L’Appia è moderna

Issued to accompany the exhibition of the same name (Rome, Casale di Santa Maria Nova, 18 May – 13 October 2024), this volume presents the architectural and artistic culture of the 20th century on the course of the regina viarum.

An important study focused on a recent historical period, superseding the vision of the road in Roman times and the Romantic and bucolic forms of the ‘Grand Tour’, which still dominate the imaginary of the Appian Way. The numerous essays explain how a profound transformation took place in the 20th century, with projects, built or only planned, that made the Appian Way a part of modernity and an integral part of the city. In the appendix attention turns to the future, with the recent acquisitions of assets of great importance that offer and will continue to offer further opportunities for understanding, research, and expansion of the usable areas of the entire Parco Archeologico dell’Appia Antica.

The volume opens with a portfolio of 20 photographs taken by Francesco Jodice as part of the exhibition project. The images present Jodice’s personal reading of ancient and modern finds, in some cases made by recovering the ancient art of the daguerreotype.

The volume arrives in bookstores with two different folded dust jackets that can be removed and opened in poster format. One is a photograph of a detail of a swimming pool in one of the modern villas by the Appian Way, the other a view of the ancient Villa of the Quintilii.