Superare i dislivelli a Pompei. L’accessibiltà all’area del Foro e della Basilica

The area between Porta Marina and the Forum, that coincides with the western part of the Regiones VII and VIII, is certainly the heart of the city of Pompeii, both with respect to its historical-archaeological identity and the perception of the visitors who in the nearly three centuries of the excavations’ history have flowed through it. Despite this significant interest, the area examined presents a particularly serious critical state regarding the problem of accessibility, as yet for the most part unresolved. So tackling the knotty problems and the critical state that arise in making accessible, even to persons with reduced motor or sensory abilities, the tour that starts from Porta Marina, goes through the Tempio di Venere and through the ‘ring’ of the Forum, allowing to visit the Basilica and join up with the Via dell’Abbondanza or, through the celebrative arch to Via Mercurio, constitutes a fundamental element in undertaking a correct policy for improving the accessibility conditions of the entire site of Pompeii. The present essay addresses experimentally the theme of the improvement of the accessibility to the area of the Forum and the Basilica. It outlines in particular the methodology adopted by the research group engaged in the area, and the principles that guided the analysis and strategic options for overcoming the architectural and perceptive barriers, starting from the access by Porta Marina, particularly problematic owing to the strongly sloping land and tricky paving materials.