EGERIA CENTRO RICERCHE SOTTERRANEE Speleology Egeria CRS
Egeria Underground Research Centre Activities
Speleology is a multidisciplinary research activity, which includes all those fields of study necessary for the understanding of hypogeal phenomena.
A speleologist investigates the underground world after having acquired a specific preparation, both technical and scientific, through specialized courses and a long experience.
Speleological activity deals with the exploration of the underground world, its direct observation, the analysis of the enviromental parameters, the drawing up of plottings, and the acquisition of the relevant documentation, also bibliographic, on natural hypogea (caves) as well as artificial ones (anthropic underground works of historical and archeological interest).
Speleologists aren't born, but made: with patience and some effort, not only physical, and a progressive adaptation to darkness, cold and silence. With time, one reaches a mental attitude to curiosity, discovery and a geographical vision of the invisible world.
The non-profit association Egeria Underground Research Centre began its activity in 1999 with the initial name of Egeria Speleological Association. It is composed by a multidisciplinary group of speleologists from various speleological Roman associations, and was officially established in 2002 with a notary's act.
The association's purposes are the exploration, the technical-scientific study and the documentation of artificial cavities in Italy and abroad.
To this end, the association takes advantage of the contributions, on specific subjects, by geologists, hydro-geologists, epigraphists, archeologists and landscape architects.
The Egeria Underground Research Centre is a member of the HYPOGEA Federation of Speleological Groups for artificial cavities, of the National Commission of Artificial Cavities of the Italian Speleological Society.
Egeria, an Italic nymph of springs and waters, has been for a long time the inspirer of the many explorations performed by our group in Italy and abroad: therefore, we chose to tie her name to that of our association.
Address: Egeria Centro Ricerche Sotterranee c/o Studio Tecnico Speleologico Via Nicola Nisco, 2 - 00179 Roma
Speleology is a multidisciplinary research activity, which includes all those fields of study necessary for the understanding of hypogeal phenomena.
A speleologist investigates the underground world after having acquired a specific preparation, both technical and scientific, through specialized courses and a long experience.
Speleological activity deals with the exploration of the underground world, its direct observation, the analysis of the enviromental parameters, the drawing up of plottings, and the acquisition of the relevant documentation, also bibliographic, on natural hypogea (caves) as well as artificial ones (anthropic underground works of historical and archeological interest).
Speleologists aren't born, but made: with patience and some effort, not only physical, and a progressive adaptation to darkness, cold and silence. With time, one reaches a mental attitude to curiosity, discovery and a geographical vision of the invisible world.
The non-profit association Egeria Underground Research Centre began its activity in 1999 with the initial name of Egeria Speleological Association. It is composed by a multidisciplinary group of speleologists from various speleological Roman associations, and was officially established in 2002 with a notary's act.
The association's purposes are the exploration, the technical-scientific study and the documentation of artificial cavities in Italy and abroad.
To this end, the association takes advantage of the contributions, on specific subjects, by geologists, hydro-geologists, epigraphists, archeologists and landscape architects.
The Egeria Underground Research Centre is a member of the HYPOGEA Federation of Speleological Groups for artificial cavities, of the National Commission of Artificial Cavities of the Italian Speleological Society.
Egeria, an Italic nymph of springs and waters, has been for a long time the inspirer of the many explorations performed by our group in Italy and abroad: therefore, we chose to tie her name to that of our association.
Address: Egeria Centro Ricerche Sotterranee c/o Studio Tecnico Speleologico Via Nicola Nisco, 2 - 00179 Roma
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Papers by EGERIA CENTRO RICERCHE SOTTERRANEE Speleology Egeria CRS
The Fontana Aqueduct was built between 1607 and 1612 by architect Giovanni Fontana to supply Velletri town (Rome). It is an imposing work that winds almost entirely underground for about 14 kilometers, affecting Velletri and Nemi towns, on the Alban Hills. The structure, no longer used since the ‘70s, shows still stretches in good state of conservation that could be destined to a tourist-cultural enhancement. The path of the aqueduct is particularly interesting because it crosses the products of different eruptive phases of the Latium Volcano. These phases are clearly visible in the sections not covered by plaster and in particular in the segment known as “Porte di Ferro” which, crossing the edge of the caldera of the Latium Volcano, presents geological and
structural peculiarities of great interest.
Si descrivono due insediamenti ipogei nei dintorni di San Gregorio da Sassola (Roma), posti sulle pendici del Monte S. Angelo in Arcese, a cavallo del Colle dello Stonio. Del primo insediamento, posto sul versante NE, è stata recuperata una interessante storiografia relativa ai castra circostanti, di uno dei quali viene documentata la distruzione causata dalla realizzazione dell'autostrada Roma-L'Aquila negli anni '70 del secolo scorso. Del secondo, posto sul versante SO, non è stata trovata nessuna traccia in letteratura.
Parole chiave: Cavità artificiali, architettura rupestre, Tivoli, San Gregorio da Sassola
Abstract
We describe two underground settlings in the surroundings of San Gregorio in Sassola (Rome). They are located on the slopes of Mount S. Angelo in Arcese, across the Stonio Hill. For what concerns the first settling, located on the NE slope, we found some interesting historical material related to the nearby castra. We document the destruction of one of these Castra, caused by the construction of the highway Rome-L'Aquila in the years '70 of past century. We could not find any bibliographic reference to the second settling, located on the SW slope.
Keywords: Artificial cavities, rocky architecture, Tivoli, San Gregorio da Sassola.
In November 2016 Hypogea Federation signed an agreement with Anagni Municipality (Frosinone, Lazio, Italy) in order to study, explore and enhance the natural and artificial hypogea found within the municipal area. In particular, the objective of Anagni Municipality is to open to the public the most significant urban undergrounds, with the aim of increasing the tourist-cultural offer. The study campaign proved to be complex, both from an exploratory and organizational point of view. The long history of the city, the many alterations of ancient structures (built by Volsces, Romans and during the Middle Age) occurred between the 13th and 17th centuries, together with the more recent stratigraphic overlaps, created objective limits, difficult to overcome. We rediscovered many isolated hypogea that had to be linked through historical contextualization, but with a common denominator: water. Therefore it was decided to direct the study starting from the waterways, analyzing the sites where water is still present and giving credibility to the stories of the many citizens we met. The result is amazing: in a city already widely known for its historical and archaeological beauties, we discovered works of great interest, today hidden in abandoned courtyards or in private cellars: many of them can certainly be traced back to the Roman era. The contribution presents the preliminary results of the study still in progress. ISSN 1970-9692
Since 1960’s Italian speleologists have inventoried and documented thousands of
underground sites of historical and anthropological interest, realized or re-worked by
man, in function of his needs. At the end of 1980s the National Commission on Artifi cial Cavities of the Italian Speleological Society started a specifi c inventory, developed on a regional basis, denominated “Register of the Italian Artifi cial Cavities”. At the same time, a typological classifi cation of the artifi cial cavities was defi ned, based upon their function, that offi cially marks its origin of the cavity itself. Since 2012 this classifi cation has been adopted also at an international level by UIS - International Union of Speleology. This contribution has as main goal to share with geologists the typological classifi cation of the artifi cial cavities. Further, it presents some examples of actions of monitoring, safeguard, and valorization, obtained thanks to availability of the speleological data, and the future perspectives of sharing the national database, taking into the due account the respect of the intellectual property of the data.
Under the church of Santa Sabina in Rome one finds a net of tunnels dug from the beginning of the second century BC, in order to provide water to the inhabitants of the Aventino Hill. Between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, these tunnels have been investigated many times and, in some cases, restored. In 2005 the Authors and a team of the Egeria Center for Speleologic Researches have visited and investigated the deepest levels, part of which was not found any more. In the paper we give a geologic description of the Aventino Hill, a short history of the settlements in the area, and new hypotheses on the underground structure and on how it was carried out.
Keywords: Rome, Santa Sabina, Aventino Hill, water tunnels, Appia acqueduct
Riassunto
Sotto la chiesa di Santa Sabina, in Roma, si estende una rete di cunicoli realizzati a partire dal II secolo a.C. per l’approvigionamento idrico delle abitazioni presenti sul Colle Aventino. Tra la fine dell’800 e l’inizio del ‘900 tali cunicoli sono stati più volte indagati e in alcuni casi restaurati. Nel 2005 gli Autori e una equipe del CRS “Egeria” hanno potuto rivedere e studiare gli ambienti più profondi, documentandone anche la parziale scomparsa. Nell’articolo viene tracciato un profilo geologico del Colle Aventino, una breve storia degli insediamenti presenti nell’area e vengono formulate nuove ipotesi sulla struttura sotterranea e sulla sua realizzazione.
Parole chiave
Roma, Santa Sabina, Aventino, cunicoli idraulici, acquedotto Appio
The Virgin acqueduct is one of the 11 acqueducts that carried water to Rome and is the only one which, since it was implemented by Agrippa in the year 19 b.p.e., has never ceased to function. It originates at Salone, on the Collatina Way east of Rome, where, by means of water collecting cuniculi, it drains most of its flow. The specus is 20 Km long and it develops almost entirely underground. The acqueduct gets inside town from the north, crosses the Nomentana Way, goes under Villa Glori, the Parioli and Pincio hills, finally heading for Campo Marzio where, since 1762, it also feeds the well-known Trevi Fountain. From the XVI century, the underground channel of the Virgin acqueduct has excited the interest of the inhabitants of the Pincio hill. First the Order of the Minimi of Saint Francis from Paola and after the Ricci and Medici families tried, in various ways, to make use of it to solve the problems due to the lack of water in the hill area above; over the centuries, al least two wells were dug to raise water mechanically, together with a flight for water transport on animals. In this paper we consider the various systems that have been investigated and mapped during tens of inspections and, even if many elements of evaluation are missing, we describe the possible systems for water raising from the underground channel, by means of hydraulic wheels and piston pumps. Finally, we discuss two other systems for drawing water, recently discovered near the College Saint Nazarenus and in Alibert street.
Keywords: Virgin acqueduct, Pincio hill, Rome.
Near Pavona (village of Castel Gandolfo, Rome), a small body of water is what remains to testimony a pre-existing volcanic crater lake. This is the Lacus Turni, lake well known to the Romans. In the seventeenth century the body of water was drained by a surface outflow, while at present the outflow is an underground one. In 2015 the Underground Research Centre Egeria - Hypogea explored a duct tributary of the same lake, apparently linked to the nearby artificial outflow of Lake Albano, in order to verify if the two structures constitute an “integrated system” similar to the Nemi-Vallericcia complex. In addition to the speleological investigations, we performed a detailed analysis of the iconographic sources, which suggested the considerations presented in this contribution.
____________
Nei pressi di Pavona (frazione di Castel Gandolfo, Roma) un piccolo specchio d‟acqua è quel che resta a testimonianza di un preesistente lago vulcanico. Si tratta del Lacus Turni, il lago di Turno ben noto ai Romani. Nel diciassettesimo secolo il bacino fu prosciugato per mezzo di un emissario di superficie, mentre attualmente è drenato da un emissario sotterraneo. Nel novembre 2015 il Centro Ricerche Sotterranee Egeria - Hypogea ha esplorato un condotto immissario dello stesso lago, apparentemente collegato al vicino esautore del Lago Albano, allo scopo di verificare se le due strutture costituissero un “sistema integrato” analogamente a quello di Nemi-Vallericcia. Oltre alle indagini speleologiche è stata effettuata una dettagliata analisi delle fonti iconografiche che ha restituito lo spunto per alcune riflessioni che vengono esposte nel presente contributo.
The Fontana Aqueduct was built between 1607 and 1612 by architect Giovanni Fontana to supply Velletri town (Rome). It is an imposing work that winds almost entirely underground for about 14 kilometers, affecting Velletri and Nemi towns, on the Alban Hills. The structure, no longer used since the ‘70s, shows still stretches in good state of conservation that could be destined to a tourist-cultural enhancement. The path of the aqueduct is particularly interesting because it crosses the products of different eruptive phases of the Latium Volcano. These phases are clearly visible in the sections not covered by plaster and in particular in the segment known as “Porte di Ferro” which, crossing the edge of the caldera of the Latium Volcano, presents geological and
structural peculiarities of great interest.
Si descrivono due insediamenti ipogei nei dintorni di San Gregorio da Sassola (Roma), posti sulle pendici del Monte S. Angelo in Arcese, a cavallo del Colle dello Stonio. Del primo insediamento, posto sul versante NE, è stata recuperata una interessante storiografia relativa ai castra circostanti, di uno dei quali viene documentata la distruzione causata dalla realizzazione dell'autostrada Roma-L'Aquila negli anni '70 del secolo scorso. Del secondo, posto sul versante SO, non è stata trovata nessuna traccia in letteratura.
Parole chiave: Cavità artificiali, architettura rupestre, Tivoli, San Gregorio da Sassola
Abstract
We describe two underground settlings in the surroundings of San Gregorio in Sassola (Rome). They are located on the slopes of Mount S. Angelo in Arcese, across the Stonio Hill. For what concerns the first settling, located on the NE slope, we found some interesting historical material related to the nearby castra. We document the destruction of one of these Castra, caused by the construction of the highway Rome-L'Aquila in the years '70 of past century. We could not find any bibliographic reference to the second settling, located on the SW slope.
Keywords: Artificial cavities, rocky architecture, Tivoli, San Gregorio da Sassola.
In November 2016 Hypogea Federation signed an agreement with Anagni Municipality (Frosinone, Lazio, Italy) in order to study, explore and enhance the natural and artificial hypogea found within the municipal area. In particular, the objective of Anagni Municipality is to open to the public the most significant urban undergrounds, with the aim of increasing the tourist-cultural offer. The study campaign proved to be complex, both from an exploratory and organizational point of view. The long history of the city, the many alterations of ancient structures (built by Volsces, Romans and during the Middle Age) occurred between the 13th and 17th centuries, together with the more recent stratigraphic overlaps, created objective limits, difficult to overcome. We rediscovered many isolated hypogea that had to be linked through historical contextualization, but with a common denominator: water. Therefore it was decided to direct the study starting from the waterways, analyzing the sites where water is still present and giving credibility to the stories of the many citizens we met. The result is amazing: in a city already widely known for its historical and archaeological beauties, we discovered works of great interest, today hidden in abandoned courtyards or in private cellars: many of them can certainly be traced back to the Roman era. The contribution presents the preliminary results of the study still in progress. ISSN 1970-9692
Since 1960’s Italian speleologists have inventoried and documented thousands of
underground sites of historical and anthropological interest, realized or re-worked by
man, in function of his needs. At the end of 1980s the National Commission on Artifi cial Cavities of the Italian Speleological Society started a specifi c inventory, developed on a regional basis, denominated “Register of the Italian Artifi cial Cavities”. At the same time, a typological classifi cation of the artifi cial cavities was defi ned, based upon their function, that offi cially marks its origin of the cavity itself. Since 2012 this classifi cation has been adopted also at an international level by UIS - International Union of Speleology. This contribution has as main goal to share with geologists the typological classifi cation of the artifi cial cavities. Further, it presents some examples of actions of monitoring, safeguard, and valorization, obtained thanks to availability of the speleological data, and the future perspectives of sharing the national database, taking into the due account the respect of the intellectual property of the data.
Under the church of Santa Sabina in Rome one finds a net of tunnels dug from the beginning of the second century BC, in order to provide water to the inhabitants of the Aventino Hill. Between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, these tunnels have been investigated many times and, in some cases, restored. In 2005 the Authors and a team of the Egeria Center for Speleologic Researches have visited and investigated the deepest levels, part of which was not found any more. In the paper we give a geologic description of the Aventino Hill, a short history of the settlements in the area, and new hypotheses on the underground structure and on how it was carried out.
Keywords: Rome, Santa Sabina, Aventino Hill, water tunnels, Appia acqueduct
Riassunto
Sotto la chiesa di Santa Sabina, in Roma, si estende una rete di cunicoli realizzati a partire dal II secolo a.C. per l’approvigionamento idrico delle abitazioni presenti sul Colle Aventino. Tra la fine dell’800 e l’inizio del ‘900 tali cunicoli sono stati più volte indagati e in alcuni casi restaurati. Nel 2005 gli Autori e una equipe del CRS “Egeria” hanno potuto rivedere e studiare gli ambienti più profondi, documentandone anche la parziale scomparsa. Nell’articolo viene tracciato un profilo geologico del Colle Aventino, una breve storia degli insediamenti presenti nell’area e vengono formulate nuove ipotesi sulla struttura sotterranea e sulla sua realizzazione.
Parole chiave
Roma, Santa Sabina, Aventino, cunicoli idraulici, acquedotto Appio
The Virgin acqueduct is one of the 11 acqueducts that carried water to Rome and is the only one which, since it was implemented by Agrippa in the year 19 b.p.e., has never ceased to function. It originates at Salone, on the Collatina Way east of Rome, where, by means of water collecting cuniculi, it drains most of its flow. The specus is 20 Km long and it develops almost entirely underground. The acqueduct gets inside town from the north, crosses the Nomentana Way, goes under Villa Glori, the Parioli and Pincio hills, finally heading for Campo Marzio where, since 1762, it also feeds the well-known Trevi Fountain. From the XVI century, the underground channel of the Virgin acqueduct has excited the interest of the inhabitants of the Pincio hill. First the Order of the Minimi of Saint Francis from Paola and after the Ricci and Medici families tried, in various ways, to make use of it to solve the problems due to the lack of water in the hill area above; over the centuries, al least two wells were dug to raise water mechanically, together with a flight for water transport on animals. In this paper we consider the various systems that have been investigated and mapped during tens of inspections and, even if many elements of evaluation are missing, we describe the possible systems for water raising from the underground channel, by means of hydraulic wheels and piston pumps. Finally, we discuss two other systems for drawing water, recently discovered near the College Saint Nazarenus and in Alibert street.
Keywords: Virgin acqueduct, Pincio hill, Rome.
Near Pavona (village of Castel Gandolfo, Rome), a small body of water is what remains to testimony a pre-existing volcanic crater lake. This is the Lacus Turni, lake well known to the Romans. In the seventeenth century the body of water was drained by a surface outflow, while at present the outflow is an underground one. In 2015 the Underground Research Centre Egeria - Hypogea explored a duct tributary of the same lake, apparently linked to the nearby artificial outflow of Lake Albano, in order to verify if the two structures constitute an “integrated system” similar to the Nemi-Vallericcia complex. In addition to the speleological investigations, we performed a detailed analysis of the iconographic sources, which suggested the considerations presented in this contribution.
____________
Nei pressi di Pavona (frazione di Castel Gandolfo, Roma) un piccolo specchio d‟acqua è quel che resta a testimonianza di un preesistente lago vulcanico. Si tratta del Lacus Turni, il lago di Turno ben noto ai Romani. Nel diciassettesimo secolo il bacino fu prosciugato per mezzo di un emissario di superficie, mentre attualmente è drenato da un emissario sotterraneo. Nel novembre 2015 il Centro Ricerche Sotterranee Egeria - Hypogea ha esplorato un condotto immissario dello stesso lago, apparentemente collegato al vicino esautore del Lago Albano, allo scopo di verificare se le due strutture costituissero un “sistema integrato” analogamente a quello di Nemi-Vallericcia. Oltre alle indagini speleologiche è stata effettuata una dettagliata analisi delle fonti iconografiche che ha restituito lo spunto per alcune riflessioni che vengono esposte nel presente contributo.
Call for abstract - Scadenza 15 ottobre 2019