One of the oldest and most important archeological areas of Rome, Largo Argentina, will be restored and open to the public, Rome mayor Virginia Raggi announced earlier this month.
Fashion house Bulgari, which funded the renovation of the Spanish Steps in 2016, will provide €800,000 for the restoration of the site, which has become increasingly rundown in recent years, and has been permanently fenced off. Taken as another symbol of the overall state of decay of the capital, the site, which stands 20 feet below the current street level, has become home to a large colony of stray cats.
Largo Argentina is the largest Republican complex currently visible in Rome, located between Piazza Navona and the Campidoglio. The structures, discovered between 1926 and 1929 during demolitions of the block, date from the end of the 2nd century and beginning of the 3rd century BC. There are four temples in the area, three rectangular, one round.
Largo Argentina is mostly famous for being the site of Julius Caesar’s assassination in 44 BC. He was killed at the Curia, or senate house, which was part of the theater complex. What remains of the Curia is a thick foundation of tufa stone.
In announcing the project, Raggi, which described it as “a gesture of love towards Rome,” said that it would be completed in the second half of 2021. She said walkways will be installed to visit the area. There are also plans to turn a storage room into a museum and to add lighting for night-time visits.
“Rome is always the main source of inspiration for Bulgari,” Bulgari CEO Jean-Christophe Babin said, speaking about the renovation project, funded in part by money left over from the Spanish Steps restoration. “This site has an extraordinary value because it’s the oldest open-air spot in Rome.”
