ENHANCEMENT AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES: THE CASE OF THE

ACROPOLIS OF IALYSOSIN THE ISLAND OF RHODES

Teresa Demauro , Federica Gotta1 2

1Sapienza- Università di Roma, Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Architettonici e del Paesaggio, Specializing

Architect,archdemauro@gmail.com

2Politecnico di Bari, DICAR department, Specialized Architect in architectural and landscape heritage, Ph. D. Student,

federicagotta@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The archaeological site of Mount Filerimos, acropolis of the ancient Ialysos, was excavated, studied and

plannedduringtheItalianoccupationoftheDodecanese.Althoughthepoliswasthemostinfluentialdemein

pre-synoecism age, it is not, nowadays, the focus of tourists as Lindos and Kameiros are. An enhancement

intervention should attract more visitors: the consequent greater availability of financial resources would

allow for a repeated maintenance intervention. In fact, a lack of a continuity in the fruition/use has

significantly contributed to the degradation of the rebuilt church "Our Lady" and of attached structures of the

monastery, which were designed in 1930s. The project - who also aims to facilitate the fruition and the

understanding of the cultural offer of the site - prepare such locations for an antiquarium. The antiquarium

would bring back to Ialysos the remains of the votive offers of the temple of Athana, which are now in

Rhodes.Thescientific projectdivides,inthetwobuiltarmsofthecloister,thepre-Hellenic offersfromthose

referred to the worship of the poliadic divinity, as shown by the remains of the temple where the church was

built on. The exposure of the lapidarium places the coeval architectural fragments near the structures of the

Early Christian church, assuring their protection. Moreover, the understanding of the stratifications of the

archaeological area and the need for a safe terraced site set the bases for the planning of itineraries aiming

bothtodirectvisitorsandtoprotectthearchitecturalstructures.

Parolechiave/Key-words: Ialisos,enhancement,fruition,conservation,museologicalproject.