Mineralogical, petrographic and physical-mechanical study of Roman construction materials from the Maritime Theatre of Hadrian's Villa (Rome, Italy)

This paper presents the study of various Roman materials used in the construction of the Maritime Theatre, one of the main buildings in the Hadrian’s Villa complex, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Tivoli (Rome, Italy), dating to the first half of the II century A.D. The plaster layers (arriccio and intonachino) and overlying original Roman paintings that form the concave wall of the portico as well as some bedding mortars of the pyramidal stone elements (i.e. cubilia) of the circular masonry have been studied in particular. In addition, the acid volcanic rocks of the cubilia have been investigated, aiming to understand their state of alteration and geological origin. By mineralogical-petrographic microscopy (OM), diffractometry (XRPD), Raman spectroscopy, Point Load Tests (PLT), helium pycnometry, and particle size analysis, the composition and granulometric distribution of the aggregate, type and characteristics of the binder, and various physical-mechanical properties (density, porosity, water absorption, imbibition and saturation indices, mechanical resistance) of mortars and stones were defined. In addition, through digital image analysis of thin sections, the binder/aggregate ratio and some geometric characteristics of the aggregates (e.g. circularity) were determined. The research aims to improve the knowledge of the constructive technologies of the Maritime Theatre through the analysis of its materials

L'ara della Vestale Cossinia: ipotesi di restauro virtuale del colore

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Scheda n\ub05: Maquette di un edificio per spettacoli

scheda relativa al modello di edificio per spettacoli rinvenuto a Villa Adriana durante i restauri eseguiti dalla Soprintendenza negli anni '70. Si commentano i caratteri tipologici e le misure che vennero conferite al modello marmoreo per comprenderne la funzione e le dimensioni una volta costruito

Dimensioning Criteria of Ancient Buildings used for Spectacles: Case Studies from Villa Adriana

In the fifth book of De Architectura Vitruvius fronts the topic of theatre\u2019s design underlining the differences between the Latin and the Greek variations. This text is still considered one of the most complete witness for understanding how ancient architects solved the constructive problems concerning buildings for spectacles. Going deep in the interpretation of that ancient treatise it is evident that the geometrical rules applied for theatres\u2019 design were not completely explained: the graphic \u201calgorithm\u201d starts from a \u201cperimetros imi\u201d, a lower semicircle belonging to the cavea from which a set of four equilateral triangles determines the planimetric design (ichnographia) of the scenic building; at the same time nothing is told about the definition of the whole cavea\u2019s area. Recent studies carried out on a marble maquette found at Villa Adriana compared with two treatises from Heron of Alexandria (De Mensuris and Stereometrica) can give some new reading keys for the understanding of dimensioning criteria used for the cavea\u2019s design

PRIME RIFLESSIONI SULLA SALA OTTAGONALE DELLE PICCOLE TERME DI VILLA ADRIANA ALLA LUCE DEI RECENTI RESTAURI

Le Piccole Terme sono fra i più noti edifici di Villa Adriana per la complessa disposizione planimetrica, tanto quanto per le innovative soluzioni di copertura. Recenti restauri hanno fatto emergere importanti novità sul complesso ed in particolare sul suo celebre vano ottagonale mistilineo. Le analisi condotte mediante modelli digitali mostrano come gli interventi eseguiti abbiano restituito coerenza formale e compositiva all’ambizioso e originale progetto adrianeo.The Small Baths are among the best-known buildings of Hadrian’s Villa for their complex layout and innovative roofing solutions. Recent restorations have brought to light important news about the complex and about its famous mixtilinear octagonal hall. Analyses using digital models show how the interventions carried out have restored formal and compositional coherence to the ambitious and original project of Hadrian’s Villa

The Maritime Theatre at Hadrian’s Villa and Its Decoration: Analysis, Interpretation, and Integration of Digital Models

Maritime Theatre is one of the most iconic buildings of Hadrian\u2019s Villa (UNESCO site since 1999). This circular-shaped \u201cdomus\u201d is characterized by one of the most obvious aspects of Hadrianic architectural production, namely the alternation of curved and straight lines applied to designing both plans and elevations. Mixtilinear features caught the interest of architects from the Renaissance to present day, becominginspirationaswell as a sortof \u201cquarry\u201d fornoble families andantiquarians.Complexentablatures designed by Hadrian\u2019s architects have been systematically removed and reused starting from Middle Ages with the consequence of having several fragments scattered in private and public collections all over Europe. Through a systematic digitalsurvey of remaining structures as well as of removed elements, a 3D analytical model was exploited in order to include all the \u201cdigitally gathered\u201d elements and for deepening the knowledge of this emblematic mixtilinear architecture

Integrated methods for documentation and analysis of archaeological heritage: the residential building along the western side of the Canopus at Hadrian’s Villa. Initial results and research perspectives

The paper presents the initial observations on a lesser-known but extremely interesting monument at Hadrian’s Villa, the so-called Tabernae, partly restored and used at present as Antiquarium of refined marble statuary, and partly closed to the public and still under excavation. The building consists of two adjoining structures on high substructures resting on two different levels of the tuff layer. In recent years, on the occasion of some works for the museum, an excavation has brought to light some remains; from then onwards the team has taken an interest in the building built on the upper terraces, proving its rectangular plan with a central courtyard thanks to additional archaeological excavations. Research activities are still ongoing; however, a complete terrestrial laser scanner survey of the whole building has already been started, considering both levels, in order to analyse in depth the remains and the architectural structure of the complex.

Virtual anastylosis applied to the architectural decoration of mixtilinear buildings in Villa Adriana: the case study of the scattered friezes of the Teatro Marittimo

The peculiar figurative friezes of the buildings with mixtilinear entablature have always fascinated collectors of antiquities since the Renaissance, determining their scattering in private collections and museums throughout Europe. Thanks to the application of digital surveying and reverse modelling techniques, increasingly adopted during the last years for the documentation and enhancement of Cultural Heritage, it has been possible to outline a specific methodology for the restoration works that concern the virtual anastylosis of the architectural order and the correct repositioning of the friezes, also not physically present on site. The master model, which shows the conditions of the Teatro Marittimo before the last restoration works (2017), is the result of several survey campaigns, carried out over the course of the last years, in collaboration with the Direction of the Villa. This model has become the basis for the hypothetical order reconstruction and the repositioning of the friezes, by considering their geometrical, morphological, stylistic, constructive, and figurative features. The ongoing research is in constant update, and it aims at providing methodological directions for virtual anastylosis and scientific tools, also preparatory to a real restoration work, starting from such a unique and delicate site as Villa Adriana

New tools and methods of investigation aimed at virtual restoration for archaeological sites: case studies from Hadrian\u2019s Villa

The archaeological site of Hadrian's Villa, declared in 1999 a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, since the fifties of the last century has been the subject of numerous restora-tion projects aimed at the conservation and, in some cases, reconstruction of the Villa\u2019s pavil-ions. Recent studies have highlighted a number of inconsistencies in the solutions adopted, with special regard to the first restorations. The research carried out by the Soprintendenza per I Be-ni Archeologici del Lazio, in collaboration with Italian and foreign universities, intends to achieve a new and more accurate analysis of these interventions, using the opportunities offered by new digital technologies of 3D detection. The paper will present the state of advancement of research focusing on some Villa\u2019s pavilions; including the scenographic triclinium called Sera-peum, the Maritime Theatre and the Southern Pavilion of Piazza d'Oro

ARCHITECTURE WITH CONCAVE AND CONVEX RHYTHMS AND ITS DECORATION IN HADRIAN AGE: THE MARITIME THEATRE AND THE SOUTHERN PAVILION OF PIAZZA D\u2019ORO IN HADRIAN\u2019S VILLA

Some buildings in Hadrian\u2019s Villa, as the Maritime Theatre and Piazza d\u2019Oro, show trabeation with a characteristic curvilinear shape, decorated with figured friezes. The dispersal of most of them in public and private collections involves difficulties in replacing the friezes in each building. A new integrated approach applied to the study of the curvilinear shape friezes, allowed us to make new reliable assumptions about the replacement of the architectural decoration. Starting from digital survey of the original fragments, and of the still preserved masonry in situ, is possible to acquire an amount of information useful to recompose the figurative cycles of the Maritime Theatre and of the southern pavilion of Piazza d\u2019Oro. The study of decorative architectural system based on the new methodological approach and the comparison of the formal and metric features obtained with those of the architectural remains in the Villa, allowed us to propose synthetic solutions on which the virtual reconstruction assumptions can be based