Rome: restoration work on the Portico di Ottavia completed

In Rome, after 14 long years, restoration work on the Portico di Ottavia has finally been completed.

The restoration was made possible thanks to a team of archaeologists, architects and engineers under the direction of the Capitoline Superintendency. Mayor Virginia Raggi unveiled the remains of the restored complex together with Rome’s Superintendent of Cultural Heritage Claudio Parisi Presicce, Deputy Mayor Luca Bergamo and Jewish Community President Ruth Dureghello.

Explains the Campidoglio in a note: "After its restoration and partial reconstruction in 203 by Septimius Severus, over the past three centuries, the propylaeum has undergone considerable interventions that have undermined its static condition. As early as the 14th century, a central archway had to be erected in place of the two front columns to consolidate the monument. In addition, the removal of the Ghetto houses in the early 1900s accentuated the ’static movements’. In the 1960s, the front gable was dismantled and the first damaged rear column was worked on, with the introduction of a series of metal pins inside it. In order to safeguard the monument and the safety of the citizens, the Capitoline Superintendence therefore decided to schedule the relevant interventions in phases."

After verifying the stability of the monument through careful monitoring, “we proceeded,” the note continues, “with the erection of a scaffold on the internal facade of the Portico, close to the church, necessary to ensure public safety, put at risk by the possible detachment of fragments from the tympanum, and to safeguard the monument. In a second intervention, scaffolding was then erected on the other facades at risk of fragment detachment. Pre-consolidation work was then carried out in the areas of extreme urgency. In the third phase, the stone parts, plasterwork and frescoes were cleaned, restored and consolidated.”

The Portico of Octavia is located in front of the Circus Flaminius, the area that corresponds to the ancient ghetto, and was rebuilt by Augustus, in place of the older Portico Metellus, between 27 and 23 B.C. and was dedicated to his sister Octavia. After being damaged by flames, the portico was rebuilt by Septimius Severus. To this phase belong for the most part the currently visible remains. The complex was a quadriporticus that included the temples of Juno Regina and Jupiter Stator, the Curia and two libraries, Greek and Latin.

Image: the Portico of Octavia before restoration. Ph. Credit Joris1919

Rome: restoration work on the Portico di Ottavia completed

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