Archeologia e infrastrutture nello Stato unitario. Le scoperte lungo la costa ionica calabrese durante la realizzazione della ferrovia nel 1879

Archaeology and Infrastructures in the Unitary State. The Discoveries Along the Ionian Coast of Calabria During the Construction of the Railway in 1879 · The discoveries that took place during the con struction of the Calabrian-Sicilian Railway in 1879 are often mentioned throughout literature on archaeology in Calabria, based on the synthetic report by Giuseppe Fiorelli originally published in «Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità». Still-unpublished data and observations emerge from the original reports. They are useful for understanding the cultural climate of the time, with a focus on the field of protection of heritage. These documents are held by the State Central Archives, and were drawn up during the works; those written by engineer A. Spinola are of particular interest. He dwells on what emerged during the construction of the section between Cariati and the Assi River (about 160 km). His wealth of details and methodological approach can be related with current issues in preventive archaeology. He pays particu lar attention to the discoveries in the surroundings of Strongoli (Fasano/Fasana), and in the area of the station of Cotrone (Crotone), but also to those made nearby the station of Simeri, which relate to discoveries made shortly before in Catanzaro Lido (Opipari Fund), in the Massara trench near Roccella or Roccelletta, at Marina di Soverato. The Report on ancient objects found during the construction of the railway from Cariati to the River Assi acquires a certain importance also from an iconographic point of view, due to its rich array of drawings, and to the plan («chorographic plan») of the section crossed by the railway. This rich apparatus of ancient topography demonstrates Spinola’s preparation and versatility, and his great familiarity with the current archaeological bibliography.