Abstract

The paper has the aim to examine the perceptual, topographical, and symbolic relationships between the Nemi Museum of Roman Ships and its ancient context. Firstly, it provides an overview of the history of the excavations, from the antiquarian discoveries to the first archaeological explorations in the 19th and 20th centuries. Subsequently, the long process promoted by the Fascist government between 1926 and 1940 is reconstructed. The initiative aimed not only to recover the two ships, lying at the bottom of the lake, but also to construct a museum, enhance the archaeological context, and protect the natural landscape. The analysis focuses on the museum project designed by Vittorio Morpurgo and its radical transformation after the fire of 1944, when the intentionally designed relationship between the Museum and the landscape of Nemi was progressively lost. The final purpose is to provide points of reflection for a future restoration project that can philologically rehabilitate Morpurgo’s architecture and (re)activate the lost relationships with the context of the Specchio di Diana, accepting the inevitable compromise between old and new vocations.