Ricerc@Sapienza

The paper investigates a theme that, in the first half of the twentieth century, was the subject of an important debate: the relationship between the urban green system and the monuments. An interest, probably, derived from the nineteenth-century English tradition; in fact, major figures of the Italian cultural scene, involved in the study of vegetation and gardens (Giacomo Boni, Maria Pasolini Ponti), established close relations with Anglo-Saxon exponents (W. Morris, Ph. Webb, W. D. Caröe). Rome, since the Italian unification, faced the question regarding the relationship between ruins and plants. This approach plays an important role related the urbanization of the city such as the cases regarding the arrangement of Roman Forum and Palatine hill, and the related debate on the Flora of the ruins. The research analyzes personalities including Giacomo Boni, and his collaboration with John Ruskin.