Above ground, modern roads with bike lanes and roundabouts. And underground, the remains of the ancient Santa Igia . After more than seven years, the project to redesign Via Po in the Sant'Avendrace neighborhood has restarted, with final approval from the Services Conference. The goal is to improve the connection between the former slaughterhouse area and the rest of the neighborhood and the city.
The project, funded under the extraordinary program for urban redevelopment and suburban safety , has a total budget of €800,000. It had already been approved and awarded in 2019, but work never began. Therefore, the landscape permit needed to be renewed. Only a few days ago, the Superintendency issued a favorable opinion, requiring the continued presence of an archaeologist during the excavations.
The project envisions a major overhaul of Via Po: wider sidewalks, a 2.50-meter-wide cycle/pedestrian path , safer crossings, and new landscaping. Some parking spaces will be reduced to reclaim areas for pedestrians and cyclists. Particular attention is planned for the section in front of the former slaughterhouse, where the cycle path will be flanked by green spaces, and parking and the roadway will be reorganized. Work will also be done on Via Simeto, with sidewalk resurfacing and new turning regulations, and at the roundabout between Via Po, Via Brenta, and Via Santa Gilla, which will be transformed from an elliptical to a circular one. A slip road will also be planned to allow direct turns from Via Po onto Via Brenta. The stated goal is to transform the street into a safer, more accessible urban boulevard equipped for sustainable mobility , strengthening the connection between Sant'Avendrace, the former slaughterhouse, and other areas of the neighborhood.
The tender process for the contract can now begin. But the company will have to be extremely careful when setting up the construction site. Because the work " falls within a perimeter of maximum attention in relation to archaeological risk ." As stated in the permits, bibliographical and archival documentation shows that significant traces of the past have been uncovered nearby, indicating that the area was heavily inhabited in antiquity, with Punic, Roman, and early medieval remains . This is demonstrated by the archaeological restrictions protecting the area between Via Brenta and Via Simeto, as well as that of Via Garigliano. Not only that. Recent excavations at the former slaughterhouse have documented significant Punic and early medieval remains, clear evidence that suggests the presence of a portion of the early medieval citadel of Santa Igia beneath Via Po.