Conservation in Pompeii in 19th century. The case of the sub-western portico of the Forum
This contribution - which starts from a PhD research I undertook under the guidance of prof. Giovanni
Carbonara - deals with the restoration/consolidation/anastylosis carried out on the colonnade of the sub-western portico of the Forum of Pompeii, an iconic element of public life in the Roman city, which saw an
initial intervention of recomposition by Giuseppe Fiorelli and, subsequently, during the twentieth century,
by Amedeo Maiuri. It is an architectural fragment on two levels which, being in an area with seismic and volcanic risk, appears in an evident state of structural fragility and as such needs special care for the particular
slender shape. A symbolic place of public life in the Roman city, the Civil Forum emerged following the
excavation campaign of 1812-13, which made it possible to study the most identifying elements of the main
square of the ancient city, such as the sub-western portico, thanks to which it was possible to reconstruct
important events of Roman Pompeii and its new life following the rediscovery in 1738.
