Il Tevere e la Marmorata. Dal commercio e deposito di marmo presso l’antico Emporium al suo prelievo e riutilizzo in epoca moderna

Since the II century BC the area of Rome called “Marmorata” hosted the main commercial port of the city where the accumulation of stone materials survived long after the site was abandoned in favour of the port at Ripa Grande. Although some of the remnants of this deposit were lost to the construction of the quay walls, it is important to reconstruct its inception and subsequent developments. The surviving sources have highlighted the great fascination that the site evoked in the course of the XVI-XVIII centuries, and suggest its contribution to the genesis of modern antiquarian scholarship. Some of the characteristics of the finds at the Marmorata concern the management and trade of marble in antiquity, the acronyms indicating the provenance and destination were in fact particularly coherent with the philological spirit that was driving then the study of antiquities. This information becomes relevant when put in relation with the excavations systematically undertaken in the area in those years, with the consistency and quality of the marble that emerged, with the prestigious collections where it was gathered, and with the many renowned monuments in which it was used as construction material. After having thus outlined the routes the goods took and the organization of the trade, the different uses of the ancient port area are discussed in the light of the laws issued by the Camerlengato of Rome. Evidence showing the attention reserved to the Marmorata by antiquaries of the XVI-XVIII centuries is also considered.