Casina Vignola Boccapaduli

Located in Piazza di Porta Capena, just a few metres from the site of the ancient gateway to the Via Appia, the Casina Vignola Boccapaduli is a new information and cultural services hub for residents and visitors alike. It hosts a bookshop, a ticket sales point for the Civic Museums System, and an information and ticketing service for the Appia Antica Archaeological Park.

Originally intended to house the residence of the Capitoline Conservator Prospero Boccapaduli, the sixteenth-century building now serves as an important information point for citizens and tourists passing through the area, thanks to its strategic position between the Central Archaeological Area and the Via Appia Antica, and within easy reach of the Caelian Hill, the Palatine and the Aventine.

To this end, a memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Parco Archeologico dell’Appia Antica and the Sovrintendenza, with the aim of transforming the Casina into an information and connecting hub between the Caelian Hill, the Colosseum and the Baths of Caracalla, as well as a starting point for walking and cycling routes towards the Via Appia Antica. The centre provides information on the many routes and points of interest that branch out from Porta Capena towards the Castelli Romani, following the course of the ancient road.

Funded by Jubilee funds, the works have transformed the ancient travertine portico on the ground floor into a visitor space, featuring thermal- and acoustic-insulated glazing and a new climate-control system. The wooden window frames have been replaced with new fittings. To remove architectural barriers, an external access ramp has been built, designed in harmony with the historical and landscape context. A new lighting system and a bespoke central desk define the different functional areas. The furnishing integrates an information station for staff, seating with electrical sockets for charging mobile devices, a shelf with bookcase, and additional seating for consultation.

The project forms part of the Centro Archeologico Monumentale CArMe), a redevelopment plan for the area encompassing the Roman Forums, the Colosseum, the Oppian Hill, the Caelian Hill, the Baths of Caracalla, the Circus Maximus, the Forum Boarium and the Capitoline Hill. Its first phase is the creation of the New Archaeological Promenade in the city centre: a large pedestrian loop that will allow visitors to stroll through a remarkable and unique setting, from the Forums to the Colosseum, the Caelian Hill, the Palatine, the Baths of Caracalla, the Circus Maximus and finally the Capitoline Hill.

HISTORICAL NOTES

The Casina Vignola Boccapaduli represents a brilliant recovery of the memory of the urban landscape during a period of profound transformation.

With the first law on Rome’s monumental zone (1887) and subsequent legislation (1898, 1907), a special Royal Commission was established to oversee the enhancement of the valley between the Caelian and Aventine hills, where the so-called Archaeological Promenade was to be created.

The sixteenth-century casino built by Prospero Boccapaduli – Roman nobleman and Conservator on the Capitoline – near the Baths of Caracalla, between the cloisters of Santa Balbina and San Saba, was demolished as it had become an obstacle to the new route of Via delle Terme di Caracalla. The original architect is in fact unknown: the name Vignola Boccapaduli suggests an evocative attribution of the original building to Jacopo Barozzi, known as Vignola, though the name has also been interpreted as referring to “countryside” or a “small vineyard”.

The Royal Commission nevertheless undertook to rebuild the Casina on its current site, approximately 300 metres from the original location. In 1911, architect Pietro Guidi reconstructed the building in Piazzale della Moletta, providing it with a staircase of ten steps, reusing the travertine decorative elements and seeking, as far as possible, to respect the plan and volumes of the original casino. On the right-hand side of the building, a commemorative plaque was set into the wall in memory of an ancient and celebrated spring dedicated to Mercury (fons Mercurii), once located nearby.

On 21 April 1917, Rome’s birthday (Natale di Roma), the Archaeological Promenade was finally inaugurated.

SERVICES

• Sale of books, guides from the Musei in Comune series and exhibition catalogues
• ​Advance ticket sales for the Civic Museums and archaeological areas of Rome Capital
• Advance ticket sales for Circo Maximo Experience, the Planetarium, and guided visits to the Bunker and air-raid shelters at Villa Torlonia
• Roma MIC Card sales point
• Information on routes, points of interest and activities within the Appia Antica Archaeological Park
• Distribution of maps and materials useful for planning a visit to the Appia Antica Archaeological Park
• Ticket sales point for sites of the Appia Antica Archaeological Park (Mausoleum of Cecilia Metella, Capo di Bove Complex, Villa of the Quintili – Santa Maria Nova, Tombs of the Via Latina, Villa of Sette Bassi, Antiquarium of Lucrezia Romana)

Only digital payments by POS and/or credit card are accepted.

Casina Vignola Boccapaduli – Ph. Wps