The provisional ranking of tender of the project was presented at the Trajan’s Markets, Museum of the Imperial Forums of Rome, in the presence of the Minister of Culture Gennaro Sangiuliano, the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri, and the Capitoline Superintendent Claudio Parisi Presicce.
international planning project “La Nuova Passeggiata Archeologica” for the implementation of interventions around the Imperial Forum was announced last October by Roma Capitale – Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage during the Public Proclamation Session, which took place in the Labics studio by Maria Claudia Clemente and Francesco Isidori.
The objective of the competition, for which 23 design proposals were received, is the creation of a large pedestrian ring that takes up the idea of Minister Baccelli’s late nineteenth-century walk.
The New Archaeological Walk will connect the entire central archaeological area of the city from the Forum to the Colosseum, to the Caelian Hill, to the Palatine Hill, to the Baths of Caracalla, to the Circus Maximus, up to the Capitoline Hill – at the same time putting it back in connection with the modern city and the daily life of the surrounding districts.
This will be a unique walk in the world that will connect via dei Fori Imperiali with the other routes around the Palatine Hill, intercepting the cycle-pedestrian itinerary of via di San Gregorio, via dei Cerchi, via di San Teodoro, and the ascents and descents of the Colle Capitoline Hill, which will be characterized by an increase in services in the area, including pedestrian spaces, green areas, balconies, elevated paths, and cycle-pedestrian paths.
The estimated cost for carrying out the works is 18,800,000 euros. The judging commission, made up of 5 members identified by Roma Capitale, the Ministry of Culture, and the Order of Architects, chaired by the Portuguese architect Joao Luis Carrillho da Graca, selected the 5 finalist projects of the competition from which it chose the winner, according to criteria which concerned: the compatibility of the proposal with the framework of the activities planned by the Public Administration and the strategic objectives; the quality of the proposal in the relationship between the space covered by the competition and the surrounding fabric and functional organization of the spaces and elements proposed; the compositional aspects, creativity, originality, and innovative contents of the proposal; the innovative quality of the proposal in reference to the choice of materials and technological solutions and the simplicity of maintenance and management; as well as compliance with the invariants and consistency with the guidelines and the proposed economic parameters.
The winner will receive a prize of €135,000 net of social security charges and VAT. Competitors classified from 2nd to 5th will receive reimbursement of expenses, totaling €100,000 net of VAT and any other legal charges.
The provisional ranking will now be subject to legal checks, following which the winning firm will proceed with the improvement of the technical-economic feasibility project.
At the end of this phase, the Services Conference will be announced, and in the meantime, the executive project will be entrusted, and the tender will be announced. If all deadlines are respected, the work can begin by September 2024.
The New Archaeological Walk in the central area of the city represents the first piece of the broader transformation project of the Monumental Archaeological Center of Rome (CArMe).
The competition has in fact opened the implementation phase of the Operational Program which envisages a set of works to be completed in the 3-year period 2025-2027 with an investment of 282 million euros between PNRR, National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) Giubilee 2025, and state and municipal funds.
This has been developed by Roma Capitale, edited by the Capitoline Superintendence, and based on the Report to the Mayor presented by Walter Tocci with the technical support of Resources for Rome and the collaboration of the competent Departments and other municipal companies. This project represents the largest investment ever in the central archaeological area.
The next step will then be to follow the definition of the works envisaged by the Strategic Plan, financed with other resources to be found over the next decade, to guide the transformation in the long term.
First place was assigned to the Labics studio of Maria Claudia Clemente and Francesco Isidori.
