Tag Archives: Acropoli

Una città nella città. Forma e funzione delle acropoli nelle colonie greche d’Occidente: i casi di Cuma, Siracusa, Taranto e Neapolis

Authors: V. Parisi, A. Averna, M. Crisci, R. Perrella

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The paper presents the preliminary results of the research project “AKROMA. Akropolis of Magna Graecia. A critical ‘top-down’ view on Landscape, Architecture and Cult Network in the Western Greek Colonies” – University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”. Starting from four carefully selected key sites (Cumae, Syracuse, Taranto, Neapolis), the theme “acropolis” in the Greek colonies in Magna Graecia and Siciliy, which had been never investigated systematically before, has been object of a wide-ranging analysis, whose goal was to identify its peculiarities from a specific Western Greek point of view. Emphatic and strategic places due to their morphological and orographic features, acropolises are arranged as “city within a city”: they are well-defined and separated areas, protected by natural defenses, which at the same time projected outwards (the sea, the lower city, the hinterland) and were always characterized by public, collective and representative functions. Their role, both concrete and symbolic, developed around two main functional poles, the religious one (as the site of the oldest city temples) and the political/military one (particularly emphasized with the development of polyorcetic techniques in the Hellenistic age). Thanks to the comprehensive reinterpretation of archaeological data and the emancipation from the motherland models, colonial acropolises can thus regain space and significance in the urban history of the Western Greek poleis.

Criteri di reintegrazione strutturale nel restauro dei monumenti dell’Acropoli di Atene. Problemi metodologici e scelte progettuali

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With the paper “Criteria of structural supplementation in the restoration of the monuments of the Athenian Acropolis. Methodological problems and design choices” there will be a discussion of the criteria on the basis of which the procedure of supplementing the architectural members is decided. After a brief historical presentation of the previous restoration projects and a brief examination of the restoration principles followed today, these criteria are grouped in five main categories taking as an example the Propylaia restoration. These categories are illustrated with characteristic examples from the interventions at the Propylaia in the last ten years, through which both the methodological problems and the design choices emerge.

The recent intervention programs on the monuments of the Athenian Acropolis

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An extended restoration program of the Athenian Acropolis monuments has been in progress since 1975. The project is carried out by the Hellenic Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, Culture and Sports in order to alleviate the effects of serious problems due to natural causes (i.e. earthquakes) or human activities (i.e. fires, bombardments or earlier restorations). The interventions are complied with the spirit of the “Charter of Venice” and follow the principle of reversibility. Effort focuses on keeping the original construction form of the monuments. New marble is used for supplements only to ensure the structural stability of the buildings, while iron clamps and dowels are being replaced by reinforcements made of titanium. The authentic reliefs and sculptures are removed and transferred to the Acropolis Museum and replaced by casts in artificial stone. Scattered architectural fragments recognized as belonging to the monuments are reset in their original or a corresponding position. The paper focuses on the recent intervention programs on the projects underway at the Propylaia and the Parthenon.

Ricerche archeologiche all’interno del Castello Aragonese di Taranto. Note preliminari

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L’attività archeologica condotta all’interno del Castello Aragonese di Taranto ha permesso l’acquisizione di un bagaglio informativo esteso, propedeutico alla comprensione su larga scala delle emergenze rinvenute e alla ricostruzione e datazione delle diverse fasi storiche. Tale attività, inoltre, ha offerto l’occasione per compiere una rilettura critica dei dati archeologici già noti relativi al settore orientale della Città Vecchia. Nonostante la complessa storia edilizia e monumentale dell’area e le pesanti manomissioni connesse allo sviluppo dell’imponente sistema orientale di fortificazione della città post-antica, è possibile iniziare a leggere alcuni elementi del sistema di difesa e di comunicazione della polis greca, identificando limiti e direttrici di attraversamento dell’acropoli. Inoltre, iniziano a emergere consistenti elementi di una cultura poliorcetica avanzata, che attesta l’importanza e la complessità dell’aggiornamento dei sistemi difensivi interni della comunità tarantina. Per la prima volta, infine, è possibile ricostituire alcuni aspetti del complesso paesaggio urbano dell’acropoli.

The archeological activities in the Castello Aragonese of Taranto allow us to obtain a vast amount of information, necessary to understand the emerged findings, and the reconstruction and datation of the various historical phases. Moreover, these activities gave the possibility for a critical re-reading of the already known archeological facts relating to eastern part of the Old City (Città Vecchia). In spite of the complex building and monumental history of the area, and the serious violations linked to the development of the imposing oriental system of fortification of the post-antique town, it’s possible to begin to read some elements of the defending and comunication system. We are able now to identify the borders and see crossing arteries of the acropolis. Moreover, important elements of an advanced poliorcetic culture are starting to emerge. This confirms the importance and the complexity of the modernization of the interne defense systems of the Tarantine community. Besides, for the first time it is possible to reconstitute some aspects of the complex urban landscape of the acropolis.

download article as .pdf: Ricerche archeologiche all’interno del Castello Aragonese di Taranto. Note preliminari

Edifici pubblici e pasto rituale in Attica

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This paper was presented at the International Conference Cibo per gli uomini, cibo per gli dei. Archeologia del pasto rituale, Piazza Armerina, 5-8 of May, 2005. This is now an updated version. The article concerns the issues related to ritual meal in Attica, especially by analyzing the function of several buildings showing an array of cases that has not been properly assessed yet. Each case’s specific features lead to the hypothesis that banquet building rooms’ plan and furniture, as well as the overall number of available seats, point to the existence of different usage methods reflecting coherent social and religious structures. Athens, Eleusis and Brauron are taken into account as examples of a functional system that autonomously organizes its own spaces on the basis of social and institutional needs.