Opens to the public from Saturday 20 April, the archaeological area of Sant’Agataa new testimony of Roman Bergamo hidden underground in the historic centre. The remains came to light during the restoration work of the former monastic complex, headquarters of the Città Alta Cooperative, testify to the importance that Bergamo had in Roman times, greater than anyone imagined until the most recent discoveries. A larger urban settlement than the medieval one, a prosperous link between the mountains and the plain, with community buildings, temples, spas and patrician houses.
The mighty wall – about ten meters long and up to one meter and sixty centimeters wide – visible at the center of the excavations inaugurated on Friday, was part, in all probability, of a imposing public building overlooking the decumanus maximus, the current via Colleoni. The size of the artefact and the remains of the architectural and ornamental elements found on site suggest a large palace in which public functions were held and not a “domus”. «When I saw this wall I wondered what we could find if we continued digging» he confesses Stefania De Francesco with Cinzia Robbiati supervised the works on behalf of the Superintendency. And in fact there was no shortage of surprises. The archaeologists found in their hands fragments of frescoed plasters (still lifes with vividly colored fruits and foliage), remains of polychrome marble floors, traces of relief stucco and decorative terracotta elements that adorned the roof of the building. And then more recent findings, from the medieval era: a row of tombs and a wall with arches that acts as a backdrop to the archaeological site. All material still being studied by experts, and what else will it tell about the ancient history of Bergamo.
A moment from the inauguration
The Roman remains
In front of the eighteenth-century façade of the former church of Sant’Agata, on the edge of the garden, the designers would have liked to create the systems for the new spaces of the Circolino. And instead the archaeological discovery changed the plans. Years of work to secure the area and make it visible to the public. «All made possible thanks to the collaboration between a third sector body such as the Cooperativa Città Alta, the municipal administration and the State, through the Superintendency» underlined the Councilor for Culture Nadia Ghisalberti speaking at the inauguration of the site. And thanks to a three-way agreement, the area will be managed and shown to the public also through guided tours by the Archaeological Museum, in which the finds found during the excavations will be exhibited.
The Roman remains inside Sant’Agata
Some moments from the inauguration
«When we started recovering Sant’Agata, six years ago now, we didn’t think we would embark on such a demanding operation – he admits Tomaso Ghilardi, president of the Città Alta Cooperative – but thanks to everyone’s commitment and the active collaboration with the Municipality and Superintendence, we completed the task. And today we can thus celebrate the 43 years of the Cooperative born thanks to the vision and determination of my father Aldo». The architect represents the designers Angelo Colleoniwho signed the recovery of the complex together with colleagues Melania Licini and Paolo Belloni. «We wanted to recover what remained of the monastic structure (the intervention on the former prison will be the subject of other works in the near future, ed.) by introducing contemporary architectural elements – explained Colleoni -. The discovery of the Roman remains was unexpected and led to changes to the project but we are happy to have brought to light significant evidence of a bygone era, a new contribution to the history of the city.”
