An 85-hectare archaeological park at Fiumicino airport
Rome Fiumicino Airport looks to its future development by connecting infrastructures, landscape and one of the most important archaeological complexes of imperial Rome. Aeroporti di Roma, a Mundys Group company, and Italia Nostra have signed a collaboration agreement at the Leonardo da Vinci Innovation Hub to define a strategy for the enhancement of the area of the Imperial Ports of Claudius and Trajan and the historical, cultural and landscape contexts that surround it.
The agreement, signed in the presence of a representative of the Ministry of Culture, is part of the path of sustainable development of the airport and aims to create greater continuity between the airport and the archaeological heritage, recovering the overall reading of the ancient port system of Portus, now fragmented by the transformations that have taken place over time.
A large archaeological park near Fiumicino airport
One of the most important elements of the project is the planned construction of a public park of archaeological interest of about 85 hectares, an area comparable to that of Villa Borghese in Rome. The new space will be returned to the community with free access. The intervention is part of the future development of the airport and the agreement just signed will serve to define the strategic framework in which to insert its archaeological and landscape enhancement.
The Imperial Ports of Claudius and Trajan
The work will concern in particular the Ports of Claudius and Trajan and the ancient settlement of Portus, an archaeological system closely connected to the history of imperial Rome. The declared objective of the project is to develop an organic and long-term vision capable of connecting the pre-existing archaeological sites, the landscape and the future layout of the airport.
The role of the Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica
The Archaeological Park of Ostia Antica, which manages the archaeological heritage adjacent to the airport and with which Aeroporti di Roma has been collaborating for years, will also play an important role in the process. The skills gained in the knowledge, protection and enhancement of the area will contribute to the definition of the study dedicated to the Imperial Ports. The results of the work will then be submitted to the Ministry of Culture for the necessary evaluations.
A multi-stage study
The agreement does not yet coincide with the material implementation of the interventions. The first result will be a strategic document dedicated to the area of the Imperial Ports, developed through several phases of analysis.
The work will include the collection and organization of archaeological, historical and territorial information already available, the study of the connections between the different cultural assets present in the area and the definition of possible design directions. Particular attention will be paid to the possibility of making the heritage more accessible and readable, always in compliance with the existing archaeological, landscape and environmental constraints.
Fiumicino between airport and archaeological heritage
The location of the Imperial Ports next to Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO) offers an uncommon peculiarity for a large international hub: a few steps from the infrastructures dedicated to contemporary travel, the testimonies of one of the most important port systems of antiquity survive.
The project aims precisely to strengthen this relationship. The intention of Aeroporti di Roma is to make the heritage more usable both by local communities and by the millions of passengers who pass through Fiumicino every year, creating a more recognizable link between the airport, the territory and history.
For the traveller, in perspective, the future archaeological park could add a new dimension to the experience of Rome Fiumicino Airport: not only a place of arrival and departure, but a gateway to a historical landscape that tells how, almost two thousand years ago, this area was one of the main points of connection between Rome and the Mediterranean.
