Asset Publisher

Roman House Spoleto

Roman House

The Roman House is an example of a noble residence from the early imperial age; the style of the frescoes, mosaics and the type of masonry place the Roman House in the first century AD. 
The first excavation campaign aimed at its discovery was carried out by Spoleto archaeologist Giuseppe Sordini between 1885-86 and excavations continued until 1914, the year of Sordini's death.
Its privileged position, close to the ancient Roman Forum - today's Piazza del Mercato - and the richness of its decorative elements suggest that the owner was a prominent figure of the time.

During the excavations, an inscription dedicated to Emperor Caligula was found and signed by a [...] Polla; hence the hypothesis that the house belonged to Vespasia Polla, mother of Emperor Vespasian, who was from the area between Norcia and Spoleto.
The rooms of the domus preserve beautiful floor mosaics and present the typical architectural scheme that characterized patrician houses between the republican and the imperial age.
At the centre of the atrium is the impluvium, a square-shaped basin that allowed the rainwater to be easily collected. 
Around the atrium there are two bedrooms ( cubicola), two open spaces ( alae) and, at the end, the tablinum, flanked on the sides by two smaller rooms.
The tablinum was the main reception room, the most important and rich of the house, lined up with the entrance. It was the place where the owner received guests, dealt with his clients and managed his business activities.
To the right of the tablinum is the triclinium that shows, on the right, remains of a wall decoration.
During the excavations numerous finds were then recovered and are now exhibited in the Roman House: fragments of ceramics, amphorae, oil lamps, spindles, glass, objects in bone and ivory such as combs, brooches, needles, fragments of bronze statues and metal elements.

For further information:

Via di Visiale
tel. e fax 0743 40255
e-mail: info@iat.spoleto.pg.it; spoleto@sistemamuseo.it  

 

Explore the surroundings
Main attractions in the vicinity