Il cantiere-scuola lungo la via Clodia: un’esperienza interdisciplinare di ricerca, scavo e restauro archeologico nell’area extraterritoriale di Santa Maria di Galeria (Stato della Città del Vaticano)

In the 2013, Roma Tre University’s Department of Architecture signed a three-year Agreement with the Vatican Museums for the study and restoration of ancient Roman remains situated inside the archaeological area of Santa Maria di Galeria, the headquarters of Vatican Radio. An interdisciplinary group of students – future architects and archaeologists belonging to the Departments of Architecture and of Humanities and selected in the courses of Architectural Restauration – gained practical experience which covered all the stages of the archaeological excavation and restoration site. Important presences – the remains of a Roman station (mansio) named Careiae in ancient sources, the visible section of the Aqua Traiana-Acqua Paola aqueduct, the casts of Trajan’s column, stored in this area and recently restored, and a well-preserved segment of 166 metres of Via Clodia Roman road along which there are some ancient burial structures – make the Vat- ican City area a place worth studying and protecting, with many more opportunities for further collaboration between University and Vatican Museums.