CARLO FEA. — Archaeologist, born at Pigna, near Oneglia in Liguria, on 4 June 1753, died at Rome on 17 March 1836, buried in S. Lorenzo in Lucca. Having gone to Rome while still young, he embarked on a legal career, studying civil and canon law at the Sapienza. Ordained priest, he was appointed librarian of the Chigi Library and later, by Pius VII, commissioner of antiquities. He gave particular impetus to excavations in the Roman Forum and laid the foundations of modern legislation for the protection of artistic heritage, inspiring the edict of Cardinal Pacca. In the debated question of how the basilica of S. Paolo should be rebuilt after the fire of 1821, he was a staunch advocate of reconstruction along the previous lines, opposing among others the different project of Valadier, which had already received the highest approvals.
His main activity was devoted to investigating the monuments of ancient Rome, convinced that the papacy would derive secure advantages from bringing to light the monumental testimonies of Rome’s greatness, of which the Church is the heir. Many of his investigations, although published in small conferences and pamphlets, still retain their value.
His principal publications are: Annotazioni allo memoria dei diritti del Principato sugli antichi edifici pub- blici sacri e profani (1866); Notizie degli scavi nell'infi- teatro Flavio e nel Foro Romano con iscrizioni in varie sculture e illustrate (1813); Nuova descrizione dei monumenti antichi ed oggetti d'arte contenuti nel Vaticano e nel Campidoglio (1819); Frammenti di fatti consolari e trion- fali ultimamente scoperti nel Foro Romano e altrove (1820); Descrizione ragionata della sagrestia patriarcale basilica e cappella papale di S. Francesco d'Assisi (1820); Descri- zione di Roma e suoi contorni (3 vols., 1824); Aneddoti sulla basilica ostiense di S. Paolo, riuniti nel 1823 dopo l'incendio e recitati nell'Accademia di archeologia il 27 genn. 1825 (1825); Continuazione degli aneddoti della basilica ostiense di S. Paolo (1826). Sulle rovine di Roma che fu aggiunta al terzo volume of the reprint of the translation of Winckelmann’s Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums.