Italy's Cultural Heritage
minister Dario Franceschini and Esterino Montino, Mayor of
Fiumicino, visited the 81-acre closed archaeological site
'Portus' near Fiumicino airport on Wednesday to research the
possibility of making it accessible to the public by 2016.
Franceschini and Montino, together with archeological
superintendent MariaRosaria Barbera, had a private tour of the
imperial harbors of Claudius and Trajan, and its "jewels" such
as a 2nd century hexagonal basin, third century warehouses and
an early Christian basilica, as well as observing ongoing work
by archaeologists as they brainstormed plans to make the
closed-access sites available to visitors.
"There is no place in the world so beautiful and
archaeologically important near an international airport",
Franceschini said. "We absolutely will work on a project to
enhance it and make it better known''.
Barbera said her goals were to reach "30,000 visitors by
2016 and ensure a daily public opening. However, the need for
staff, including technical supervision and human resources, is
at least fivefold. Since 2007, the staff has been reduced".
At present, visitors are permitted to the archaeology site by
reservation on specified Saturdays and Sundays.
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