Imagine a two-dimensional cross-section, a visual slice of the earth, where the Cloaca Maxima resides at its core. This cross-section, when opened like a book, reveals a mirroring effect—one side a faithful reflection of the other, yet inverted.
However, let us not remain confined to this rigid perspective. Let us bridge the gap between cross-section and ground plan, where people transition from side-on figures to top-down entities. Here, they walk seamlessly from building to building, from the outside to the inside, transcending the perceived barrier—the skin of Rome itself. This skin is not an impenetrable fortress but a permeable membrane through which the past seeps into the present, and the present forms the future.