Caput Mundi: Insula Ara Coeli
Implementing party
Project description
The intervention aims to preserve, enhance, and transmit an asset of the highest historical, architectural, artistic, and landscape value: one of the rare surviving examples of Roman architecture developed on multiple levels.
The objectives of the operation are:
- the preservation of the asset;
- improving physical accessibility and use;
- the restoration of adequate security levels;
- the increase in participation;
- the enhancement and restoration.
The new access ramp to the Insula of Ara Coeli, located on the right side of the Vittoriano, will allow access to both the ancient ground floor, which is currently below street level, and the first floor, now accessible only from the side of the Ara Coeli Staircase.
In the external area, the upper portions of some rooms still buried today will be made visible, offering a clearer perception of the original extent of the ancient building complex. The path will continue to the second floor via an existing staircase that will be reconfigured to align with the new first-floor level, after the archaeological excavation uncovers the original floor.
To ensure accessibility for people with disabilities, a lift platform will be installed at the northwest corner of the monument, connecting the first floor to the second.
Given its location in one of the most critical traffic areas in Rome and, not least, the presence of underground archaeological structures, a solution has been designed that utilizes the existing gap between the ground floor, the garden, and the pavement, inserting a new staircase that will connect the current street level to the original level of the Insula, located 9 meters below.

Status
Planning
Tender stage
Site
End of Work
Estimated completion date
First Quarter 2026
Funding source
NRRP
Amount allocated
3.510.000,00 €