Lo Spazio Monumentale Nella Città Tardoantica

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Lo Spazio Monumentale Nella Città Tardoantica LO SPAZIO MONUMENTALE NELLA CITTÀ TARDOANTICA Architettura e immagine di piazze e vie colonnate nei grandi centri del Mediterraneo Orientale Paolo Baronio Locri in età romana: nuove osservazioni sull’Edificio Orsi a Petrara, Chiara Giatti 223 Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR) Architecture: Innovation and Heritage (in consortium with the University Roma Tre) Ph.D. Program SSD: ICAR/18 – STORIA DELL’ARCHITETTURA SSD: L-ANT/07 – ARCHEOLOGIA CLASSICA Final Dissertation The Monumental Space in the Late Antique City Architecture and perception of squares and colonnaded streets in the cities of the Eastern Mediterranean by Paolo Baronio Supervisors: Prof. Arch. Monica Livadiotti Prof. Roberta Belli Prof. Arch. Marco Canciani Coordinator of Ph.D. Program: Prof. Arch. Anna Bruna Menghini Course n°31, 01/11/2015-31/10/2018 Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR) ARCHITECTURE: INNOVATION AND HERITAGE Ph.D. Program SSD: ICAR/18 – STORIA DELL’ARCHITETTURA SSD: L-ANT/07 – ARCHEOLOGIA CLASSICA Final Dissertation The Monumental Space in the Late Antique City Architecture and perception of squares and colonnaded streets in the cities of the Eastern Mediterranean by Paolo Baronio Referees: Supervisors: Prof. Norbert Zimmermann Prof. Arch. Monica Livadiotti Prof. Arch. Elio Hobdari Prof. Roberta Belli Prof. Arch. Marco Canciani Coordinator of Ph.D Program: Prof. Arch. Anna Bruna Menghini Course n°31, 01/11/2015-31/10/2018 LO SPAZIO MONUMENTALE NELLA CITTÀ TARDOANTICA Architettura e immagine di piazze e vie colonnate nei grandi centri del Mediterraneo Orientale Paolo Baronio a Leopoldina e Lucrezia Sommario Introduzione p. 9 1. Costruire la ricerca: metodo e problematiche di una analisi in itinere p. 11 2. Status quaestionis e scopi della ricerca p. 15 2.1 La necessità di uno studio d’insieme dei grandi spazi comunitari delle città tardoan- tiche del Mediterraneo orientale: obbiettivi e prospettive di ricerca p. 16 2.2 L’intervallo cronologico e l’area geografica di riferimento p. 17 3. Percepire la città attraverso le fonti p. 19 3.1 L’immagine della città e degli spazi pubblici colonnati nell’arte figurativa tardoantica p. 19 3.2 Aspetto, funzione e fruizione di piazze e vie colonnate nelle fonti scritte della tarda antichità p. 23 4. Le vie colonnate p. 31 4.1 Le vie colonnate nelle città tardoantiche del Mediterraneo orientale p. 31 4.2 Il caso studio della Via Arcadiana di Efeso p. 63 4.2a L’architettura della strada e gli accessi monumentali p. 68 4.2b L’atrio delle Terme del Porto p. 83 4.2c L’esedra-fontana lungo il portico sud p. 85 4.2d La pavimentazione e la rete fognaria p. 92 4.2e Il monumento tetrastilo p. 97 4.2f Confronti per il tetrastylon di Efeso: i tetrastili di Afrodisiade, Tolemaide e quelli di area egiziana p. 102 5. Le piazze circolari p. 109 5.1 I precedenti di età imperiale in area siriana p. 109 5.2 Costantinopoli e il Forum Constantini p. 113 5.2a Le fonti antiche: la colonna porfirica p. 114 5.2b Le fonti antiche: il foro p. 118 5.2c I dati archeologici p. 121 5.2e La ricostruzione p. 122 5.3 Altri esempi di piazze circolari in età tardoantica p. 125 5.4 Il caso studio del macellum-forum di Durazzo p. 129 5.4a L’analisi delle murature dei vani IV-XI p. 133 5.4b Lo stilobate ed il portico anulare p. 139 5.4c La fondazione circolare p. 148 5.4d La pavimentazione del cortile p. 151 5.4e La restituzione dell’immagine architettonica del macellum-forum p. 155 6. Le cosiddette piazze a “sigma” p. 167 6.1 Le piazze semicircolari: una tipologia tardoantica p. 167 6.2 Il caso studio della piazza a sigma lungo la via del Lechaion a Corinto p. 175 6.2a Il cosiddetto ‘Hemicycle Building’ p. 177 Sommario 5 7. Le piazze rettangolari p. 181 7.1 Le piazze porticate a pianta quadrangolare edificate tra IV e V secolo p. 181 7.2 Il caso studio del Forum Tauri e dell’arco di Teodosio a Costantinopoli p. 187 7.2a Le fonti antiche p. 188 7.2b I dati archeologici p. 190 7.2c Le proposte ricostruttive p. 194 7.2d Ideologia del foro e dell’arco p. 197 7.2e Nuove ipotesi p. 200 8. Un esempio di continuità urbana: Afrodisiade tra IV e VI secolo p. 205 8.1 La città tardoantica di Afrodisiade p. 205 8.2 Il grande tetrapilo: l’ingresso monumentale al santuario di Afrodite p. 209 8.3 Lo scavo della via colonnata antistante il tetrapilo p. 211 8.4 La piazza del Tetrastoon p. 219 9. Considerazioni conclusive p. 229 9.1 La percezione dello spazio vuoto nella città: la scenografia di piazze e agorai commerciali p. 229 9.2 La percezione dello spazio vuoto nella città: le grandi prospettive stradali p. 235 9.3 Note finali: il ruolo delle piazze e delle vie colonnate nella definizione del panorama urbano della città tardoantica p. 247 Allegato 1: Sintesi della tesi in italiano p. 251 Allegato 2: Sintesi della tesi in inglese p. 265 Allegato 3: Elenco delle principali piazze e strade colonnate e porticate citate nel testo p. 279 Bibliografia p. 283 Ringraziamenti p. 309 6 Lo spazio monumentale nella città tardoantica Sul retro: Durazzo, Foro Circolare. Vista prospettica a volo d’uccello del cortile circolare (elaborazione P. Baronio). Introduzione I portici pubblici delle città tardoantiche, oltre a svolgere un importante ruolo urbani- stico e sociale, veicolavano all’osservatore una molteplicità di messaggi inscindibilmen- te legati all’immagine delle loro fronti monumentali e alla funzione degli edifici a cui introducevano: potenza economica della città e delle sue élites, propaganda di matrice imperiale o religiosa, modelli urbani di riferimento. Scopo della presente ricerca è stato, quindi, analizzare l’architettura delle piazze e delle vie porticate dei principali centri del Mediterraneo orientale, facendo riferimento so- prattutto alle città della Grecia e delle regioni occidentali dell’Asia Minore, nell’intento di delineare i caratteri propri della monumentalizzazione di questi spazi tra IV e VI se- colo d.C., ossia nel complesso periodo storico compreso tra l’istituzione della tetrarchia e il regno di Giustiniano I. Attraverso l’esame delle strutture di alcuni tra i monumenti scelti come casi studio (Ma- cellum-forum di Durazzo; Via Arcadiana di Efeso; Hemicycle Building di Corinto; Foro di Teodosio a Costantinopoli), la ricerca ha posto particolare attenzione all’analisi e alla restituzione grafica dell’immagine delle piazze circolari e di quelle curvilinee general- mente indicate come piazze a ‘sigma’, due tipologie architettoniche che insieme alle più comuni agorai a pianta rettangolare e alle vie colonnate costituirono i principali elemen- ti del panorama urbano della nuova capitale Costantinopoli ed ebbero ampia diffusione nelle città tardoantiche delle province orientali dell’impero. Si tratta di un filone di ricerca che per la sua vastità non è stato ancora trattato con una visione complessiva volta a considerare nel loro insieme i sistemi colonnati di strade e piazze relativamente alle fasi tardoantiche, spesso ritenute meno interessanti delle più monumentali realizzazioni dell’età imperiale. Se da un lato, quindi, l’ampiezza del tema ha costituito uno dei limiti oggettivi dell’in- dagine, in parte superato attraverso la scelta di specifici casi studio, dall’altro ha rappre- sentato l’occasione per riconsiderare e aggiornare lo stato delle ricerche rispetto a una serie di pubblicazioni edite ormai da oltre un ventennio (in particolare: Segal 1997; Bejor 1999). Infatti, negli ultimi anni, la realizzazione di nuovi settori di scavo in alcuni dei siti consi- derati ha permesso di recuperare una ingente quantità di informazioni, che consentono di comprendere meglio ed in un contesto più ampio l’architettura e la funzione degli edifici messi in luce. In particolare, le recentissime acquisizioni sulle strade e le piazze porticate di Afrodisiade, Sardi, Stratonicea, Salonicco e Tripoli al Meandro, oltre ad offrire una serie di soluzioni architettoniche assai diversificate tra loro, costituiscono ormai un bagaglio di dati imprescindibile rispetto al quale orientare la ricerca. Diversamente, in mancanza di indagini recenti, il riesame della documentazione dispo- nibile su alcuni monumenti costantinopolitani e la revisione critica degli studi scientifi- ci ad essi dedicati, hanno consentito di formulare nuove ipotesi planimetriche inerenti il Foro di Costantino e il Foro di Teodosio, che seppure non cambino sostanzialmente la realtà di quanto già noto, permettono almeno di definire meglio alcuni aspetti di Introduzione 9 primaria importanza nella morfologia di due tra gli spazi pubblici più rappresentativi dell’antica Costantinopoli. Sono state però le ricerche condotte personalmente sul campo a Durazzo e a Efeso a per- mettere la raccolta di materiale di prima mano che si è rivelato fondamentale per la resti- tuzione grafica degli spazi porticati del cosiddettoMacellum-forum di Durazzo e della Via Arcadiana di Efeso. Si tratta di due complessi eccezionali non solo per lo stato di conservazione delle loro strutture e per il fatto che sono stati (quasi) integralmente mes- si in luce, ma anche per l’implicazione dell’autorità imperiale nella loro realizzazione. Da questo punto di vista la comprensione di alcune delle componenti architettoniche dei due monumenti e la ricostruzione dei loro alzati costituisce il principale elemento di novità apportato dalla ricerca, permettendo così di inquadrare meglio tali edifici nel variegato panorama edilizio degli spazi pubblici di età protobizantina. 10 Lo spazio monumentale nella città tardoantica Capitolo 1 Costruire la ricerca: metodo e problematiche di una analisi in itinere Quando ho iniziato a dedicarmi allo studio degli spazi porticati di età tardoantica mi sono subito reso conto di trovarmi di fronte ad un percorso impegnativo, in cui la necessità di approfondire le fasi edilizie di interi settori urbani e la personale volontà di trovare nuove chiavi di lettura per la comprensione del costruito, hanno rappresentato al tempo stesso uno stimolo incessante e un obbiettivo che non sempre è stato possibi- le raggiungere.
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