- Giacomo Boni (archaeologist)
Giacomo Boni (
25 April 1859 -10 July 1925 ) was an Italianarchaeologist specializing inRoman architecture .Born in
Venice , Boni studiedarchitecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in his native city and later dedicated himself to extensive and important excavations in theForum Romanum inRome . His early work as an architect in Venice involved him in the restoration of theDoge's Palace there. During this time he demonstrated his technical skill. He later studied architecture in theAccademia di Belle Arti .In 1888 he went to Rome; there in 1898 Ministro della Pubblica Istruzione G. Baccelli named him director of excavations in the Forum Romanum. Boni directed the excavations in the Forum from 1898 until his death in 1925. He was interested in the
stratigraphy of the Forum, an important advance in the science of Romanarchaeology .His excavations led to many important discoveries, including the
Iron Age necropolis near theTemple of Antoninus and Faustina , theLapis Niger , theRegia ,Galleria Cesaree ,Horrea Agrippiana and other monuments. In 1907 Boni also worked on the slope of thePalatine Hill where he discovered theMundus (tholos-cistern), a complex of tunnels leading to theCasa dei Grifi , the so-calledAula Isiaca , the so-calledBaths of Tiberius and the base of a hut under the peristilio of theDomus Flavia .The excavations were interrupted by the outbreak of
World War I , in which he participated as a soldier. He resumed his archaeological work in 1916. He was subsequently elected senator in 1923, at which time he embracedfascism .Boni died in Rome: he is buried in the
Orti Farnesiani on the Palatine Hill.Further reading
*Whitehouse, David. "Boni, Giacomo", "Encyclopedia of the History of Classical Archaeology". Nancy Thomson de Grummond, ed. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996, vol. 1, pp. 171-72.
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/imperial_fora_of_rome/sets/72157603440482574/ Roma â I Fori Imperiali (1995-2008). Giacomo Boni and the Antiquarium Forense: Rediscovering an Ancient Museum (2004-2007). - a set on Flickr ] at www.flickr.com Martin G. Gonde, Rome - Roman Forum: Giacomo Boni and the Antiquarium Forense: Rediscovering an Ancient Museum (2004-2007).
References
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/imperial_fora_of_rome/1850406578/ ROMA - I FORI IMPERIALI. The Documentation and Dissemination of the Recent Archaeological Investigations and Related Studies of the Imperial Fora of Rome (1995 â 2008). on F... ] at www.flickr.com Prof. Giacomo Boni, "The Public Library of the Forum Museum." THE TIMES (London), July 14th, 1905, pg.4. From: Preface: Rome, the Imperial Fora, and Archaeology – ‘The Demanding and Difficult Work of the Archaeologists: To Excavate, Interpret, Classify and Inform.’ cf. Martin G. Conde, ROMA - I FORI IMPERIALI. The Documentation and Dissemination of the Recent Archaeological Investigations and Related Studies of the Imperial Fora of Rome (1995 – 2007).
* P. Romanelli, s.v. “Boni Giacomo”, in "Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani" (Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana fondata da Giovanni Treccani), Roma 1970, pp. 75-77
* A. Capodiferro, P. Fortini (a cura di), "Gli scavi di Giacomo Boni al foro Romano", "Documenti dall’Archivio Disegni della Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma" I.1 (Planimetrie del Foro Romano, Gallerie Cesaree, Comizio, Niger Lapis, Pozzi repubblicani e medievali), Roma 2003.
* "Trajan's column." "Proceedings of the British Academy", London (1912). vol. 3 p. 93-98.
* "Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Venezia". Venice: Stabilimento tipografico dei fratelli Vicentini, 1887.
* "La torre de S. Marco: communicazione". s.l. : s.n., 1903.
* "The Roman marmorarii". Rome: s.n., 1893.
* "Il duomo di Parenzo ed i suoi mosaici." "Archivio storico dell'Arte" 7 (1894) [unnumbered, 28 pp.]
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