Students from the Master's Degree in History of the Open University of Israel recently took part in a study visit to Rome as part of the international course Rome: A Multi-Layered Urban Landscape.
The course was organized jointly by the Open University of Israel and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, under the academic leadership of Prof. Iris Shagrir, Rector of The Open University of Israel; Dr. Yifat Peleg of The Open University of Israel; and Prof. Manuela Consonni and Prof. Alexander Yakobson of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Supported by the International Office of the Open University of Israel, the course explores Rome's long history, from antiquity to the twentieth century. Through lectures delivered in Hebrew and English, students examined how monuments, buildings, and urban spaces from different historical periods have been preserved, transformed, or given new uses and meanings over time. The course highlighted how each era interpreted Rome's past and reshaped it in accordance with its own values and perspectives.
During the study visit, students connected historical sources, visual representations, and contemporary scholarship with Rome's urban landscape, archaeological remains, architecture, and works of art. Visits to key sites across the city provided an opportunity to explore questions of preservation, adaptive reuse, and urban transformation. These included a museum housed in a former Roman bath complex, underground catacombs, a Baroque piazza that retains the shape of an ancient Roman stadium, and an urban centre designed in the Rationalist style associated with Italy's Fascist period.
The visit followed a period of academic study and preparation. On site, students analysed historical sources and engaged in discussions, bringing together classroom learning, direct observation, and collaborative work among students and faculty from both universities.
By combining interdisciplinary academic study with first-hand engagement with Rome's urban heritage, the course offered students an opportunity to explore how the city's past continues to shape its present.