Archaeology goes on stage (online) in the Roman Tridentum

Over the years, the evocative atmosphere of the Roman Tridentum has hosted different audiences and initiatives ranging from exhibitions to theatre, from recitals to concerts, making the site a unique place for sharing and inclusion. This tradition, interrupted by the health emergency, is continuing online thanks to the Archaeological Heritage Office of the  Department for Cultural Heritage: it has produced two theatrical performances and a docufilm produced on the archaeological sites. In the coming weeks the videos will be available to everyone on the Trentino Cultura portal.

These are "Un giro al S.A.S." (“A tour in the Sas Underground Archaeological Space”) and "Il gioco al tempo dei Romani" (“Pastime in the Roman times”), staged by the actors of Emit Flesti and directed by Alessio Dalla Costa and "Conflict archaeology: quel che resta della Grande Guerra" (“Conflict archaeology: what is left of the Great War”) by the Marco Gobetti’s company.

The videos are subtitled to allow a wider accessibility.

The first video "Un giro al S.A.S." will be available online from Friday 26 March and can be downloaded from the section “Archaeology goes on stage online” on the portal TrentinoCultura/Themes/Archaeology. 

The next videos will then be available week by week.

A tour in the Sas Underground Archaeological Space

Dedicated to young people, but also very enjoyable for adults, “A tour in the Sas Underground Archaeological Space” offers an unusual exploration of the site thanks to the cheekiness of an eccentric uncle, a professor and a great lover of history, and his hesitant nephew; they sneak into the Roman Tridentum on the day it is closed to the public.

Among bickering and misunderstandings, they will have an unexpected encounter, where reality and fiction are confused, leaving protagonists and spectators in an atmosphere suspended between past and present. The two-part show is staged by actors Annalisa Morsella, Giulio Federico Janni and Simone Panza, who also wrote the play, and directed by Alessio Dalla Costa.

The first part of the video will be available online from 26 March, the second part from 27 March at this link: Archaeology goes on stage online

Pastime in Roman times

Actors Valentina De Cecco, Simone Panza and Niccolò Pedelini play three eccentric characters from the year 2225 who undertake a special mission for a noble cause, travelling back in time to find themselves in the Tridentum of 225 AD.

Catapulted into this alien reality, the trio will complete the challenging task of saving the children of the third millennium through a playful discovery.

The adventure will be an opportunity to get to know and experience some of the pastimes that were very popular among the children of ancient Rome, such as the game of nuts or the game of astragals. The three characters will also offer suggestions to rediscover other games played by the Romans: the Muìda, blind fly, whose name derives from “mùo”, which means to close, or Navia aut capita, (our head or tails) and Pulverulentus, a game of Greek origin, similar to today's rugby, where two teams face each other trying to bring a ball to the goal in the opponent's field.

The name derives from the great dust raised by the players as they run across the dirt ground. The play is dramatised by Maura Pettorruso and directed by Alessio Dalla Costa.

The first part of the video will be online from 2 April, the second part from 3 April at this link: Archaeology goes on stage online

Conflict archaeology: what remains of the Great War

From Saturday 10 April, the docufilm "Conflict archaeology: what remains of the Great War" will be available online at this link: Archaeology goes on stage online.

Composed of three parts - "The Shoes", "The Bodies" and "The Memory of Matter" - and directed by Marco Gobetti, it is inspired by the theatrical play of the same name and by the recited lesson written by Valentina Cabiale, who also wrote the screenplay.

In the docufilm, the scientific insights by Franco Nicolis, director of the Archaeological Heritage Office of the Autonomous Province of Trento, delve deeper and explain the passages recited by Giuliano Comin. "Conflict archaeology: what remains of the Great War" is a journey through the "tangible" traces of the First World War, starting with a pair of straw boots used a century ago at Punta Linke. In the narrative, the bodies, objects and clothes of the soldiers follow one another in an exciting balance between emotional knowledge and historical reconstruction.

An educational reflection on the ultimate meaning of the "archaeology of conflicts", which seeks to understand the relationship between the remains of the past and the way in which we want - or don't want - to integrate them and recognise them in the present. The encounter of the arts with archaeology is also a way to make it popular - in the high sense of the term -, to reveal its new and contemporary aspects, as well as more complex and fascinating functions which are usually attributed to it.

Information
Provincia autonoma di Trento
Soprintendenza per i beni culturali
Ufficio beni archeologici
Via Mantova, 67 - 38122 Trento
Tel. 0461 492161

uff.beniarcheologici@provincia.tn.it 
www.cultura.trentino.it/Temi/Archeologia