Scavi Scaligeri Historical Timeline

Origins

This was ordinary ground inside Roman Verona -- houses, streets and drainage rather than monuments -- close to the forum that is now Piazza delle Erbe.

Turning points

The Roman level was built over as the city rose. Under the Scaligeri in the fourteenth century, the palace complex around Piazza dei Signori went up directly on top, its foundations cutting through what was there.

Influential people

The site came to light during works in the 1980s on the Palazzo del Tribunale, and the decision was taken to excavate and preserve rather than build through.

Cultural evolution

Rather than roofing it as a conventional archaeological museum, the city adapted it as the Centro Internazionale di Fotografia -- a working exhibition space inside the excavation.

Present-day significance

The result is unusual and slightly contested: an archaeological site whose primary function is a gallery. It keeps the ruins in use and funded, at the cost of them not always being the point of a visit.