The Basilica Julia and the recovery of the Forum Romanum. The architectural reconstructions of L. Canina and A.-N. Normand

At the beginning of the 19th century a new generation of scholars and Bauforscher developed innovative approach to the study and visual reconstruction of the Roman architecture. The “rediscovery” of the Forum Romanum was based on a new historical paradigm that integrated the philological-epigraphic inquiry with the topographical and architectural survey. An important role was played by the Italian architect Luigi Canina and the French pensionnaire Alfred-Nicolas Normand, who focused on research and archaeological investigations related to the Basilica Julia, one of most impressive ancient monuments of the Roman Forum. This building was crucial in finally resolving the central controversial issue of ancient Rome’s topography: the extent and orientation of the Forum. With an integrated approach of archaeology and architecture, both architects made a fruitful use of new data that excavations brought, but at the same time they went beyond the “picturesque ruin landscape” of 18th century’s artists. The aim of Canina and Normand’s analytical and then reconstructive works were precisely to wrest the material remains of the ancient monument from nature and to return it to its original state, as far as possible.