The extension of Rome׳s Capitoline Museums and the design of a new Hall on the site of the ancient ‘Giardino Romano’

Abstract

The new Hall of Marcus Aurelius in the Capitoline Museums, located within the ancient site of Giardino Romano, displays the original statue of the Roman emperor of the 2nd century AD. The idea of extending the Capitoline Museums by including this site came about in the framework of its general redevelopment.11The chronology of the design work stretches from 1993 to 2002; the works have been achieved between 2004 and 2005. The design leader was Carlo Aymonino and his collaborators architects Maria Luisa Tugnoli, Geneviève Hanssen, Raffaella Castrignanò. The structural design is by engineer Antonio Michetti, with Giuseppe Silvetti and architect Marco Astolfi. The new Hall is the result of a long and complicated process (1988–2005) considering the exceptional importance of the site and the many changes brought to the museum programme during the said period (Figures 1 and 2).In fact, the new Hall was originally supposed to display the marbles of the Temple of Apollo Sosianus, the foundation wall of the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter, embedded within the structures of the Palazzo Caffarelli, opposite the Giardino Romano. However, in 1997, the plan for the Capitoline Museum changed radically as the statue of Marcus Aurelius, which had been restored following the blast of a bomb attack in 1979, was determined to be the focus of the Hall. The project finally consisted of a steel and glass structure on an elliptic plan andshaped around the foundations of the Temple, with the statue at its center.