FOROF è a unique reality in Rome, founded in 2022 by Giovanna Caruso Fendi, which combines archaeology and contemporary art, history and experimentation.
FOROF is located in the heart of Rome, in Palazzo del Gallo di Roccagiovine, and overlooks one of the most prestigious archaeological areas of the city: the Forum of Trajan (2nd century A.D.), the center of political, social and commercial power of the Imperial era. The space, adjacent to Trajan's Column, preserves in the underground rooms, in agreement with the Archaeological Superintendence of Rome, the only colored marbles of the flooring of the Basilica Ulpia and the remains of the eastern apse (2nd century A.D.).
FOROF was born as an innovative project with the legal formula of an SRL Società Benefit Company, whose commitment è to create a positive social impact from the shared value and that, in the exercise of’economic activity in the sectors of culture and hospitality, aims to reinvest the revenues produced in its artistic project.
Since 2001, excavation and restoration operations have been carried out and financed by the Alda Fendi Experiments Foundation, under the scientific direction of the Archaeological Superintendence of Rome. The excavations allowed the precious and almost unexpected discovery of the largest marble floor area of the entire Trajan complex corresponding with the area of the eastern apse of the Basilica Ulpia and the identification of the type of perfectly preserved marbles, called «giallo antico», «pavonazzetto» and «verde africano». Moreover, from the’analysis of the arrangement of the marble slabs, we could ascertain the’exact orientation of the Basilica Ulpia within the Forum of Trajan.
In the Basilica Ulpia, commercial and legislative functions were held, as well as the’important ceremony of manumissio, by which slaves were granted freedom and citizenship, resulting in the important acquisition of civil and political rights.
"FOROF was born from the’need not only to protect, preserve and continue the path of enhancing the artistic and cultural heritage of the place where it comes to life, but also from a sense of responsibility’to make contemporary art a tool capable of conveying content that stimulates reflection and “opens the mind”.
The art program was created by the curators of the FOROF Foundation.
I wanted to entrust the conception of the artistic programming to a curatorial team of great experience, sensitivityà and prestige, convinced that art can create a bridge between the depthà of the past and the potential of the present, leading to a greater awareness of our contemporary"
For FOROF ESSENCE, Giovanna Caruso Fendi invited Laura Bosetti Tonatto, one of the most renowned noses in the industry, to transform the story of the Basilica Ulpia into a fragrance; the essence, with its olfactory notes of rose, amber, saffron and incense, aims to restore the spirit of a place, becoming a cultural and social narrative of the universal value of Freedomà through an olfactory path, which has become a permanent project of FOROF.
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