The Archaeology of Twentieth-Century Rome

Excavating the Last Days of the Alessandrino District

Authors

  • Francisca Lobera Corsetti Sapienza University of Rome
  • Jan Kindberg Jacobsen The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
  • Gloria Mittica Danish Institute in Rome
  • Giovanni Murro Danish Institute in Rome
  • Claudio Parisi Presicce Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali
  • Rubina Raja Aarhus University
  • Laura di Siena Danish Institute in Rome
  • Massimo Vitti Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.22264

Keywords:

Alessandrino District, Rome, contemporary urban archaeology, fascist regime, demolition of central urban structures

Abstract

When Rome became the capital of a unified Italian state in 1871, the city lagged behind other European capitals in contemporary architectural expression. Ancient ruins evoked a distant glory, although the area of Rome containing the Imperial Fora was covered over by a dense urban residential quarter called the Alessandrino District. The quarter was labelled a slum district by fascist propaganda, and it was demolished in the early 1930s to make way for a parade avenue, the Via dell’Impero. This article presents a discussion of the cultural and socio-economic nature of the Alessandrino District in the decades before its destruction, combining results from the Danish-Italian excavations at Caesar’s Forum with a selection of archival data and historical accounts. The findings presented here indicate that a newly investigated area of the Alessandrino District was in fact not a slum district but rather a thriving middle-class residential and commercial area.

Author Biographies

  • Francisca Lobera Corsetti, Sapienza University of Rome

    Francisca Lobera Corsetti is a senior archaeologist at the Caesar’s Forum excavations in Rome. She is currently concluding post-doctoral study at the Università di Roma “La Sapienza”. Address for correspondence: Accademia di Danimarca, Via Omero 18, 00197 Rome, Italy.

  • Jan Kindberg Jacobsen, The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek

    Jan Kindberg Jacobsen is curator of ancient art at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, and an associated researcher at the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence for Urban Network Evolutions at Aarhus University, Denmark and the Danish Institute in Rome. He co-directs the Caesar’s Forum excavations in Rome together with Dr Claudio Parisi Presicce and Prof. Dr Rubina Raja. Address for correspondence: Accademia di Danimarca, Via Omero 18, 00197 Rome, Italy

  • Gloria Mittica, Danish Institute in Rome

    Gloria Mittica is a senior archaeologist at the Caesar’s Forum excavations in Rome, and she also directs the Danish excavations at Timpone della Motta (Calabria). Her research focuses on the period from the Iron Age to the Archaic period in central and southern Italy. Address for correspondence: Accademia di Danimarca, Via Omero 18, 00197 Rome, Italy.

  • Giovanni Murro, Danish Institute in Rome

    Giovanni Murro is an associated researcher affiliated with the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence for Urban Network Evolutions at Aarhus University, Denmark, as well as with the Danish Institute in Rome. He is a member of the Danish research group at the Caesar’s Forum excavations in Rome and also a field supervisor. Address for correspondence: Accademia di Danimarca, Via Omero 18, 00197 Rome, Italy.

  • Claudio Parisi Presicce, Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

    Claudio Parisi Presicce is the General Director of the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, Direzione Musei Archeologici e Storico-artistici. He is the concession holder of the Caesar’s Forum excavations in Rome, which he directs together with Dr Jan Kindberg Jacobsen and Prof. Dr Rubina Raja. Address for correspondence: Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, Direzione Musei archeologici e storico-artistici, Via delle Tre Pile 1, 00186 Rome, Italy.

  • Rubina Raja, Aarhus University

    Rubina Raja is Professor of Classical Archaeology at Aarhus University, Denmark, and Director of the Danish National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence for Urban Network Evolutions. She co-directs the Italo-Danish excavations at Caesar’s Forum in Rome together with Dr Jan Kindberg Jacobsen and Dr Claudio Parisi Presicce. Address for correspondence: Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet), Aarhus University, Moesgård Allé 20, 4230, 2nd floor, 8270 Højbjerg, Denmark.

  • Laura di Siena, Danish Institute in Rome

    Laura di Siena is a senior archaeologist at the excavations at Caesar’s Forum in Rome. She is currently concluding a specialisation degree at the Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa di Napoli. Address for correspondence: Accademia di Danimarca, Via Omero 18, 00197 Rome, Italy.

  • Massimo Vitti, Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

    Massimo Vitti is an official at the Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali. He has conducted countless excavations and research activities in Rome, among others at the Palatine Hill, the Imperial Fora and Trajan’s Markets. Within the Caesar’s Forum Project, he is responsible for the organisational aspects of the excavation, and he is also a field supervisor. Address for correspondence: Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali, Via delle Tre Pile 1, 00186 Rome, Italy.

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Published

2023-04-17

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 2 (2022)

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Articles

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How to Cite

Corsetti, F. L., Jacobsen, J. K., Mittica, G., Murro, G., Presicce, C. P., Raja, R., di Siena, L., & Vitti, M. (2023). The Archaeology of Twentieth-Century Rome: Excavating the Last Days of the Alessandrino District. Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 9(2), 139-166. https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.22264