Into the Void . . . RSA 2026

“Into the Void” was the title of my recent talk at the Renaissance Society of American meeting, part of a session on “Living and Thinking with Antiquties,” organized by Hilary Barker and Lillian Datchev.

A view into that void, with soccer ball; January 2024.

I argued that it is worth considering the “void” left behind by an ancient structure in the center of Rome as an agent in how later residents shaped and lived their lives. This open, walled space determined the sort of work people carried out there, their decision to reside inside its protective walls, even where they could safely bury their dead. In my telling, the void is what gives shape to urban stories and continuity to urban life.

Often writing a book feels like stepping into a void. I’m grateful to Hilary and Lilly for giving me this platform to share my work and offer a preview of that book, On the Street of the Hidden Shops, coming out this fall!