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Cat. 18 detail: ROMA, 1950.
| | MERIDIANO
Italy's Prime Meridian
December 2002 - February 2003
Exhibition and catalog text © A. Ceen / The Studium Urbis, 2002
Curated and written by Allan Ceen
Web version created by Michelle LaFoe
To inquire about the exhibition, contact Allan Ceen.
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A MARK ON MONTE MARIO: Exhibition History
Friday, 22 November, 2002 - A group of 25 professionals of varied backgrounds gathered at the Studium Urbis in the center of Rome to discuss ways and means of restoring cultural and scientific importance to the summit of Monte Mario (1.5 miles north of the city walls). Within a small area of the park of Monte Mario are located Italy's Prime Meridian tower, a 19th century fort, Rome's Astronomical Observatory and Museum and one of the finest points to view the panorama of the city.
Participants were asked to consider the notion of placing an unspecified mark on Monte Mario, based on the national Prime Meridian, which would focus attention on a series of possible interventions, five of which are listed below:
1. Reopening of the Copernican Astronomical Museum of Monte Mario in Villa Mellini. It has been closed for "restoration" for the last three years. It is now being proposed to move the museum to Monte Porzio Catone, 20 miles south of Rome, so that the old quarters can be turned into administrative offices of the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica.
2. Turning of Villa Mellini into a historical/scientific cultural center, making it accessible to the public once more. Organizing tours guided by astronomers of the great solar observatory (largest in Europe) and the optical telescopes. Revival of the plan to construct a planetarium near the observatory.
3. Linking of the Museum's events with the activities of the Park of Monte Mario (botanical visits etc.).
4. Making the late 19th century Prime Meridian Tower accessible to the public. Currently it is on military grounds belonging to the Fort of Monte Mario (no longer used as a military site).
5. Monte Mario marks the last leg of the Via Romea (or Via Francigena), the medieval/renaissance pilgrimage route to Rome from the north. As such it deserves a physical indication of the point from which the pilgrims could see their long-desired goals.
The evening opened with a brief slide presentation illustrating the set of 20 maps of Rome and Italy displayed on the walls of the Studium Urbis. These maps highlighted the cartographic use of the Prime Meridian (based on Monte Mario) from the Risorgimento until the mid-20th century. Slides also recorded an event which took place on Sunday 17 November when four of this evening's organizers and their families met at the Observatory to identify the physical location of the Prime Meridian and to mark its line temporarily with chalk and white cord.
Representatives of the Amici di Monte Mario and of the XVIIth Municipio (of which Monter Mario is part) expressed support for the general principles presented. Architects Piero Salvagni and Alessandro di Benedetto discussed the nature of possible local projects while the architect Piero Meogrossi stressed the possibility of including the Prime Meridian in a city-wide scheme of symbolic axes. The discussion then turned to the Astronomical Observatory and Museum which are in immediate need of attention and which, together with the Prime Meridian, could be focus of a larger scheme to be developed for Monte Mario's summit. This was discussed at length and the idea of reactivating the Copernican museum was suppported by representatives of the Polish Institute (Poland having contributed considerably to the founding of the Museum), Italia Nostra as well as most of the other participants. A representative of MUSIS (the association of smaller museums of the city) suggested getting Roman school groups involved in this effort because they would be among those to benefit the most from the project.
The group agreed to meet again on December 13 at the Studium Urbis to discuss specific proposals to be presented to the city.
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