The authenticity of the urban memory

Our relationship with the past and its remains has always been a difficult and controversial issue, however it is also a necessary part of human progress and intrinsic to the continuity of mankind existence. We had to recognize that memory is the mother of all ideas, thanks to its ability to determine forms of temporal and spatial continuity. Cicerone in Ad Brutum said “Nescire quid ante quam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum.” The urban memory is the main characteristic of a civilization and through it the city itself is ever built: violent, tragic or heroic facts are remembered with monuments while the flow of life is transformed in everything else of which is made a city. The archaeological sites made of buildings that have lost their original function, objects of pure matter and space, have a double meaning: a monumental one, as monuments of themselves, as architecture evocative of a gone life, and a potential one, as carriers of physical elements that strongly characterize the space contained in them, able to enclose unique and unrepeatable atmospheres. Starting from these theoretical considerations we worked on a case study about the city of Pozzuoli as result of a Research project of national interest (PRIN 2009, Italian Ministry of University and Research) called "Landscapes of archeology, regions and metropolitan cities": the archaeologies of Pozzuoli are objects in the built urban landscape without any sensible quality. The goal for the project is the construction of a strong public pedestrian path that has to be incisive in the construction of the atmosphere and character of the city, able to connect public spaces of the city with the archaeological sites to guide both locals and tourists with clarity and logical evidence. Archaeologies represent a silent heritage but at the same time silent admonition: to keep building on the existing is the only salvation of the city for the city and for mankind.