Esquilino

Piazza Dante

Starting from 2011, the Post Office building in Piazza Dante, opened in 1914, is undergoing radical restoration work. During the renovation, the remains of an archaeological context dating from the Augustan age to the fourth century A.D. have been discovered.
This area was included in the Horti Lamiani, whose first owner was Elio Lamia, consul in 3 A.D. and close friend of the Emperor Tiberius, who inherited the estate after his death. The excavations brought to light the imposing concrete foundations built at the time of the Emperor Hadrian. He had probably extended the surface of the complex towards the south western hill of the Esquiline, bridging the slope with a sort of terracing.
The element of major historical-artistic interest is represented by a large apsed hall, partly excavated by Giuseppe Gatti in 1911 during the construction of the palace. The hall, which dates back to the Augustan age, was decorated by extraordinary figured mosaics made with vitreous glass tiles and sea shells. Later, probably during the Flavian dynasty, the wall was decorated with marble slabs and frescoes on a white background. Some centuries later, during the already mentioned renovation of the Hadrian age, the hall will be incorporated from the new buildings, that will hide it for centuries.