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The tufa in the history
The tufa, a volcanic rock, started to be used as building material from the VII B.C. by the first Romans and by the most progressive Etruscan civilization.
The works, carried out in this materials and that we can still see, are many and well known, for example we can think of the Colosseum, built during the Vespasiano Emperor age and finished during the age of his son Tito in 80 A.D. The building was alloted to the fights and plays between the gladiators (munera) and to the simulation of hunt and to wild and exotic animals (venationes) and the building was built with blocks of tufa.
Another celebrated example is the “Mura Serviane” known with the name of “cinta Serviana”, that formed the oldest town-walls in Rome. According to the traditions these town-walls were realised by the VI King in Rome, Servio Tullio, in the middle of the VI century B.C. As a matter of fact the remaining blocks are more recent dating from the first half of the IV century B.C.
In Rome we can still find Castel Sant’Angelo that was planed and probably created by the same Empereor Adriano in the 123 A.D., as a mausuleum for his family, it was established by an huge cylinder of about 65 m. diameter, realised in tufa and travertine.
Forte Sangallo is an example in more recent years and it is situaded in our local area. It was built in the age of the Pope Alexander VI Borgia in Civita Castellana. The project was commissioned to Antonio da Sangallo il Vecchio in 1494, but it was ended by his grandchild Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane, under the pontificate of the Pope Giulio II so "Forte Sangallo" became for the annuals of history.
We can summon a lot of examples and this is a help to understand and better realize the historical importance of this material in the past centuries in the achievement of majestic buildings, churches, town-walls and structures that have still intact their charm.
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