150 years of the École française de Rome: archives, excavations and the Piazza Navona exhibition

150 years of the École française de Rome: archives, excavations and the Piazza Navona exhibition

Underneath Piazza Navona lie layers of Rome's past, the most significant being the footprint of the Domitian Stadium, built in the 1st century AD and buried for centuries beneath the modern square. Recent archaeological investigations beside the École française de Rome have revealed new structures and occupation phases spanning late antiquity to the medieval period.

An exhibition hosted at the École's premises documents this long history of scholarship. The display combines archival materials, photographs, interpretative panels and multimedia content to present both research findings and the methods used to obtain them.

Highlights

• Domitian Stadium remains: sections of the ancient complex and interpretative reconstructions explaining the square's elongated shape.
• Archival material and publications: documents that trace the institution's history since its foundation in 1875 and its role in Roman and Mediterranean studies.
• Recent excavations: stratigraphic evidence and structures documenting later usage phases.
• Multimedia routes and historical photographs that reconstruct fieldwork and archival research.

Visitor information

The exhibition is located on the ground floor of the École's building in Piazza Navona. Parts of the adjacent underground archaeological area are accessible on a limited basis; visitors should check opening hours and booking procedures on the institution's official channels before planning a visit.

From a scholarly perspective, the École française de Rome was established in 1875 as a center for historical studies and later expanded to combine archival research with archaeological fieldwork. Key scholars associated with the institution advanced the study of papal sources and Christian archaeology, fostering long-standing partnerships with Roman archives and universities.

Practical tips: wear comfortable footwear for underground visits; verify accessibility and reservation requirements in advance; follow conservation rules while on site.