Since June 2023, the Sacred Area of Largo Argentina has been reopened to the public with a new itinerary that for the first time makes it possible to access and visit the site in a systematic way, reading the phases of its life from the Republican era through the Imperial and Medieval periods, until its rediscovery that took place in the last century with the demolitions of the 1920s.
The work, carried out under the scientific supervision of the Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, was supported by the Maison Bulgari.
It is possible now to appreciate the majesty of the remains of the temples of the Sacred Area at close range, appreciate the details, the construction phases and the materials, and to walk at the same level of the structures that citizens and tourists have observed for decades from the street plan.
The works have been carried out according to the principles of accessibility and inclusiveness. From Via di San Nicola de' Cesarini, a walkway path completely free of architectural barriers leads to the archaeological area. A lifting platform allows access for people with reduced mobility, while inside all the differences in height and altitude jumps have been eliminated, making it easy to visit even in a wheelchair or with a pushchair.
Two new exhibition areas have been created in the portico of the medieval Torre del Papito and in the rooms below the street level in Via di San Nicola de’ Cesarini. The spaces have been set up with a selection of the numerous finds from last century's excavations and demolitions, including fragments of epigraphs, sarcophagi, architectural decorations and two heads of colossal statues belonging to the deities venerated in the area.
In order to best tell the story of the site and the changes that have taken place over the centuries, the entire itinerary is equipped with a series of illustrative panels with texts in Italian and English and a rich photographic collection.
For the visually impaired and blind, two large tactile panels have been created, in Italian, English and Braille with information of the whole complex and individual monuments and with the tactile reading of two 3D scanned finds – a fragment of a slab with a little bird picking a fruit and the colossal head of a female cult statue.
A new lighting system makes it possible to access the catwalk and the exhibitors located in the museum space, while at street level the porch of the Torre del Papito has been illuminated.