A journey through history will start on April 22 thanks to the project “Forum of Augustus. 2000 years later" promoted by Roma Capitale, the Mayor's Office, Department of Culture, Creativity and Artistic Promotion - Capitoline Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and produced by Zètema Progetto Cultura with the conception and curation of Piero Angela and Paco Lanciano with the historic collaboration by Gaetano Capasso.
Thanks to special audio systems with headphones, spectators will be able to listen to music, special effects and Piero Angela's story in 6 languages (Italian, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Japanese).
Using the most advanced technologies, the project will accurately illustrate the archaeological site located along Via dei Fori Imperiali and adjacent to Via Alessandrina starting from the stones, fragments and columns present. Spectators will be accompanied by the voice of Piero Angela and by magnificent films and reconstructions that will show the places as they appeared at the time of Augustus: an exciting representation and at the same time full of information with great historical and scientific rigor.
The grandstands designed to accommodate the public and the necessary technical equipment (lights, projectors, computers, etc.) have been created, in agreement with the Capitoline Superintendency, with the aim of minimizing the visual impact on the archaeological area. Arranged in two parallel rows, the grandstands are contained entirely by the sidewalk of Via Alessandrina and made up of 7 modules interrupted by double-flight stairs for a total height of approximately 2,60 meters plus the 1-metre high parapet.
While ranging over various aspects of that unique phenomenon that was the Roman world, the story will always be anchored to the site of Augustus, using the remains of the Forum in a creative way to try to make the stones speak as much as possible. In addition to the faithful reconstruction of the places, with special effects of all kinds, the story will focus on the figure of Augustus, whose gigantic statue, 12 meters high, dominated the area next to the temple. With Augustus, Rome inaugurated a new period in its history: the imperial age was, in fact, that of the great rise which, within a century, brought Rome to reign over an empire that extended from present-day England to the borders with the present-day Iraq, comprising much of Europe, the Middle East and all of North Africa. This will also be an opportunity to tell that that conquest meant the expansion not only of an empire, but also of a great civilization, which brought with it culture, technology, juridical rules, art. Traces of that past still remain today in all areas of the Empire, with amphitheatres, baths, libraries, temples, roads.
After Augustus, moreover, many other emperors left their mark in the Imperial Forums by building their own Forum. Rome at that time had more than a million inhabitants: no city in the world had ever had a population of those proportions; only London in the 800s reached this size. It was the great metropolis of antiquity: the capital of the economy, law, power and entertainment.
Forum of Augustus. 2000 years later" is a project that is part of the celebrations for the two thousandth anniversary of the death of Augustus (19 August 14 AD) and in a broader intervention to enhance the Imperial Forums carried out with the contribution of the Treasurer Banks of Rome: BNL BNP Paribas Group, UniCredit and Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. The investment will be self-sustainable thanks to ticket revenues and has not required any economic intervention by the Administration.
It will be possible to attend the show every evening from 22 April to 18 September 2014 in three repetitions at 21, 22 and 23 pm (duration 40 minutes; max 200 people; rainy days will be made up for) by purchasing tickets on site or through the number 060608 and the dedicated website www.viaggionelforodiaugusto.it.
