106 Marazzi
interpreted as well-orchestrated propaganda, the aim of which was to show
that the king was in fact capable of acting exactly as his predecessors had in
order to keep cities alive and functioning. Nonetheless, the propaganda should
not be interpreted as an actual campaign of urban revitalization. Rather, the
effort seems oriented toward restoring dignity to the role of cities and their
structures by repairing the damages inflicted to them by time and lack of main-
tenance. The intent was to transform into ‘antique’ and ‘venerable’ what had
become old and decaying. From this perspective, ‘antique’ became paradoxi-
cally synonymous with ‘modern’, since antiquity was a timeless value for which
any sensible government should take care. La Rocca’s reading of Theoderic’s
urban policy is essentially correct. The ‘Indian summer’ of Theodric’s reign
could not have addressed anything more substantial than a careful selection
of projects that would preserve existing fabric. The limited financial resources
available for such undertakings simply could not accommodate directing
attention to the immense architectural patrimony which virtually every Italian
city had inherited from the height of the empire.
Nevertheless, it would be inaccurate to underestimate the importance of
what Theoderic did accomplish in the urban setting. Initiatives to safeguard
urban decor not only characterized the reign of Theoderic, but also continued
after his death. The Variae keep account of this until the years when Justinian
declared war against the Ostrogoths. Although certainly influenced by Roman
officials, such as Liberius and Cassiodorus, who played prominent roles in the
kingdom’s administration, the urban programme under discussion had to be
shared by Theoderic in order to account for the prominence that it receives
in the sources. Based on the diversity of projects described, it seems clear that
towns still functioned as the vital organs in a body politic that emulated the
classical urban lifestyle. Hence, the Variae attest measures for the upkeep of
walls, sewers, theatres, baths, statues, and aqueducts. Given the common prac-
tice of reusing derelict urban structures in the period more generally, it should
come as little surprise that the Variae describe cases that grant individuals the
right to occupy, readapt and even dismantle buildings no longer considered
practicable for public purposes. In other words, the measured pragmatism and
flexibility of this urban programme is more interesting than the ideological
framework upon which it was based. As should be expected, Rome received
the most prominent attention. Since the first years of the 6th century up to the
end of Theoderic’s reign, a number of measures were taken to provide fund-
ing for Rome’s maintenance and to keep active a number of offices to provide
for that maintenance.23 However, by the time of the Gothic War, Cassiodorus
23 Fauvinet-Ranson, Decor civitatis, pp. 227–55.