Alberto Calza Bini e l’antico. Lo studio per il restauro del Teatro di Marcello

The contribution explored the role played by Alberto Calza Bini in the study of the Theatre of Marcellus carried out on the occasion of the restoration, which began in 1926. The knowledge acquired in this circumstance determined the design choices that defined the current image of the monument. On this 'new edition' of the monument, the interests of historiography then developed (at least until the 1980s), based almost exclusively not on direct sources, but filtered mostly by the writings of the same protagonists of the restoration. Thanks to a first-hand reading of the conspicuous documentation produced, compared directly with the architecture, I was able to ascertain the methods of study. Moreover, it was possible to, assess the degree of depth of the cognitive investigation, the excavation technique and the attention payed by Calza Bini to the ancient construction methods and materials. Undoubtedly, the academic training of Alberto Calza Bini and his collaborators, as well as the cultural climate, have played a decisive role in the methodology of analysis carried out on the pre-existence, which seems to have been more attentive to the recognition and highlighting of certain attributable elements to very specific historical periods. The working group neglected, at least apparently, the analysis of the transformation process. This approach promoted the study of the phases considered the most significant ones, with the inevitable repercussions on the level of restoration. However, these analyses seems to be accompanied by an unprecedented sensitivity towards the 'materiality' of architecture, documented both through a scrupulous description of the surfaces (with notes, sketches, photographic images), and with studies on the combinations between 'old and new', with attention to the colors and extrinsic qualities of the final outcome. On the other hand, even in the design of the new architecture Calza Bini seems to transpose this interest towards the materials of 'ancient' architecture (real or alluded to) which, beyond the formal language, become its distinctive elements.