Esquilino

Piazza Vittorio

During the construction of the new Enpam headquarters, in the South-Western corner of Piazza Vittorio, an exceptional historical and archaeological context was discovered, which allows us to reconstruct the history of this part of the Esquiline hill from its origins to the present day. In this area the bedrock preserves the traces of an intense quarrying activity for the extraction of the pozzolana, used for the production of concrete, one of the key-elements of roman achitectural boom in the 1st century BC. Later, when this area became part of the Horti Lamiani, which occupied a great part of the hill, the quarries were replaced by a large garden on terraces, where archaeologists found the remains of a high number of terracotta pots and the cuts for the planting of various plant species.

In the mid-second century, a large rectangular room, probably uncovered, was built in this part of the garden; After the destruction of the hall, the area was occupied by a huge quantity of fragments of a sumptuous marble-inlay decoration and painted plaster, reproducing stylized architecture and fantastic views, deceptively breaking down the walls into an imaginary landscape. After the restoration, the roman structures and their precious decorations will be opened to the public.