Testing the narratives along the Via Romea Strata
Date: 2023-06-21
On 8 May the rurAllure partner IUAV – University of Venice organised a study visit for architecture students to the archaeological areas and the Museum of thermalism and the territory of Montegrotto Terme, Veneto region.
The event prepared in collaboration with the University of Padova, Lapis Association (the manager of the museum and the archaeological areas) and the Municipality of Montegrotto Terme in the vicinity of the pilgrimage route of the Via Romea Strata. “This activity within the rurAllure project was important to test the itinerary and to verify how effective the narratives and reconstructions were for a better understanding of the visit experience” – commented Maddalena Bassani, Associate Professor of Classical Archaeology at the Iuav University of Venice.
The group, led by her, began a visit at the Terme Euganee archaeological area in the heart of the municipality of Montegrotto Terme, where the students verified the narratives’ data in conformity with existing panels and accessibility of individual buildings.
Using the internal cycle path, they then reached the archaeological area of the Roman villa along the Via Neroniana, where they conducted a check on the ground.
Thanks to the ongoing restoration work commissioned by the Superintendency of Padua at the villa, the students were able to gain direct experience of the actions necessary for the maintenance of the archaeological areas.
“The activity, very well structured, allowed to have a very effective perception of both the Roman villa in Via Neroniana and the thermal and recreational area in Via Scavi, also thanks to the illustrative material present in the areas, – comment one of the students, Alberto.
The participants then reached the Rustico di Villa Draghi and the Museum of ancient thermalism and the territory, visited by the rurAllure international consortium in 2022 during the General Meeting in Padua on 27 – 29 January 2022.
The student Filippo declared to be “particularly interested first acquiring general theoretical information on the Via Scavi area and then being able to visit it within the proposed thermal itinerary”. While another student, Ugo, was struck by the dimensions and volumes of the buildings in Via Scavi. “I was therefore able to have a better perception of the archaeological remains along the city’s itineraries,” – he added.
