Conservation process of Porta Tiburtina, Rome. A tool to map, protect, and requalify the gate

Porta Tiburtina is a historic gate within the Aurelian walls in Rome. It is connected to an ancient Augustan arch that carried three aqueducts. This arch additionally served as an opening to an ancient street, Via Tiburtina, that connected Rome, and Tivoli. This paper describes the methodology used to understand this vast subject of the practice of Heritage Conservation in the context of the regular practice of architecture that has either been largely misunderstood or, at worse, regarded as architecture with an outdated twist. It focuses on a three-stage study process starting from the current state, followed by an elaborate historical data collection that leads to the declaration of the need for intervention. Phase I talks about the awareness of the current context, both urban and structural, and the architectural features that are key to acknowledging the threats and dangers to the monument. The next phase focuses on historical data collection and arrangement that helps understand the value lost on the monument and documents every change and transformation it has been through to make a more informed decision. The final stage is an intervention that tends to be respectful, minimal, and in-context. It demonstrates the value of a methodology organized on an individually tested analysis to explore and confirm different aspects of the historic development of the monument. The main question it tries to answer is, how does an architect decide whether to conserve, preserve, restore, or reuse while retaining the memory and identity of the monument