Ostia. Scavare, conservare, e valorizzare una città antica

The paper, introduced by Mariarosaria Barbera, aims to present the set of activities of protection and enhancement of the historical heritage promoted by the Archaeological Park of ancient Ostia, an institution also engaged in the delicate task of coordinating international scientific research. The next part deepens the themes of urban history inspired by the investigations of the Ostia Marina Project, archaeological mission of the University of Bologna working in ancient Ostia since 2007. The first section, by Massimiliano David, focuses on the settlement, on the base of the archaeological deposit documented by the excavations carried out in the area of the maritime district of the city. During the second century C.E. this suburban area assumed the role, by direct initiative of the emperor Hadrian, of a centre of thermal wellness and became the setting of the Minucius Felix’s “Octavius”. A structural failure of this functional arrangement has to be found about one hundred and fifty years later, in the Theodosian era. The second section, by Francesca Romana Stasolla, discusses the methods of economic exploitation of the dead city since the Eleventh century. In a desolate landscape of ruins, well-organized workplaces were opened to obtain marbles and works of art for the antiquarian market.