Until Wednesday, September 30, every day from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm, one of the most evocative places in Lazio is open to the public. The archaeological excavations at the site of Pyrgi now boast a live webcam that will allow all interested parties to observe the dig in real time, thanks to a project implemented by Sapienza University, the CNR National Institute of Crystallography, The Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, and the Lazio Region
Until Wednesday, September 30, one of the most evocative places in Lazio is open to the public: the archaeological area of Pyrgi, located near Santa Severa, on the Lazio coast about 50 kilometres from Rome.
The port and sanctuary of Pyrgi, which are located near Santa Severa, just south of Rome, played a key role in the history of the ancient Mediterranean. Caere, present-day Cerveteri, was one of the most important Etruscan cities and became wealthy through its control of maritime traffic control. Geographically, it was the first landing port for those sailing the Tyrrhenian from the South.
The Sanctuary of Pyrgi is one of the few mentioned by ancient literary sources and is related to crucial historical events determining the political and economic balance of the Mediterranean area.
Over fifty years of systematic investigations carried out by Sapienza have brought to light the remains of a vast sanctuary on the beach immediately south of the castle of Santa Severa. The sanctuary, one of the most important in Etruria is famous and well known to Greek and Latin sources. The Greeks said it was sacred to Uni, identified with the Phoenician Astarte, and to Thesan, the Greek Leucothea, “white goddess” of the sea. Its story began at the end of the VI century B.C. when Thefarie Velianas, tyrant of Cerveteri, started the majestic project that, over fifty years, led to the monumental arrangement of the area.
Excavations at Pyrgi began in 1957. The archaeological site has been used to train generations of Italian and foreign archaeologists.
The current excavation work involves the sector between the Sanctuary and the port settlement. The results of recent surveys are contributing to a better knowledge of the urban layout of Pyrgi (road network, cadastral divisions, function of the blocks), the possible defensive systems (evoked by the Greek name “Pyrgoi” – the towers) and the relationship with the “maritime colony” founded by the Romans in 273 BC.
The site of Pyrgi now boasts a live webcam that will allow all interested parties to observe one of Sapienza’s first great university excavations thanks to a project implemented by Sapienza University, the CNR National Institute of Crystallography, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and the Lazio Region. Every day from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.
