VIDEO PORTFOLIO

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HERE WE START PAINTING WITH THE STONE

The story of the long and complex restoration of the mosaic of a thermal building in the great port of the emperors Claudius and Trajan, frequented for centuries by sailors of the Roman imperial fleet. "... panels and spaces that stretch mountains in a room are no longer popular: here we begin to paint with stone ..." Thus Pliny testifies to the introduction of a new decorative technique that will become one of the most appreciated for paving and decorating imperial buildings, private residences and public structures: the mosaic. Among the many places embellished by these works, one gives us an exceptional testimony in one of the largest archaeological parks in the world: Ostia Antica, the Necropolis of Porto and Portus, the imperial port of Claudius and Trajan. And it is here in Portus, in a late antique thermal complex, that we will discover the long and complex restoration work carried out on a floor mosaic of one of the service areas of the thermal baths. Thermal baths frequented for centuries by sailors of the Roman imperial fleet who found refreshment here at the end of their long and dangerous sea voyages. The recovery of an important archaeological asset and the story of a model of integration that has been one of the foundations of Roman society for centuries.

ALBANUS PROJECT: INSIDE THE OLD EMISSARY

The Albano drain outlet is the most famous among the various ones found in the Alban Hills, and it is also the only one of which something is known through historic sources. According to Livy, it dates back to the beginning of the 4th century B.C., and the Oracle of Delphi, which declared that the city of Veii would not be conquered (by the Romans) unless the Lake Albano was prevented from overflowing its banks. Also Dionysius of Alicarnassus (I,66) mentions Livy's text, but at the same time suggests that the drain may be older. The study by Piranesi, full of technical details and beautiful engravings, greatly contributed to its fame. The tunnel is 1,450 m long. At present the Albano drain is the object of a three-year program of speleological studies (Albanus Project), carried out by Hypogea Federation in cooperation with the Superintendence for the Archeological Heritage of Lazio and the Castelli Romani Park. A film crew led by Massimo D'Alessandro is following all the investigation of the cavers of the Hypogea Federation, in order to make a documentary on the history and exploration of this ingenious hydraulic work of antiquity.

CARAVAGGIO XXI

21 "tableaux vivants" from the paintings of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio

This work, constructed using the technique of 'tableaux vivants', is of extreme simplicity and at the same time of great visual impact. On stage, a few simple elements (fabrics of different colours and thicknesses, everyday objects) with which the actors compose 21 'canvases' before the spectators' eyes. The paintings constructed in this way are shown as in a painter's studio; the costumes and rich draperies are formed in a few moments thanks to the skill of the actors, who are at the same time models, set designers and propsmen of the staging. The action freezes as in a flash of magnesium light, in the instant of a 'perfect' gesture, restoring the emotion of the painting. The extreme iconographic accuracy, the expressive strength of the bodies and faces of the actors in the characteristic lateral cut of the light, fully restore that 'poetry of reality' that is the hallmark of Michelangelo da Caravaggio's work.