Making an archaeological site accessible

The Museum and Archaeological Park are located within the present-day municipality of Bova Marina, on the southern Ionian coast of Calabria. In the Greek period, this area belonged to the territory of the Chalcidian colony of Rhegion — modern-day Reggio Calabria — and had been inhabited since prehistoric times. The entire area has its roots in the Greek world. The so-called “Bovesia”, or “Grecanica area”, where the Greek language is still spoken today, represents significant evidence of this heritage.
The Archaeological Park developed around the remains of a synagogue discovered during the 1980s. In use between the 4th and 6th centuries AD, it is the only architectural evidence of a Jewish presence in Calabria dating from this period.
Considered one of the most important sites in the Mediterranean, the synagogue is the oldest in the Western world after that of Ostia Antica. Its discovery opened up new perspectives on the history of Jewish communities in southern Calabria. Excavations revealed two main sections of the building, comprising several rooms, and a third section that probably served as the entrance to the synagogue. The entire site covers an area of approximately 10,000 square metres.

The project aims to make the whole site accessible to all, focusing on the removal of the existing architectural barriers. The planned works include:

1. renovation of the vehicle routes
2. renovation of the routes through the archaeological excavations
3. renovation of the pedestrian paths and creation of equipped rest areas
4. installation of a tactile guidance system for visually impaired visitors within the museum exhibition area.

The work is intended to improve the quality of the site and encourage cultural participation by making the museum and archaeological area accessible to everyone. The routes can be used by pedestrians, wheelchair users and small electric vehicles, such as golf carts, allowing visitors with reduced mobility to explore the entire site comfortably.
Architect Antonio Malivindi, Works Supervisor and Technical Director of AGIS S.R.L., selected Green Ways solutions to recreate the internal routes through the Archaeological Park and make its cultural heritage accessible to everyone.
The routes are divided into pedestrian paths and vehicle-accessible surfaces.

First phase: the pedestrian paths

The pedestrian paths were laid using locally sourced, washed mahogany-coloured gravel, treated with the environmentally friendly ART PAVE® binder, without the use of cement or resins.
Architect Malivindi chose to reuse the existing surfaces on site, avoiding their demolition and using them as a base for the new permeable paving, made from mahogany-coloured gravel treated with ART PAVE®.
SF COSTRUZIONI installed L-shaped retaining edges, 3 cm high. The company then mixed the gravel with the environmentally friendly ART PAVE® binder in a standard concrete mixer before laying, screeding and rolling the material.
The contractor had never used ART PAVE® before but, after laying the first few square metres, immediately recognised how quick and easy it was to install compared with conventional resins or cement-based products.
The aesthetic result is equally outstanding.

Second phase: the vehicle-accessible area

The second phase involved the vehicle-accessible area. Quarry aggregate treated with the environmentally friendly liquid stabilising binder SOLID PAVE® was added and then laid manually within the previously prepared roadbed.
Once the surface had been laid and compacted, the environmentally friendly liquid erosion- and dust-control binder SOIL SEMENT® was applied.
The colours of the aggregates treated with Green Ways solutions remained unchanged, while their textures retained a highly natural appearance.