Rome plans new archaeological path through the heart of city

[guy]

A new archaeological pathway through the heart of Rome is planned.

 

Quote

Linking the Colosseum to the Forum and from the Baths of Caracalla to the Circus Maximus, Rome's new archaeological walkway will be a journey through the city's most famous archaeological sites.

 

Although convenient  for the casual tourist, I think it will further disfigure the already-diminished ancient footprint of Ancient Rome.

 

 

https://www.euronews.com/culture/2024/04/03/rome-unveils-plans-for-a-new-archaeological-path-through-the-heart-of-city

 

 

 

Edited April 3 by guy

[caesar novus]

2 hours ago, guy said:

Although convenient  for the casual tourist, I think it will further disfigure the already-diminished ancient footprint of Ancient Rome.

I think phase 2 will be a spectacular win, linking the under visited Circus Maximus to under visited Baths of Caracalla to u. v. Via Appia. I think we discussed the Darya video on how the isolated new Map museum and sculpture garden is included too. Nobody but me makes the horrible walk between these relatively adjacent sites due to multi-lane fast roads, industrial vibe where you can hardly buy a hydrating drink, and poor signage/sidewalks/crosswalks. I hate the logistics and loss of context using wheeled travel instead.

Phase 1 could turn out intrusive, but I think taps into the less busy side of the coliseum towards the weird grassy hill east side of the Forum. Not many go there since you can't see what's ahead and whether it is worth the climb; I stumbled around there only because of the new Nero dining room excavation, which I found practically deserted. It would be a plus even relieving pressure on the coliseum by offering alternative strolls.

Crossing thru the Palace area to the racetrack could be intrusive, but folks need a little guidance there anyway because it isn't obvious you can get thru the palaces to the racetrack. It is such a maze that on my first visit back when the forum was free, I found myself walking on an exquisite decorated floor all wavy and fragile with poor options to avoid it or back off.

It's not clear where the route will go due to the articles having paywalls, etc but I think phase 1 generally doesn't intrude except to give guidence in areas where there is a lot of random congestion and confusion. I include a picture that falsely looks intrusive, but depicts almost no change to the recent practice of closing off the horrible road Mussolini plowed thru the Forum. I would rather Via dei Fori Imperiali be torn out and excavated, but shutting out vehicle traffic with a few niceties seems fine:

Other anecdotes: Now you can be walking quite close to the massive Baths of Caracalla and not see it. I made a rare exception and asked directions which just confused things since I accented the wrong syllable into gibberish. I looked for a street sign for a major road branching off another major one to shortcut to Via Appia, with absolutely none in sight in the industrial wasteland deprived of pedestrians. Another shortcut was super narrow and twisty with fast traffic barely scraping brick walls and each other with side mirrors. I was like a hunted animal who couldn't see when to creep thru the rubble safely. The only foot traffic was a couple stunning blondes walking with just wisps of clothing and cheap flip flops. Unlike me, they could obliviously walk in traffic lanes because the drivers stopped on a dime to stare. Ah, so much more I could pass on...

Edited April 3 by caesar novus

[caesar novus]

On 4/3/2024 at 3:39 AM, guy said:

Although convenient  for the casual tourist, I think it will further disfigure the already-diminished ancient footprint of Ancient Rome.

Here is a new explanation of how the effort will be to restore continuity from the current disjoint messiness. Since the forum was dug out in separate stages, there are all kind of artificial boundaries and obstacles between them that will be eliminated. Also from the time the forum went from free to paid, there are clunky "jail" borders that can be made more subtle and enticing to lure folks in. This not only for tourists but the casual strolling Italian taxpayer who may or may not fund further support.