The
Sepulchrum Scipionum: a restoration during the years of the Governorate
During the Governorate of Rome, established in 1925, Mussolini outlined a program to revive the greatness
of Rome. This plan, which included massive demolitions aimed at freeing the ruins of the buildings of the
Roman Empire, included the restoration and the reopening to public access of the
Sepulchrum Scipionum
on the Via Appia.
This restoration, carried out between 1926 and 1929, was the result of the collaboration of high-profile
professionals and scholars, such as Paul Nicorescu, Antonio Maria Colini and most of all Italo Gismondi,
who worked to restore the original topography of the site and recover its formal structure, clearing the front
from the ground and demolishing the intrusive inner 18th-century masonries, which had compromised
the primitive configuration.
These interventions, realized conservative attitude, also show confidence in modern experimental
techniques (e.g. the use of iron reinforcement structures) demonstrating audacity and determination,
seeking a balance between technical innovation and conservation.
