I capitelli a foglie lisce di prima e media età imperiale: modello urbano o tradizione locale? [Smooth-leaf capitals in the early and middle Roman Empire: Urban models or local traditions?]

Smooth-leaf capitals enjoyed widespread popularity from the third century AD to the fourth century. However, there are known artifacts dating back to the early imperial age whose origins merit closer attention. According to some scholars, these artifacts may have originated from what is known as the “blocked-out capital” in the Levantine region. This study delves into the origins and occurrences of smooth-leaf capitals in Roman architecture during the early imperial age. Drawing upon gathered archaeological realia and contextualizing them temporally and spatially, a hypothesis can be proposed: commencing from the Claudian era, a design inspired by the conventional Corinthian capital, albeit stripped of its vegetal decorative elements, gained popularity. This trend did not arise from local or Hellenistic-Egyptian traditions, nor was it solely a product of construction site dynamics. Instead, it appears to have been driven primarily by aesthetic considerations and spread predominantly within the Levantine region before undergoing further simplification and schematization during the third and notably the fourth century AD.