An Environmental History of Villa Ada and Monte Antenne a Tale of the Land That Is Now a City Park in Rome, Italy
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Eduardo Ottimofiore Invisible history: An environmental history of Villa Ada and Monte Antenne A tale of the land that is now a city park in Rome, Italy Master’s thesis in Global Environmental History 2 Abstract Ottimofiore, E. 2019. Invisible history: An environmental history of Villa Ada and Monte Antenne. A tale of the land that is now a city park in Rome, Italy. Starting from a simple observation of apparent neglect, this thesis aims to explore the heritage of the land of Villa Ada, a city park in Rome Italy. To do so, this study relates historical narratives regarding this piece of land, from the earliest human presence to formation of the current park. The narratives help engage the reader with the past of this land, and to anchor it into the current landscape. An online survey was conducted to address how the park is per- ceived today and what meaning the visitors and neighbors associate to it. By connecting the past to the present, and then looking forward, this thesis can contribute in opening a discussion about Villa Ada’s fate and the strategies that can be implemented for its effective long-term management. Keywords: Villa Ada, Rome, heritage management, heritage conservation, landscape. Master’s thesis in Global Environmental History (60 credits), supervisor: Anneli Ekblom, Defended and approved autumn term 2019 © Eduardo Ottimofiore Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626, 75126 Upp- sala, Sweden 3 4 Table of Content 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................................ 7 1.1. Aims and motivations to study Villa Ada .................................................................................. 7 1.2. Structure and methodology ........................................................................................................ 9 1.2.1. Material and methods ......................................................................................................... 9 1.2.2. Obtaining (reliable) evidence ........................................................................................... 10 1.2.3. Connecting the dots: layout of the study .......................................................................... 12 2. Setting the scene .............................................................................................................................. 13 2.1. The geographical disposition ................................................................................................... 13 2.2. Villa Ada today ........................................................................................................................ 14 2.3. The geology of the area ............................................................................................................ 15 2.3.1. The formation of the land ................................................................................................. 15 2.3.2. On the rivers ..................................................................................................................... 17 3. Early human activities ..................................................................................................................... 19 3.1. From the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age ................................................................................... 19 3.1.1. Deep history in the land of Villa Ada ............................................................................... 19 3.1.2. Agriculture and metals reach the Italian Peninsula: a shift in practices and livelihood ... 20 3.2. Antemnae, and the Bronze Age and Early Iron Age in Central Italy ...................................... 22 3.2.1. The cultural background of the Central Italian Bronze Age ............................................ 22 3.2.2. The urbanization and advent of city states in Central Italy .............................................. 23 3.3. The emergence of Archaic Latins and their constellation of city states .................................. 24 3.4. Antemnae: from Antemnates to Romans ................................................................................. 28 3.4.1. Early mentions of Antemnae ............................................................................................ 29 3.4.2. Archeological evidence of Antemnae .............................................................................. 30 4. The rise of Rome .............................................................................................................................. 32 4.1. The emergence of Rome as a superpower ................................................................................ 32 4.1.1. The Senate and the People of Rome: from the monarchy to the republic ........................ 32 4.1.2. The empire before the Empire .......................................................................................... 34 4.2. The agrarian situation in the Roman countryside during the Republic and the Empire .......... 35 4.3. Villas, houses and households in Roman society ..................................................................... 38 4.4. The fate of Antemnae, the construction of Aqua Virgo and modifications to the Via Salaria 39 4.4.1. Antemnae after Antemnae ................................................................................................ 39 4.4.2. Aqua Virgo and Via Salaria ............................................................................................. 41 5. The decline and fall of the (Western) Roman Empire ..................................................................... 42 5.1. General trends and the decline ................................................................................................. 42 5.1.1. Demographics in the countryside ..................................................................................... 42 5.1.2. Rome's place in the Empire .............................................................................................. 42 5.2. The Goths ................................................................................................................................. 43 5.2.1. The Goths enter the Roman world .................................................................................... 43 5.2.2. Alaric’s Visigoths sack Rome .......................................................................................... 44 5.2.3. The last Western Roman Emperor: from the end of the Western Empire to the Kingdom of Italy ........................................................................................................................ 45 5.2.4. The Eastern Empire’s attempt to reconquer Italy ............................................................. 46 5.3. Christianization ........................................................................................................................ 48 5 5.3.1. Christianism in the religious Roman context ................................................................... 48 5.3.2. The Roman Church grows into a major player in the Roman society .............................. 48 5.3.3. The conversion of the Roman elite and the Roman countryside ...................................... 49 5.3.4. The Christian household ................................................................................................... 50 5.3.5. The Church established her authority across Roman society ........................................... 50 5.4. The catacombs under Villa Ada ............................................................................................... 51 6. From the Medieval reoccupation to the unification of the property ................................................ 55 6.1. General demographic and societal trends of the Roman countryside ...................................... 55 6.2. Chasing shadows on the land of Villa Ada .............................................................................. 56 6.2.1. Plausible past land use in the land of Villa Ada ............................................................... 56 6.2.2. Other, non-agricultural elements of the landscape ........................................................... 59 6.3. The formation of a unified property ......................................................................................... 61 7. The formation of the current park: from private property to public property ................................. 64 7.1. Villa Ada as private park .......................................................................................................... 64 7.2. Villa Ada divided: the long road towards a reunified public park ........................................... 66 7.3. The restoration and inauguration of the unified Villa Ada ...................................................... 69 7.4. Controversies ............................................................................................................................ 70 8. Experiencing Villa Ada today .......................................................................................................... 73 8.1. Building the study .................................................................................................................... 73 8.2. A special, neighborhood park .................................................................................................. 76 8.3. The visitors’ experience ..........................................................................................................