Die ›Tomba Baccelli‹ an der Via Latina in Rom

Rekonstruktion anhand von Architekturzeichnungen der Spätrenaissance

Abstract

The subject of this study is the ›Tomba Baccelli‹ at the 3ʳᵈ mile of the Via Latina. It is a polychrome brick monument and thus belongs to the small group of tempietto tombs in an architectural style popular in the Antonine period. In the late Middle Ages (?), the building was transformed into a small Marian church and therefore survived until modern times. In 1959, however, the walls collapsed. The façade has been restored several times, but the exposed sub-basement was left to deteriorate. Due to the fact that safety measures in the area of the ancient, basalt-paved tomb road had to be tightened in recent decades, the monument is now only visible from a distance in the public »Parco delle Tombe della Via Latina«. For this reason, the so-called Tomba Baccelli are presented here together with architectural hand-drawings from the late Renaissance. The recovery of ancient architectural contexts from Renaissance drawings is not a scientific novelty, but sometimes leads to surprising results.