Romanità e valori paesaggistici a Ostia antica e Roma: il contributo di Guido Calza, Italo Gismondi e Raffaele de Vico

Saviano, Anna;et.al.
(2025) Eikonocity. Storia e Iconografia delle Città e dei Siti Europei - History and Iconography of European Cities and Sites — Vol. X, n° 1, p. 71-84 (2025)

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Abstract
During ancient Ostia’s excavation in the 1920s, three people provided crucial insights regarding the materials used in antiquity, each in their own way. Their aim was to demonstrate not only how these materials could be leveraged when restoring ancient remains, but also in designing new structures. They were Guido Calza, superintendent and later director of the excavations from 1924, Italo Gismondi, architect, and superintendent from 1912, and Raffaele De Vico, the architect involved in the restoration of the Ostia theatre in 1926. Their interpretation cannot be separated from the political and social context that served as the background for their work. The fascist regime promoted the revival of a so-called “Roman spirit” as the ideal origin of the Italian lineage, affecting both the structural interpretation of the remains and the use of materials in the restoration works, which are seen as genuine resurrection acts (Calza 1922), for they breathe new life into the ancient vestiges, rescuing them from death (Calza 1917). This contribution aims to analyse and highlight Calza, Gismondi, and De Vico’s approach to the use of ancient materials. It delves into the theoretical input by Calza, the graphic work by Gismondi, and then, the practical execution overseen by De Vico, all within a specific political context. De Vico’s vision shines through in his use of Republican-era tuff rock to resurrect the Ostian Roman theatre, and in new projects for the city of Rome, such as for the design of parks, gardens, fountains, and aqueducts.
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  • UninaUniversità degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

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Saviano, A., & et al. (2025). Romanità e valori paesaggistici a Ostia antica e Roma: il contributo di Guido Calza, Italo Gismondi e Raffaele de Vico. Eikonocity. Storia e Iconografia delle Città e dei Siti Europei - History and Iconography of European Cities and Sites, X(1), 71-84. https://doi.org/10.6093/2499-1422/2025/1 (Original work published 2025)