The Porcareccia castle in Rome. Considerations regarding the restoration of some areas of the complex
The restoration work involved the castle complex which is located near the Casalotti district in Rome.
Its
current appearance dates back to the late sixteenth century, but the Porcareccia estate is scattered with
archaeological finds. In the Middle Ages, Pope Innocent III donated part of the estate to the Medical Order of Santo Spirito in Sassia. During the sixteenth century the order restored the castle and granted the estate in lease to various
Roman nobles.
At the beginning of the last century, with the measures of the agricultural land reclamation of the Roman
countryside, the leaseholders became agricultural cooperatives or farmers and family-run affairs.
The archive’s documents have reconstructed the changes in ownership of those years and show the state of
dilapidation and poor maintenance of the complex’s spaces.
The restoration work arose from the desire of the heirs of the Giovenale family.
Through the survey, the analysis of the masonry and the state of conservation of the materials, the cognitive
phase sought to understand the structure in all its many aspects, starting from the construction phases, in
order to arrive at a critical restoration project.
The restoration concerned the conservation of the structural
elements of the roof covering and floor on the ground floor, both of which were wooden. The plasterwork,
largely incomplete or detached, was salvaged using a collection of pigmented hydraulic lime.
The restoration has tried to recover an almost abandoned historical complex, restoring through a process
of recognition of the value of their history and landscape.
