Green light for the cleaning of the finds to be displayed in the lapidarium atArch of Trajan. In recent hours, the Superintendence has given a favorable opinion on the superficial cleaning of the historical testimonies which will be showcased in the display case built a few steps from the Roman imperial monument. This is the step that was missing to complete the installation of the work created as part of the Integrated Sustainable City Programme. It will probably be necessary to wait until the end of the month or the first days of July to cut the ribbon on the last still unfinished Pics.
THE FINDS
The clearance of Supervision triggers the facelift phase of the stone artefacts, the duration of which is estimated at two weeks. The company «Novus Vetus» of Sant’Angelo a Cupolo will take care of it. Then it will be necessary to transport the finds and place them in the display, according to the provisions of the same ministerial body. For this service, the task has been assigned by the Municipality to the De Marinis company of Naples, which will also provide insurance coverage. The Municipality has already taken steps to place the metal supports in the case. The timing of the operations has definitely slowed down, but after all these are works with two thousand years of history and therefore every step is taken with understandable care by municipal officials.
There are ten finds from the ministerial deposits in Viale degli Atlantici which will be exhibited in the lapidarium. The list of treasures to be showcased includes testimonies found in the Benevento area, but also in other municipalities in the province. On the list is the suggestive Greek relief found years ago in Pietrelcina. A tribute to the cult of Apollo who had his chosen land on the Greek island of Delos. The find still shows the upper profile of the temple with pediment and upper part of the colonnade clearly visible. The half-bust of a Roman toga comes from Paduli. Although headless, the light stone sculpture is still well defined and promises to be one of the most spectacular attractions of the display case. As well as the fragment of mosaic that from Viale degli Atlantici will reach the lapidarium at the Arco. The multicolored tiles that decorated the floor of a noble villa are announced as one of the most interesting wonders of the showcase. The wow effect is also aimed at with the relief depicting gladiators, now deposited in the Superintendence but certainly worthy of valorization. The light stone find clearly shows the lower part of the body (with armour) of two fighters. The limestone sphinx is also decidedly scenic. Nothing to do with the rich Egyptian heritage of the city but a funerary ornament to pay homage to the memory of an ancient notable. Also of impact is the massive Doric stone frieze containing some illustrations that are still clearly visible, as is the model with the city gate, a sort of low column in white limestone. Less spectacular but historically valuable is the milestone of the fourth mile of the Via Traiana, a reference point of the route wanted by the Roman emperor found between Benevento and Paduli. The picture is completed by the epigraph, found in 2008 in Cellarulo, commemorating the generous gesture of the Roman magistrate Lucius Pulpius who built a road at his own expense.
THE VETO
Nothing to be done, however, for the epigraph celebrating the creation of the Via Traiana. The Municipality’s close call on the stone memorial found at Ponte Valentino, now located at the entrance to the Roman Theatre, was in vain. The leaders of the archaeological area of the Theater are decidedly against the move, considering the considerable importance of the find which must be considered among the most important discoveries in the city’s history. A real shame, because the epigraph that immortalizes the construction of the Via Appia Traiana at the behest of the emperor would have been didascalically very consistent with the lapidarium, located at the foot of the Arch from which the “bypass” of the Rome-Brindisi consular road departed.
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