerning the material condition of cities. It is apparent that the emphasis
placed on urban dignity had to do mainly with the preservation and adapta-
tion of existing fabric. The preservation and, where necessary, the restoration
of the antique dignitas of urban fabric was in fact a key element of the govern-
mental ideology disseminated by central authority to its officials throughout
the kingdom.21
From this point of view, Theoderic acted exactly in the same way the Roman
imperial government had done in the previous century. In an interesting essay
written some twenty years ago, Cristina La Rocca asked whether the texts refer-
ring to the public works of the Gothic government had been realized in actual
projects, and more precisely, in an actual renewal of Italian cities.22 She even-
tually came to the conclusion that most of what the sources report should be
20 Porena, L’insediamento degli Ostrogoti, 17–33.
21 Bjornlie, Politics and Tradition, pp. 227–30 and 240–48.
22 La Rocca, “Una prudente maschera ‘antiqua’ ”, pp. 451–515.