Widespread Museum of Testaccio

Located on the left bank of the Tiber, Testaccio is today a lively and dynamic district, composed by different cultural realities - including the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Roma Tre, the European Institute of Design and a section of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome - but where you can breathe an unmistakable "Roman air". Walking through its streets also means coming into contact with its many "lives", traveling through time from the ancient Rome to the present day.

In fact, its history begins in the 2nd century BC: from this period, and then in full imperial age, a new river port (the Emporium), warehouses for goods (Porticus Aemilia, Horrea Galbana, Lolliana, Seiana etc.) arose here and a large dump of oil amphorae (the "Monte dei Cocci"). With the end of the Roman Empire, the area gradually assumed a rural character and, in the Middle Ages, was mostly occupied by gardens and vineyards. With the unification of Italy, the area was chosen to host new industrial plants (for example the Slaughterhouse) with adjoining workers' houses. In the Thirties, with a second building phase, the neighborhood was equipped with adequate infrastructures and began to be inhabited by the middle class.

In short, a complex historical identity, with a singular economic-commercial vocation that has periodically re-emerged over the centuries: to let everyone know the evolution of the district over time and to enhance its archaeological remains and its historical and architectural heritage, the The Special Superintendence gave life to the project of the "widespread museum", that is, a museum which, unlike the traditional one, is not surrounded by walls.

The widespread Museum of Testaccio today provides a local path with educational panels, a playful-educational area for children and the chance of visiting important archaeological areas: the Emporium, the archaeological urban park of Porticus Aemilia and the archaeological area of ​​the Nuovo Testaccio market. A "virtual" path completes the project: with the support of a website, an application for mobile devices allows for an interactive multimedia archaeological visit.

Photo: Courtesy of Area Archeologica Museo Diffuso di Testaccio