Archaeology and Urban Planning in the Yenkapi Area - Istanbul

The text focuses on the relationship between archeology and contemporary architectural design. This opportunity is offered by the discovery of 32 Byzantine ships in the ancient port of Theodosius in Istanbul, during excavations carried out to build the subway line and the transfer point at Yenikapi. The discovery forced the authorities to change the infrastructure projects, and to organize an international architectural competition for the construction of a city museum. More than the architectural solution, the importance of the subject lies precisely on how to behave in front of similar archaeological sites. A problem that concerns all cities with a significant ancient past, such as Athens, Rome or Naples Istanbul. A Case Study, which inevitably forces to rethink the solutions and to include in those projects those archaeological and historical layers hidden for many centuries, that suddenly appear on the contemporary urban scene.