Giacomo Boni

Who was Giacomo Boni?

Giacomo Boni was an Italian archaeologist specializing in Roman architecture.

Born in Venice, Boni studied architecture at the Accademia di Belle Arti in his native city and later dedicated himself to extensive and important excavations in the Forum Romanum in Rome. His early work as an architect in Venice involved him in the restoration of the Doge's Palace there. During this time he demonstrated his technical skill.

In Venice in the 1880s, Boni met Horatio Brown, who became his colleague in a shared passion for antiquities.

In 1888 he went to Rome; there in 1898 Ministro della Pubblica Istruzione G. Baccelli named him director of excavations in the Forum Romanum. Boni directed the excavations in the Forum from 1898 until his death in 1925. He was interested in the stratigraphy of the Forum, an important advance in the science of Roman archaeology.

His excavations led to many important discoveries, including the Iron Age necropolis near the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, the Lapis Niger, the Regia, Galleria Cesaree, Horrea Agrippiana and other monuments. In 1907 Boni also worked on the slope of the Palatine Hill where he discovered the Mundus, a complex of tunnels leading to the Casa dei Grifi, the so-called Aula Isiaca, the so-called Baths of Tiberius and the base of a hut under the peristilio of the Domus Flavia.