Archaeology News

This year's Venice Architecture Biennale includes a major project developed by architect and Yale School of Architecture Professor Peter Eisenman. Titled: The Piranesi Variations, this multipart endeavor focuses on Giovanni Battista Piranesi's 1762 Campo Marzio dell'antica Roma, a folio of six etchings that depict his fantastical vision of what ancient Rome might have looked like, derived from years of archaeological and architectural research.

 

Piranesi's images—precise, specific, yet impossible—have been a source of speculation, inspiration, research, and contention for architects, urban designers, and scholars since their publication 250 years ago.

 

But why not do it in GOLD!

 

OSTIA In this port city of ancient Rome, SUKANYA RAMANUJAN finds the remains of a perfectly planned township with baths and dining rooms...

Located about 30 km west of Rome, it's a perfect destination for a day trip. A short walk from the railway station brings us to the archaeological site. Tombs line either side of the road leading to the old city gate — the lavishness of their decorations indicating the social status of the occupants. Further down, I’m surprised by the sudden appearance of wells in the middle of the road — apparently settlers have conveniently tapped the old underground Roman lead pipes supplying water from the aqueducts.

The roads aren’t the only things to be admired in Ostia. Once inside the city walls, we spot the relatively well-preserved insulae — structures similar to modern apartment blocks. The ground floors were often given over to shops and the floors above served as residential space.

This article takes us on a travellers tale around the port of Rome