PALACE OF THE GEOLOGICAL OFFICE

PALAZZO DELL'UFFICIO GEOLOGICO

Largo S. Susanna 13

1873/80 Raffaele Canevari (1828/1900)

“Girders and beams of iron, cast iron columns, bolts and studs in sight. Raffaele Canevari, engineer, used these new materials for their functionality and transformed them into decorative elements” (Irene de Guttry)

“In this work, totally his own, which is undoubtedly his best architectural job, the technical and structural innovations and the ruthlessness of the formal language make the building comparable to contemporary European examples, freed, as it appears, of academic weight” (Guido Miano - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani)

Institution founded in Florence in 1869 and moved to Rome in 1873 to complete the geological Italian map

In 1960 the Geological Office became the organ of the state mapping for geological and geothematic mapping

In 1976 the official geological coverage of the national territory in scale of 1:100,000 was completed

In 2002 the Geological Survey merged in the Agenzia per la Protezione dell'Ambiente e per i Servizi Tecnici (Agency for Environmental Protection and Technical Services) (APAT, later ISPRA), representing mainly the Dipartimento per la Difesa del Suolo (Department for the Defense of the Soil)

In 2002 during renovation works in the basement of the building a section of the original Servian Walls in blocks of cappellaccio stone was found, proof that their dating can be fixed without a doubt to the mid-sixth century BC

For the reconstruction of the walls in 378 BC Grotta Oscura tufa was used instead

GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Collection of about 150,000 artifacts accumulated in about 140 years of life of the institution: marbles and paleontological materials with specialized library and laboratory for analysis of minerals and rocks

The museum and the whole building have been lying for years in conditions of extreme neglect for the disgusting inefficiency or willful misconduct of the public administration that has dismantled the museum for a renovation that never happened, despite two governments have allocated public money to complete it. Another disgrace of the caste which sadly administers Italy

In front of the palace

Small section of the Servian Walls dating to 378 BC

Monument “Janus in the heart of Rome” 1997 by Pietro Consagra (1920)

ANTONELLI PALACE

PALAZZO ANTONELLI

Largo Magnanapoli 158

Built in the sixteenth century. The exact date and the name of the architect are unknown

Renovated 1854/69 by Andrea Busiri Vici (1818/1911) for Cardinal Giacomo Antonelli, who never actually lived here, preferring his other palace on Via di Monserrato now known as Palazzo Capponi Antonelli

It was used to store the valuable and rare collection of sixteenth century precious stones owned by the family

It was also renovated in 1875 for the opening of Via Nazionale when the garden ended up being wiped out

Now there are offices of the Bank of Italy, which owns the property

At the end of the atrium there is a section of the Servian Wall dating back to 378 BC with an arch of tufa blocks forming part of a room for ballistic catapults

SERVIAN WALLS

MURA SERVIANE

(Piazza dei Cinquecento/Piazza Albania/Piazza Manfredo Fanti)

Attributed by tradition to Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome, who probably built in the first half of the sixth century BC a ring of walls of which traces in cappellaccio stone still remain

Most of the wall still visible today, however, dates back to the first half of the fourth century BC. Livy writes that in 378 BC the censors of that year contracted the construction of a new wall to prevent further looting after the occupation of the Gauls in 390 BC. The wall was built of tufa stone from the quarries of Grotta Oscura accessible after the conquest of Veii of 396 BC

Restorations in the years 353, 212, and 87 BC

About 10 m (33 feet) high and over 4 meters (13 feet) thick in some spots

Total length was 11 km (6.8 miles), encompassing an area of 4.26 km² (1.6 square mile)

Although the area was not completely occupied, it was the largest town on the Italian peninsula

The LONGER SECTIONS STILL EXTANT ARE:

Two in Piazza dei Cinquecento, one 30 m (98 feet) long near the Diocletian Baths and one 94 m (308 feet) long by the front of Termini Station

Piazza Albania, 42 m (138 feet)

Piazza Manfredo Fanti, 23 m (75 feet)

THE SEVENTEEN GATES

Porta Catularia

It was located near the bottom of the steps of Capitoline Hill

Porta Fontinalis

Visible traces surrounded by flower beds in front of the Museum of the Risorgimento. It was the main gate to the north

Porta Sanqualis

Visible traces of the north side of the door in the center of Largo Magnanapoli

Porta Salutaris

Via the Dataria where the Temple of Salus used to be

Porta Quirinalis

Via Quattro Fontane, where the Temple of Quirinus used to be

Porta Collina

It was located at the northeast corner of the former Palace of the Ministry of Finance, at the intersection of Via XX Settembre and Via Goito. The remains found during construction of the Palace of the Ministry of Finance were demolished after being cataloged

From here the AGGER began, a fortified stretch of the wall more than 1,300 m (4,265 feet) long and 36 m (118 feet) wide, with a moat of 17 m (55 feet), which began at the Porta Collina and ended at Porta Esquilina. It was necessary in a vulnerable section of the wall where it was not possible to exploit the hillsides

Porta Viminalis

At the center of the agger, which corresponds to the current Piazza dei Cinquecento

Porta Esquiline

Still existing and known as the ARCH OF GALLIENUS. From here the Labicana and Tiburtina Ways exited as a single road, only to separate immediately after

Porta Querquetulana

Corresponding to the church of Ss. Quattro Coronati, or, according to a recent research, to the church of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter

Porta Celimontana

Still existing and known as the ARCH OF DOLABELLA 

Porta Capena

Close to the short South East side of the Circus Maximus. From here the Appian Way and Latina Way exited as a single road, only to separate immediately after

Porta Naevia

Close to the church of S. Balbina on the small Aventine Hill

Porta Raudusculana

Viale Aventino near Piazza Albania

There is a section of the walls 42 m (138 feet) long with twelve layers of blocks of tufa and the arc of a room for artillery

A little further on another stretch 43 m (141 feet) long from which came the Vicus Piscinae Publicae corresponding to today's Viale Aventino

Porta Lavernalis

To the south of the Aventine Hill, at Via Marmorata

Porta Trigemina

Corresponding to S. Mary Cosmedin

Porta Flumentana

Corresponding to the Temple of Portunus

Porta Carmentalis

Corresponding to the sacred area of S. Omobono