The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

by Ciro Cuono, PE

Grand Tour Restauro 2025 - Italy; photo credit: AssoRestauro

I recently had the pleasure to participate with APT (Association for Preservation Technology) on a trip abroad to Italy with a sister organization, AssoRestauro.  The trip brought a group of about 50 architects, engineers, preservationists, and material specialists to Rome, Naples, Pompeii and Ostia Antica to meet with our Italian AEC counterparts who are working on preserving some of the finest cultural heritage sites. Italy, which has the most UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) sites in the world and many active archaeological sites, is very active in the world of architectural and engineering preservation or restauro.

Exterior colonnade of the Colosseum in Rome.

View of the interior of the Colosseum from remnants of an interior vault.

Scaffolding coming down after cleaning and restoration of The Arch of Constantine in Rome.

Church of Sant'Ivo all Sapienza in the Sant'Eustachio neighborhood of Rome.

View of vaulting at the Santa Chiara cloisters in Naples, Italy.

View of Roman amphitheatre in Pompeii

View of Roman walls and a perfect arch at Pompeii.

Classic ancient column in the forum at the ruins of Pompeii.

Brick pediment at Pompeii.

Our group was lucky enough to get access to a portion of Pompeii that is not yet open to the public but that has been excavated in recent years.

Recent excavations at Pompeii.

Prior to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79, there was a lot of seismic activity including earthquakes that damaged buildings in Pompeii. Through these new excavations, the archaeological team uncovered a structure that was damaged and was undergoing repairs, essentially a job site preserved in time. The archeologists uncovered materials and tools including a pile of sand and lime, which were ready for mixing mortar; a pile of rubble from the earthquake damage, “new” roof tiles, ready to be installed, and some of the damaged roof tiles which were being ground up for reuse. Ever resourceful, the Romans recycled and reused a good lesson for today’s push towards sustainability.

Excavated courtyard at recent excavations at Pompeii.

Excavations of ruins at Pompeii.

Looking out on a perfect arch above a bread oven at Pompeii.

Rubble below a stairwell from the earthquakes that preceded the eruption at Pompeii.

Ancient frescos over plaster with original brilliant color.

A column with temporary bracing at recent excavations at Pompeii.

A courtyard colonnade at Pompeii with modern scaffolding and temporary bracing.

Roman wall with empty beam pockets that once supported timbers at Pompeii.

Preserved colors and ornate frescos at recent excavations at Pompeii.

Ciro Cuono with his nephew, Andrea who lives in Italy.

It was truly a pleasure to be part of this trip, particularly as my choice to become a structural engineer was inspired, in part, by how roman cities were built. Seeing a construction site in Pompeii, preserved in time, created a real connection between our group and this moment, some 2,000 years ago, as we realized that some things like workers on a construction site, moving material, mixing mortar and repairing old walls, isn’t really that different than today. This trip was an inspiration to our whole group to continue our part in preserving our cultural history. My sincere thanks to APT and AssoRestauro for offering such an amazing opportunity!

Ciro Cuono, PE is the founder and Principal of Cuono Engineering, a structural engineering firm serving the NY, CT, NJ area and beyond. With more than 25 years of experience in the structural design of a variety of building types, Ciro's passion lies in the renovation, restoration and preservation of historic buildings and structures. Ciro currently teaches a graduate class on Structural Renovations to Existing Historic Buildings at Manhattan University and has been featured in/at various industry publications and conferences for his renovation, adaptive reuse and preservation engineering work including his work on cinder concrete slab constuction, the renovation of historic facades, historic buildings and structural systems and historic metals encountered in renovations.