Tra passato e presente: la condizione di limite dei siti archeologici nella città contemporanea

Archaeological sites, as a sign of the human experience of the past, define a landscape of knowledge: they are the testimony of a past that contributes to the preservation of the historical memory of a certain territory. Often, however, community’s knowledge of these places does not happen successfully: the isolation of archaeological sites in the contemporary city have led to a separation, based on the temporal difference between ancient and modern, between past and present. It is evident, however, the need to dissolve these differences in a context of valorisation, communication and public awareness in view of the recovery of territory’s tangible and intangible values, assuming that through the past we can know the present. Although the insularity condition of the archaeological sites leads to a growing curiosity of the citizens for what is unknown, what is ‘beyond’ the borders, the lack of knowledge leads to the fact that the architectures of the past seem to be unfamiliar to us, not belonging to our reality. They should not be viewed with a melancholic distance but rather as elements that still dialogue with our daily lives an belong to our identity. So, is it possible to gradually dissolve the limit between ancient ruins and contemporary city? Can the isolation of ancient buildings be reinterpreted in a key of mutual contamination and interrelation? And is it possible to increase the use of archaeological sites in view of an increasing collective consciousness of the patrimonial value of our territory?