My relationship with the history of my city and its territory begins in the 70s of the last century, precisely in the autumn of 1971 when I met my dear friend Mauro Incitti.
It started from a ploughed field with a pair of country boots on my feet and an envelope in his hand.
I am impressed in my mind that image of myself and Mauro struggling among the fresh clumps of dirt to collect ancient "shards". I wish everyone could experience that thrill, that sensation in picking up a fragment that becomes your contact with the past at that moment.
The awareness of an ancient presence that you are helping to revive.
In my research journey I realized that intimate personal relationship with history could not remain an end in itself but had to be shared with others, therefore disclosed in the most direct form possible
We started with a volunteer organization initially called the 'Colleferro section of the Ernico Archaeological Group', which later became the 'Tolerino sector of the Latin Archaeological Group and Toleriense sector of the Roman Archaeological Group' and finally 'Toleriense Archaeological Group'.
The evolution of these names already give an indication of the evolution we have made as a group and as a city.
By the way, for those few who still didn't know, the name Toleriense comes from the ancient name of the river Sacco: Tolerus.
We have to be proud of our roots that are very long and sink into generations.
In over thirty years, numerous generations of Colleferrini have passed through the ranks of the group. To paraphrase a well-known text by Mario Capanna: "Those years were tremendous" made of commitment, sacrifice, and archaeological research.
We were moved by an unstoppable desire to know and make known to everyone the history of this area.
I remember the anxiety and stubbornness of wanting to do justice to the historical story, so I at fifteen and Mauro Incitti at eighteen were busy dealing with the text of Aldo Colaiacomo: Fundamentals for a history of Colleferro.
At least for what was the old part of the story.
We also felt a sense of responsibility in the peaceful confrontation of ideas with Aldo Colaiacomo: we were generations apart. And so we too grew up.
Today all this makes me smile and at the same time pushes me to reflect on communication.
In my approach to the history and archaeology of our territory I have always thought that research should be accompanied by a healthy dissemination to give exact information and a communication that is not polluted by sensationalism and the desire to publish at all costs.
If in the past there were limited sources of information, today it’s sad to see circulating in our city some literary productions without annotations and references, the limited result of a personalized interpretation of historical facts. But this is a new, real battle that has seen also the Historical Archive “Innocenzo III” of Segni take the field and in particular my very dear friend Alfredo Serangeli.
Fortunately, and out of tenacity which is the basis of luck, I found fundamental allies first in the Toleriense Archaeological Group, and then in the Municipal Archaeological Museum of the Toleriense Territory of Colleferro. We divulge history and do research through archaeological excavations, conferences, exhibitions and events and also with schools. We have created the two volumes on Piombinara Castle and the series of "Studies and Research on Ager Signinus" for fans.
The fun was disclosed to everyone with the Museoracconta series. We released two publications that already express the style from the title: "Colleferro upside down" and "Leonardo da Cromagnon", with the contribution of third grade children who invented the story of a Sapiens child.
Animation is also part of the organization of temporary exhibitions that bring people back to visit us at the museum, a sort of rendezvous with friends to strengthen relationships and expand the network of contacts. So we also try multimedia content, models and live performances.I hope that in recent years all our passion and our commitment have contributed to forming a historical identity of our territory.
It is a strange and anomalous territory that for years has been dominated by a modern city, designed and built around a factory, that is now the Morandian city. A city made up of inhabitants who represent a hybrid of origins, traditions and cultures.
A City that goes into Space.
However, it is a territory that has also lived from prehistory to the Middle Ages ... and the historical synergy between these worlds seems to have begun. The glue is the Archaeological Museum.
What fate wanted it to be inside the old industrial area!
It all comes back.
The more I work, the more I find myself in Piero Angela's phrase:
"I have been making scientific dissemination for almost fifty years, and each time it is surprising to realize that the more things come out of the knowledge box, the more they create in them, continuously, new ones".
Pictures by Museo Archeologico Comunale del Territorio Toleriense
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