By Euronews
Published on •Updated
From the weekend of 12 and 13 September, visitors in Rome will be able to admire the largest partially intact Roman-era fresco and mosaic ever discovered, in the heart of Trajan’s Baths, where the new museum will be inaugurated.
The announcement was made by Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, at Colle Oppio, at the conclusion of restoration work on the large exedra and the underground gallery that houses the two previously unseen works.
The project was carried out as part of the PNRR – Caput Mundi programme.
These are the large mosaic “The Muse and the Philosopher” and the fresco “The Painted City”, described by Gualtieri as a unique ensemble, a stratification that recounts more than a century of archaeological history, from the Neronian-Flavian age to that of Trajan.
The Painted City and the Great Mosaic
Trajan’s Baths were designed by Apollodorus of Damascus at the request of Emperor Trajan. Inaugurated on 22 June AD 109, they covered around 60,000 square metres and included bathing facilities, porticoes and spaces for physical and cultural activities and leisure time. The construction also incorporated older structures, including part of the Domus Aurea, which make it possible to trace the complex archaeological stratification.
The Painted City is a ten-square-metre fresco belonging to a building that predates Trajan’s Baths, dating from the first century AD, depicting a city seen from above. Discovered in 1998, it is “perhaps the largest surviving wall-fresco representation of a view of a city, with its insulae and a series of features of outstanding beauty but also of great historical and documentary importance”, the mayor explained.
In the monumental wall mosaic “The Muse and the Philosopher”, located in a large hall overlooking a nymphaeum, a Roman harbour is depicted in detail. It is not known whether it is real or imaginary, although some scholars have suggested it could be the harbour of Claudius.
Already partially visible, after restoration the exposed section, which allows visitors to admire “the philosopher and other figures of extraordinary artistic quality”, as Gualtieri put it, reaches five metres in height. However, finds made beneath the decoration have made it possible to reconstruct an original space that was much taller, with walls that must have risen to around twelve metres.
The mayor added: “These are the two star attractions, truly unique, which will be on display while their surroundings continue to be excavated, because the Superintendency will carry on with its research work”.
Restricted visits to preserve the artistic heritage
To assess the impact of visitor numbers on the conservation of the works, the first visits will be organised on an experimental basis for small groups at weekends only, with free guided tours by reservation, starting on 12 and 13 September. From 2 October the site will be open to visitors from Friday to Sunday. There will be six time slots a day, with a maximum of 15 people at a time.
During the restoration, panoramic rest areas and new pedestrian routes were also created within the complex, along with a new tiered seating system designed to host concerts, conferences and events.