Rome’s C line in Piazza Venezia: at work on Europe’s largest archeological dig

Shira and Filippa are there, waiting for the right moment to come back into the light. A moment not too far away because the two moles, the mechanical drills that have dug tunnels under the Imperial Forums in Rome, will resurface during the construction works of the Piazza Venezia station, which will become one of the stations of Rome’s Line , one of the most complex and incredible urban structures in the world.
The work will start on June 22, with the laying of the foundation stone for the station that will rise right in the center of the square and will be developed 40 meters deep from street level, with 8 underground levels.
It is a highly complex project not only because it is entirely carried out through archaeological excavation, restoring the ancient splendor of the artifacts that currently lie beneath the square, but also because the project involves the construction of a large underground pedestrian pathway that will allow travelers to directly access the most important tourist attractions in the area.
In fact, the new station will have three entrances: one on the side of Palazzo Venezia, one on the side of the Hadrian’s Athenaeum, and the last one on the side of the Vittoriano.
These three entrances, in addition to providing street access, will create an incredible museum hub underground because they will allow anyone to access all the surrounding museum complexes, from the area of the Vittoriano to the underground premises of Palazzo Venezia.

The Piazza Venezia station is part of an iconic project, which is to create a subway line within one of the most urbanized cities in the world, connecting the East quadrant with the Northwest quadrant of the city, passing through the historic center.
The Metro C project (implemented by the Metro C Consortium, which includes the Webuild Group) aims to reach a total length of 26 kilometers, starting from Pantano (the current terminus) and reaching Piazzale Clodio in the Prati district. It is a long journey (part of which, from Pantano to San Giovanni, is already in operation) that will allow 800,000 people to travel through the city every day, reducing up to 34,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year in the atmosphere for the section from San Giovanni to the Colosseum.
Currently, there are 22 completed stations and 19 kilometers in operation. To complete the project, 7 more stations are yet to be built, three of which (Porta Metronia, Colosseo-Fori Imperiali, and Piazza Venezia) are already under construction.
The T3 section, between Porta Metronia and Colosseo-Fori Imperiali, is nearing completion, with 85% of the work finished, and it will be the next section to be opened while work continues on Piazza Venezia, one of the pulsating hearts of the eternal city.

Rome‘s Metro Line C is a journey into the past carried out with a futuristic machine. The driverless trains will run through the heart of ancient Rome, inside the largest archaeological excavation in Europe. In fact, it involves 585,000 cubic meters of archaeological excavation.
The value and incredible quantity of archaeological artifacts lying underground in the area affected by Line C have led to the inauguration of a new paradigm in the relationship between archaeology and infrastructure, with the aim of bringing the past to light, preserving it, and enhancing it for future generations.
To this end, a Technical-Scientific Committee for the safeguarding of the archaeological and monumental heritage was established in 2008, and over four years of analysis, a study on the interaction between the subway line and the monuments was conducted. This preliminary work, born from the collaboration between the Metro V Consortium, the Municipality of Rome, the client Roma Metropolitane, and the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, served as the basis for coordinating the archaeological excavations under the Scientific Operational Directorate of the Soprintendenza of Rome.
This work has led and will lead to the creation of real “archeostations” where, as in the case of San Giovanni, the museum exhibition coexists with the station itself, making the traveler’s experience truly unique. It is a completely innovative paradigm in the concept of the subway, which will reach its highest expression in the Piazza Venezia station, destined to become not only a transport hub but also a cultural crossroads for the many tourist attractions in the area.