Right from its creation, the port installation had problems with silting up; although it is unclear when this process definitively blocked access to the ports, it is certain that by the 15th century the entire basin had completely silted up to become marshland. In 1924, Prince Giovanni Torlonia, aiming to transform the site into a model agricultural estate, initiated reclamation and planting works that were to radically modify the area. The large trees in the park – currently about 2,200, mainly pine (Pinus pinea) – were planted between 1924 and 1930; during this same period, the large Torlonia farmstead, constructed upon the ancient quay in front of the Severan Warehouses, was built.
Plan of Portus done with mixed technique in 1933
(I. Gismondi)
Aerial view of the farmstead area
Ditch dug into the pavement of the Imperial Palace for the planting of a tree
(Portus Project)
Reuse of ancient structures for pig raising
The locks of the wet dock
One of the sides of the hexagonal basin at the time of the Torlonia reclamation
(Museo della Civiltà Romana)
The harbour of Trajan before reclamation