Perugia, Ipogeo dei Volumni. From Genius Disloci to Genius Loci of a Peripheralized Monument

Abstract

Can an inhomogeneous, fragmented, and incoherent peripheral place, in which archaeological remains, industrial settlements and territorial infrastructures coexist chaotically, become a place of identity of the city of our time? This contribution aims at recognize the genius disloci of the suburbs, considered no man’s land, places without identity, but which are, inevitably, the daily theater of most people’s lives. On the heels of a deep and sensitive cognitive activity, the potential of marginalized places have been investigated through the case study of Ponte San Giovanni, the most complex neighborhood of the city of Perugia. The disorganization of the urban fabric betrays a precise lexical heritage, characterized by the presence of the archaeological park of the Etruscan necropolis of Palazzone and the Ipogeo dei Volumni. In this framework, the urban architecture project Hortus line is inserted, with the purpose of physically and culturally sewing up the peripheral monument with the inhabited district. It traces an iconic sign in the intricate local morphology able to evoke that genius loci unrevealed so far.