Restauro in Accademia di San Luca: riflessioni intorno a una proposta di Gaspare Salvi per il concorso scolastico 1840.

Abstract

An unpublished document in the archives of the Accademia di San Luca bears witness to the proposal of a 'restoration' test addressed to students of theoretical architecture, on the occasion of the annual school competition in 1840. The reasons for the idea, consisting in the elaboration of a project for the restoration of the Temple of Mars Ultor in the Roman forum, are here traced back to the collapse of part of the Monastery of the Annunziata ai Pantani, which had developed over the centuries close to the remains of the temple, which had occurred the previous year. The competition outline, drawn up by architect Gaspare Salvi, certifies that at the time the building was to be demolished with a view to 'in style' completion of the temple, which was not carried out. Although promptly rejected, in its nature of an isolated case, Salvi's proposal contributed to the reflection on the idea of archaeological restoration in the academic training of young architects and to a greater definition of the thinking regarding the possibility of intervention on ancient monuments in the first half of the 19th century in Rome.