The “Vitruvian Basilica” may have been found.

The work was described by the Roman architect in his historical treatise

The “Basilica of Vitruvius”, an architect active in the mid-1st century BC, may have finally been found.

Remains of an ancient public building from the Roman era were identified during construction work in Fano, in the Marche region, in central Italy, in the same area where the famous basilica mentioned by Vitruvius in the treatise “De Architectura” would be located.

Officials of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape of Ancona-Pesaro Urbino and police officers of the Heritage Protection Unit carried out drone flights on the site, rich in marble.

The location, the typology of the structure, the richness of the marble flooring and coverings suggest that it is an important Roman building from the time of the emperor Augustus, who reigned between 27 BC and 14 AD

“It cannot be excluded that it could be the Basilica of Vitruvius. We just have to wait for the results of more in-depth excavations and analyzes of the complex”, Ilaria Venanzoni, archaeologist at the Ministry of Culture told ANSA.

Vitruvius was born in 80 BC and died in 15 BC, after having left the volume “De Architectura”, which laid the foundations of classical architecture. The “Vitruvian Man”, Leonardo da Vinci’s famous drawing, was based on the proportions of the male body described by the ancient Roman architect in his treatise.

In “De Architectura”, Vitruvius also refers to having built a basilica in Fano, a city bordering the Adriatic Sea, but the work was never found.

Although Catholicism has appropriated it over the centuries, the term “basilica” dates back to ancient Greece and indicates a large covered space dedicated to the holding of assemblies.

Source: Terra

Rose

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