Rome: the Barberini Tomb reopens to the public after two years of restoration

Rome’s Barberini Tomb, located at the beginning of the Via Latina Archaeological Park, reopens to the public after two years of restoration that cost 250000 euros.

“The Barberini Tomb, the first of the tombs that line what remains of the Via Latina: one of the oldest Roman roads whose flint paving stones are visible, has been open to the public with guided tours since November. The short stretch, which is still preserved within a park in the city of Rome, restores all the charm from the ancient Roman countryside along with funerary monuments of extraordinary decorative and architectural value,” is what a note from the Appia Antica Archaeological Park reads.
“The monument is well preserved, as over the centuries it was always used as a shelter, for agricultural and pastoral activities, until the 1800s,” said the archaeologist in charge Francesca Montella, who spoke at the press presentation of the entire restoration.

The tomb owes its name to the Barberini family, the last owner of the land corresponding to the Park area, and with the restoration to be completed in the early months of next year, it will contribute to expanding the entire offer of the Appia Antica Archaeological Park, for which further implementations are being studied, added Park Director Rita Paris, such as the start of a massive restoration of the basilica of St. Stephen, the only Christian church in that area.

During these two years of work, it was possible to secure the building and make it accessible by constructing the floor level on the ground floor that collapsed over time, the staircase to access the upper floor, and create the lighting system.
The solution chosen for the reconstruction of the floors are metal gratings that allow to appreciate the considerable internal volume of the monument.

With the same funding, the final preparation of the hypogeum floor, which housed the burial chamber, is still in progress, where the vaults, walls and partially restored mosaic floor have already been secured. Finally, the study of the vault’s frescoes and stuccoes has made it possible to hypothesize the reconstruction of the entire decorative apparatus of the rooms used for funerary rites.
A video reconstructing the history of the excavations, of the rehabilitation works that now allow its visit, and of the study of the three-dimensional reconstructions of the architecture and decoration, will soon be on view in the Capo di Bove office of the Appia Antica Archaeological Park.

Photo credit Archaeological Park of the Via Latina

Rome: the Barberini Tomb reopens to the public after two years of restoration

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