Exploitation and management of water resources in the suburb of Viterbo. A medieval and early modern country house in Ponte dell’Elce

Abstract

di Marilisa Biscione*, Federica Gaspari**, Nicola Masini*, Giuseppe Romagnoli***
* Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage - National (Italian) Research Council
** Independent researcher
*** University of Tuscia - DISTU

ABSTRACT: The research project on the architectural complex in Ponte dell’Elce near Viterbo started in 2014 thanks to thecollaboration between DISBEC (Dipartimento di Scienze dei Beni Culturali, University of Tuscia) and IBAM-CNR(Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage, National Research Council). The aim of this paper is to identify, through the field-survey and the analysis of stratigraphy of buildings, integrated by a systematic analysis of documentary sources, the main stages of an important country house and its topographic context between Middle Ages and early Modern period, focusing on exploitation of water resources. Water was a basic resource for the agriculture, the animal farming and the industrial activities (especially watermills) placed around Viterbo, but also a distinguishing feature of many country residences built in the suburb. The original nucleus of the building in Ponte dell’Elce dates back to late Middle Ages, but it was reshaped during the 16th century. In this period, the country house (casale) was renewed and included into a larger context: the surrounding area was used as a garden but, in any case, it was dedicated to the leisure and relaxation of the owner and his guests. For this purpose, it was embellished with monumental fountains (at least three) working thanks to a complex system of channels and aqueducts. Some sculptures related to the myth of Hercules and Hesione, carved in huge tuff boulders, can be compared to the well-known examples of Villa Lante (Bagnaia), Soriano (Fonte Papacqua), Caprarola (Palazzo Farnese) and Bomarzo (the Sacro Bosco), architectural and artistic masterpieces that supply first elements to understand and explain the ornamental project of Ponte dell’Elce site.

In the following stages, it will be developed a multidisciplinary methodology of the suburban landscape study, focusing
on diagnostic techniques application, for the good conservation of similar sites.