Heritage in Transit: Contemporary Architecture and the Historical Axis of Via Pia in Rome

Abstract

This paper investigates the way contemporary architecture interacts with, transforms, and often takes over the past, in close reference to the development of the historical urban axis of Via Pia in Rome. Its route can now be traced in the routes of Via XX Settembre and Via del Quirinale. Following Italy’s unification in 1870, this grand axial route was redesigned as a spatial narrative of the new secular state. The placement of monumental state buildings along the former Via Pia was a deliberate act meant to reinforce the symbolism of the lay state taking over the former papal city. The 20th century witnessed the construction of several representative institutional buildings, as well as the demolition of medieval and modern urban fabric to create space for new projects, in an attempt to develop a new collective memory. The paper aims to shed light on the urban, architectural, and political significance of these 20th-century interventions on the ancient Via Pia and analyse their relationship with the logic of the urban axis.