European Heritage Days 2014

Guided tours, talks, conferences in museums, archaeological sites and monuments managed by the City of Rome, which will be open from 9.00 to 24.00.
Educational activities held in the places of history and culture, from the center to the periphery of the city, led by museum curators and directors for the XXXI edition of the European Heritage Days, an event promoted by the Council of Europe and with the support by the Ministry of Heritage and Activities cultural and Tourism.
All scheduled events are free, but some museums or sites require a € 1,00 admission fee.

PROGRAM
The Galleria Lapidaria of the Capitoline Museums. Pages from a carved “book” on public and private life in Ancient Rome
Musei Capitolini
h. 10.00

Waiting for Augustus: Behind the Scenes Tales of the exhibition “Le chiavi di Roma, la città di Augusto”
Mercati di Traiano - Museo dei Fori Imperiali
h. 10.00; 10.20; 10.40; 11.00; 11.20; 11.40; 12.00; 16.00; 16.20; 16.40; 17.00; 17.20; 17.40; 18.00; 20.00; 20.20; 20.40; 21.00; 21.20; 21.40; 22.00.

The Insula of Ara Coeli
h. 10.00 - Meeting point next to the stairs up to the church of Ara Coeli
Booking required: 060608 (max. 20 people)
This tour introduces visitors to a rare and complex example of an apartment building from Imperial Rome, brought  to light in 1926 during work on the Capital Hill.
Guided tour by Elisabetta Bianchi.

20th century Rome: la Garbatella, a working-class neighborhood in the industrial area of Ostiense
h. 10.00 - Meeting point in piazza Benedetto Brin
Booking required: 060608 (max. 30 people)
Starting from Piazza Benedetto Brin, where an inscription commemorates the start of construction on the Garbatella neighborhood on February 18th, 1920, the tour will retrace the general history of this area and its relationship with the industrial zone of the city, highlighting the particular characteristics of its urban planning (the organization of outdoor and common spaces, the architecture, and the various types of housing).
Guided tour by Rossella Motta.
h.10.00
20th century Rome: The Ludovisi quarter, an example of residential building between Eclecticism and Art Nouveau
h. 10.00 - Meeting place:  Chiesa di S. Patrizio, via Boncompagni
Booking required: 060608 (max. 30 people)
With the City Plan of 1883, the area occupied by the Villa Boncompagni-Ludovisi became a recognized quarter of the same name which after the unification of Italy would host some of the most exclusive buildings in Italy’s new capital city.  Open to traffic in 1886, the particular urban flavour of Via Veneto is due to the presence of residential architecture that blends an eclectic style with references to the Art Nouveau of the late 19th century and early 20th century (hotels like the Excelsior by Otto Maraini 1905, Regina Carlton by Giulio Podesti 1892-94, the Palace by Carlo Busiri Vici 1902-05) with that of the Rationalist style of public buildings built between the 1920’s and the 1960’s.  Via Boncompagni and the surrounding streets were destined for the construction luxury villas and apartment buildings for the rising entrepreneurial class by the major architects of the period from Carlo Pincherle and Giulio Podesti to Ernesto Basile who were able to interpret to perfection the tastes of the new upper- class.
Guided tour by Cecilia Spetia.

Bonapartes on the Thrones of Europe. Portraits and Memories of Napoleon’s DreamMuseo Napoleonico at 10.30

The Imperial Residence of Maxsentius
Villa di Massenzio at 10.30

Augustus: The New Image of Rome. Sculptures of the Centrale Montemartini
Centrale Montemartini at 11.00

Ancient Buildings below San Paolo alla Regola
h. 11.00 - Meeting point in via di San Paolo alla Regola, 16
Booking required: 060608 (max. 15 people)
This site is not accessible to the disabled
The complex of San Paolo alla Regola represents an incredible testimony to the continuous nature of life in Rome, an example of an area inhabited without interruption for roughly 2,000 years. Beneath the 16th century Palazzo Specchi in via di San Paolo alla Regola (two floors below the current street level) the remains of buildings from ancient Rome are preserved. These building, which originally were four stories high, in the last decades of I AD were a system of warehouses along service roads parallel to the Tiber.  They were later restructured in the III century AD with the building of more warehouses, and other buildings designed as offices or residences organized around small courtyards.  Some of these still conserve precious mosaic floors. Other changes were made in the centuries to follow up until modern times. This archaeological site is on two levels underground and is reached by stairs.  We regret that there is currently no access for the disabled. Guided tour by Stefania Pergola.

For Italy and For Europe. Foreign Volunteers in Defence of Rome in 1849
Museo della Repubblica Romana e della Memoria Garibaldina at 11.00

On the Road from Rome to Tivoli: the Via Tiburtina to Settecamini
Istituto Comprensivo “Via Casal Bianco”, via di Casalbianco, 140 at 11.00
The area of the IV municipio or municipal district of Rome is crossed by one of the most important routes which from ancient times until today have left a mark on the “suburbs” of Rome.  The Via Tiburtina connects the “Urbe” or centre of Rome with Tivoli, and continuing on, it reaches Valeria which links the plains of Lazio with the segment of the Apennines in Abruzzo.  In the area of Settecamini, in several points the ancient road is still splendidly conserved along with many other archaeological sites that bear witness to the settlements, commerce and religious practices that have been carried on here throughout history. This rich historical and artistic patrimony and the efforts of the Sovrintendenza Capitolina to promote and preserve it will be the subject of a conference followed by guided tours. The conference on archaeological and historical-artistic features of the area. At 12:00 a tour will be given of the archaeological site along via Tiburtina (entrance Via Tiburtina, mile markers km. 14.5-14.9) and at  the church of S. Maria dell’Olivo located close to the school. Conference organized by Francesco Maria Cifarelli, Patrizia Gioia, Margherita Pasquali

Art Nouveau in Rome: The Casina delle Civette, visionary and mysterious residence of Prince Giovanni Torlonia
Casina delle Civette - Musei di Villa Torlonia at 11.30

I Giganti dell’acqua (The Water Giants)
At 11.30 - Meeting point: Largo Bastia, 35
Booking required: 060608 (max. 30 people)
Special opening to the public of this archaeological site containing the monumental ruins of the aqueducts of Claudio, Acquamarcia and Acqua Felice as well as the Roman road that ran alongside them. This site is situated on the grounds of the Centro Sportivo of the Banca d’Italia, which has preserved the ruins of the aqueducts in all their splendour.  This event has been made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Bank of Italy, owner of the area, who willingness allowed the Centro Sportivo to be opened for this special occasion.  Guided tour conducted by Antonio Insalaco
Guided tour of the archaeological site of Settecamini by Francesco Maria Cifarelli
At 12.00 - Via Tiburtina, km 14.500-14.900 (entrance in front of street number 1486)
During this visit it will be possible to walk on the well-preserved section of the ancient Via Tiburtina that linked the city of Rome with Tivoli and beyond that the city to Valeria which connects the plains of Lazio with the Apennines of Abruzzo.  Along the way it will be possible to see and learn about important and little-known monuments that rose along the route.  Before the tour, for those interested, it is possible to participate in a conference organized at the Istituto Comprensivo “Via Casal Bianco”, Via Casalbianco, 140.

The Museum of the Walls
Museo delle Mura at 12.00

Culture at your fingertips. Touch Tour of the works of the Museo della Villa and the Museo della Scuola Romana at the Casino Nobile of Villa Torlonia
Casino Nobile - Musei di Villa Torlonia at 16.30

The Museum and Home of Pietro Canonica: Memories and Momentos of an International artist
Museo Pietro Canonica at 17.00

Visit to the Museo di Casal de’ Pazzi (deposit from the Pleistocene Epoch)
h. 17.00 - Museo di Casal de’ Pazzi (deposit from the Pleistocene Epoch), via Ciciliano, intersection with via E. Galbani. Booking required: 060608 (max. 30 people)
The Pleistocene deposit of Rebibbia - Casal de’ Pazzi, dates back to 200,000 years ago and is important evidence of the oldest human settlement in Europe.  The deposit documents part of an ancient riverbed, carved into the bank of local tuba rock (dated from 366,000 years ago today) and in the underlying layers of silt and clay.  In the entire deposit, which is made up of alternating layers of gravel, and river sand, more than 2,000 discoveries of fauna (ancient forms of elephants, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, auroch, red deer, hyena, wolf, horse, wild boar, bison, tortoise, Eurasian widgeon, Greater white-fronted goose, Gadwall duck and Eurasian teal). From the lower layers of the riverbed filling is a fragment of a human parietal bone attributable to an archaic form of early man.  Further evidence of the presence of humans is provided by more than 1,500 arrowheads.  The Sovraintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Cultural is currently creating an on- site Museum of Prehistory with a variety of exhibits and information provided for various audiences. Guided tour by Paola Bellagamba.
Life and Surrounding along a Pleistocene river
h.18.00 - Museo di Casal de’Pazzi (deposit from the Pleistocene Epoch), via Ciciliano, intersection with via E. Galbani
Booking required: 060608 (max. 30 people)
The conference, that follows the guided tour of the 17:00,  will illustrate the course of events from the excavation to the upcoming opening of the museum. Conference organized by Patrizia Gioia.

Gavin Hamilton (1723-1798). A Scottish artist in Rome
Museo di Roma at 18.30

The Hypogaeum of Via Livenza
h. 19.00 and 20.00 - Via Livenza, 4
Booking required: 060608 (max. 12 people)
The remains of an underground building were discovered here in 1923 during excavations for the foundation of an apartment building.  Today a small portion is preserved of the hypogaeum which dates from the second half of the IV century AD and give us an idea of the beauty and singularity of this site the function of which scholars are still trying to determine.  One of the more interesting hypotheses is that it might be a place dedicated to the Thracian goddess Cotys venerated in the mysterious sect of Baptai or given the plan of the building’s apse, the presence of a basic and symbolic and biblical interpretation of the paintings, perhaps an ancient baptistery.  Other theories suppose that the building was linked to a cult of water, with a hidden area dedicated to magical practices, or given the coexistence of differing influences, a meeting room for syncretistic sects.  A final hypothesis is that it is a simple nymphaeum built next to an underground spring which not only affected the architecture and the depth of the building but was the central theme of the mosaic and painted decoration.  This would explain the coexistence of both Christian and Pagan elements found in this structure and would place it culturally in the second half of the IV century AD, a historical period particularly characterised by a slow but profound transformation of the Roman world. Guided tour by Paola Chini and Antonella Gallitto.

Passages. From Pietro Canonica to Roberto Paolini
Museo Pietro Canonica at 20.00

A Day at the MACRO
MACRO, from 11.00 to 22.00

Special opening hours for the library of the Museo Barracco
Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco, from 13.00 to 19.00

Special opening and guided tour of the Tomb of the Scipios
h. 21:00 – 22:00 - Via di Porta S. Sebastiano, 9
Booking required: 060608 (max. 24 people)
Following the recent renovation by Rome’s Office of the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage, this ancient rock tomb of the Scipios family is now finally open to the public.  The origin of this patrician family tomb dates to the beginning of the III century BC, the work of Lucio Cornelio Scipios Barbato, founder of a dynasty that played a leading role in the consolidation of power of Rome.  The Scipios, a branch of the gens Cornelia, counts among its members Scipios Africanus who defeated Hannibal and ended the Second Punic War and Scipios Emiliano, who destroyed who destroyed Carthage. courtesy of  the Cooperative ARX.