Form and function in Roman public architecture of the Late Republic. The exemplary case of the piazza Pozzo Dorico substructures in Cori

The piazza Pozzo Dorico substructures in Cori (the ancient Cora, a Latin city at the north-western slopes of the Lepini Mountains) represent a remarkable example of Roman public architecture of the Late Republican period. They are situated at the bottom of a secular and imposing terracing system, distributed on at least three levels. This paper aims at identifying the modular schemes, geometric shapes and proportions governing the layout plan of this monumental infrastructure, based on recent topographic surveys and new metrological considerations. Finally, it will investigate the relationship between the layout of the archaeological complex (apparently quite simple) and its function (still largely unknown), in order to attempt to identify the several formal and functional components that played a decisive role in the development of the original project.