One afternoon, we visit the archaeological park of Centocelle that is a green area with many lives in the history. In Roman times it had villas, bathrooms and fountains. Legend has it that the name derives from the military citadel built by the Emperor Constantine, in which one hundred cells rested the elite of the Roman Cavalry, along with their horses.
When Rome was proclaimed the Italian capital, the Savoy government built fifteen forts, including the Casilina Fort that is established in 1882. The archaeologist Rodolfo Lanciani supervised the excavation work to prevent the construction of the fort from compromising the ancient finds.
In 1909, Wilbur Wright organized an exhibition in this area to show his invention, the airplane. This gave birth to the first Italian airport whose runway can still be seen today while walking through the park. The airport was soon named after the aviator Francesco Baracca, a hero of the First World War, who chose the air force after attending an exhibition at the Centocelle airport.
In the midst of many difficulties including unraveling the abusive occupations and relations with the military state property, finally a large part of the park has been made public recently. Since 2010, 33 hectares have been available to the citizens of a populous neighbourhood who use it to dance, play cricket and learn to ride a bicycle along the old aircraft runway.
Written by Enrico, Translated by Hua and Photo from Hua
