- Talk
- Arts & Culture
- Manchester
- 7 May 2025
The Roads to Rome: A Journey Through 2000 Years of History
*The Percival Lecture* - By historian and explorer Professor Catherine Fletcher
7 May 2025
5.15 pm
4 Rosamund Street West
Manchester M15 6LL
Geoffrey Manton Building
Manchester Metropolitan University
4 Rosamund Street West
Manchester M15 6LL
Get directions
This is a special members-only event that is free to members
Overview
Did you know that many of Europe’s modern roads still follow ancient Roman paths? Join us as historian Catherine Fletcher uncovers the fascinating stories of the world’s most influential road network.
Journey Highlights
Drawing from her own travels from Scotland to Istanbul, Catherine explores:
– How these remarkable roads shaped the cultures and connections of an entire continent
– The diverse voices of those who travelled these routes – from pilgrims and artists to refugees and revolutionaries
– What these ancient highways reveal about power, resistance, and cultural exchange across two millennia
Characters You’ll Meet
You’ll meet an unforgettable cast of characters along the way, including spies, Byzantine noblewomen, John Keats, Frederick Douglass, and even Mussolini on his motorbike. Through their stories, discover how these stone-paved paths continue to captivate our imagination and influence our world today.
Questions We’ll Explore
The event will explore intriguing questions like:
– Why do Roman roads still appear on modern maps?
– How did local communities respond to these new connections through their lands?
– What can these ancient routes tell us about our present-day networks and connections?
Research and Background
Based on original research and Catherine’s personal journey, this talk promises to be an enlightening exploration of history, culture, and human connection.
About the speaker
Catherine Fletcher is Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University and author of The Roads to Rome: A History. A regular voice on BBC Radio 4 and popular history podcasts, she brings historical insights to wide audiences through her engaging storytelling.
Event schedule
5.15 pm – Arrival and check-in
5.30 – 6.30 pm – Drinks reception/food for members and special guests in the Geoffrey Manton Atrium
6.30 – 7.45 pm – Lecture by Professor Catherine Fletcher in Geoffrey Manton Lecture Room 5 (GMLT5)
7.45 pm – Event ends
We are very grateful to Manchester Metropolitan University for hosting this year’s Percival Lecture. This is a members-only event and places are limited. Booking opens Wednesday 19 February 2025.
Professor Catherine Fletcher
Catherine Fletcher is Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University and the author of several books including The Roads to Rome: A History and The Beauty and the Terror: An Alternative History of the Italian Renaissance. She is on the editorial advisory board of History Today magazine and is a regular contributor to radio and podcasts including BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time, the BBC History Extra podcasts and History Hit.
Catherine studied at the University of Liverpool and Royal Holloway, University of London, and worked at the universities of Durham, Sheffield and Swansea before taking up her current post in 2020.
Thomas Percival
Thomas Percival was the Manchester Lit & Phil’s first President, and the Percival Lecture was established in 1947 to celebrate his legacy.
In 1780, Percival started hosting meetings at his house, attended by ‘literary characters’, the principal inhabitants and ‘occasional strangers’. This gang of characters, many of them radical reformers and slave abolitionists, became the ‘Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester’. The society’s first official meeting took place on 28th February 1781.
Percival himself was a remarkable physician, moralist and a non-conformist, responsible for sweeping changes to public health. He was on a mission to improve the living and working conditions in the city, establishing the Manchester Board of Health in 1795.
The Percival Lecture is hosted in turn by the University of Manchester, the University of Salford, and Manchester Metropolitan University.
