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Curiosities of ancient Rome (Monuments)

Monuments are curiosities dedicated to the preserved buildings, ruins, and material remains of the ancient Roman world. This category includes lesser-known facts, interesting details, and unusual information about Roman monuments, their history, function, and significance for understanding the history of the Roman Empire.

Empress Livia’s white hens

Ad Gallinas Albas: Few people know this name today, but two thousand years ago things were different. Known under it was a town nowadays called Prima Porta – near Rome, on Via Flaminia.

Ad Gallinas Albas

Underground of ancient Neapolis

Contemporary Naples is a city where ancient monuments are much more difficult to find than in Rome, but that does not mean that they are not there. After all, it is a city as old as Rome. Founded by Greek colonists, the settlement already had an urban character when Rome was still a small village.

Macellum under Naples

Agrippa’s villa on Tiber

In 1880, during the construction of the Tiber embankments near Villa Farnesina in Trastevere, a very interesting discovery was made: large fragments of a luxurious residence from the reign of Emperor Augustus were excavated. It is a fascinating building: breaking with the typical architectural layout of the Roman “domus” (and with its canonical sequence of rooms: vestibule-atrium-tablinum-peristyle), reminiscent of the more refined suburban villas of Roman patricians. Its location on the very bank of the Tiber must have been captivating.

Fresco from Agrippa's villa

Punic walls in Cartagena

In Cartagena (south-eastern Spain) there are remains of the Punic walls of Cartagena, which date back to the 3rd century BCE. Scientists have found traces of fire, which proves that a battle and probably looting really took place here.