Nemi, ricerche in corso

Issue 228 of Engramma, Nemi, ricerche in corso, continues the line of enquiry initiated in Engramma 203, Guerra, archeologia e architettura. Le navi di Nemi (June 2023) and brings together the results of the study days held at Iuav University of Venice in December 2024, alongside outcomes from Master’s theses, doctoral research, and teaching activities. The first section, Museum, Construction and Displays, examines the history and transformations of the Museum of the Roman Ships of Nemi. Elisabetta Pallottino discusses the paradox of Theseus’ ship in relation to the Morpurgo complex destroyed in 1944; Daniela De Angelis and Andrea Mandara present the current restoration and renewal programme; Tullia Iori analyses the engineering challenges and the interplay between innovation, archaeology, and Fascist propaganda; Agostina Incutti and Paola Porretta retrace the architectural and museographic evolution of the Museum from 1940 to 2000. Ilaria Grippa and Christian Toson focus on the symbolic and political tensions of the post-war reconstruction, drawing on unpublished documents from the Carla and Guido Ucelli Archive at the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia in Milan and interpreting Elio Petri’s film L’assassino (1961) as a visual meditation on memory and ruin. The section closes with Massimo Capulli’s comparative reflections on naval displays and the museological challenges of exhibiting shipwrecks. The second section, Research on the Territory, explores the Nemorense landscape. Maddalena Bassani investigates the role of water in shaping settlements, cults, and myths; the CNR–ISMAR team presents a new high-resolution bathymetric survey of the lake, revealing submerged remains and suggesting the original location of the ships; Beatrice Colombaro, Maddalena Bresolin, and Eva Dal Bello examine the sacred landscapes of Diana Nemorensis and Jupiter Latiaris, and propose a new archaeological and naturalistic itinerary linking Albano and Nemi. The third section, Sources and Documentation, turns to archival and visual materials. Ilaria Grippa and Paola Redemagni analyse Guido Ucelli’s strategic use of cinema and photography to document and disseminate the recovery of the ships; Daniela De Angelis publishes for the first time Luigi Tursini’s drawings and photographs and Augusto Biagini’s documents and photographs, preserved in the Meschini and Neri Archive at the Nemi Museum; the issue concludes with an updated bibliography edited by Ilaria Grippa, Agostina Incutti, and Christian Toson, which continues Lucilla Mariani’s pioneering work and offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary resource for future research.