Le fonti hanno sempre ragione? Agrippa, il Campo Marzio e la riorganizzazione delle factiones circenses

Until recent excavations in the area between Via Giulia and the Palazzo della Cancelleria, the reorganization of the circus factiones and the construction of the stabula factionum in western Campus Martius was based on the interpretation of three Latin inscriptions coming from Rome and a passage by Cassius Dio: the set of documents seems to trace the operation to Agrippa. However, a careful examination of the epigraphic documents and their tradition projected against the background of 16th century antiquarian studies leads us to believe that the passage by Cassius Dio was the basis for a Pirro Ligorio’s refined invention. If we remove from the three inscriptions their value as “sources” but we want, to get an idea of Agrippa’s contribution, we will have to reconsider Cassius Dio, we will have to rethink the extension of the properties of Augustus’ sonin-law in the Campus Martius, we will have to take into account the results of new archaeological excavations in the area of stabula factionum.