Summary: Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Vitruvius' De Architectura. Written 2000 years ago, Vitruvius' treatise is a ten-volume work on Roman engineering and architecture, the only surviving text on the subject from the ancient world. The rediscovery of this work in the 15th century provided the impetus for the neoclassical architectural movement, and Vitruvius exerted a significant influence on the work of Renaissance architects including Palladio, Brunelleschi and Alberti. It remains a hugely important text today. Melvyn Bragg is joined by Serafina Cuomo, Reader in Roman History at Birkbeck, University of London; Robert Tavernor, Emeritus Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at the London School of Economics and Alice Koenig, Lecturer in Latin and Classical Studies at the University of St Andrews.
