Hotelrome.net Blog : A guide to news and events in Rome

The recent opening of The House of Augustus in Rome  to the public has been an extraordinary event. It is a fruit of decades of work. Some of the walls were found in pretty good conditions ,other took long and difficult restoration work.

In 31 BC Augustus – also known as Octavian – had triumphed over the combined forces of Mark Anthony and the Egyptian queen Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium.

The victory brought Egypt, and with it immense wealth, into the empire.

Ottaviano Augusto, still to become emperor erected his residence on the Palatine hill. It is not known whether the choice to build his residence sixty metres above the Lupercale, (the cove where the She-Wolf it nursed Romulus and Remus) has been accidental.

The certainty is that the domus (latin for “home”) of the founder of the Empire  transformed the Palatine from an inhabited place to an official centre of the imperial authority. The August complex, situated within the Apollo Temple (Tempio di Apollo Aziaco), the House of the Emperor, the libraries, the house of Livia (Augusto’s wife), were only identified during the 1970s, during the campaigns of digging guided from professor the Gianfilippo Carettoni.

Then long and difficult restorations have been hiding from the eyes of the public the splendid examples of Roman wall paintings that make  the house of the first emperor the greatest complex of second style that has been recovered in the last few decades.

Just a few days ago, the opening of the three rooms on northern sides  finally took place. The Minister  of the  Cultural Assets Francesco Rutelli (former Rome Mayor) , along with director of the archeological campaign of the Palatine Irene Iacopi were attending this event.

The rooms are named : the "inferior cubicle" room, large oecus (ambient of stay and reception) and the premises "of the rampa" and "the antirampa".

Augusto had a habit of withdrawing for meditation . "we have realized the puzzle more monumental of the history – the minister has commented – fruit of more than twenty years of archaeologically work and restoration. Numerous pieces of fresco today recomposed were in fact buried, and some seed-destroyed even.

The spaces are decorated with fresco and not only they represent an important roman painting example of the end of the 1st century B.C but also a restoration work never seen until now.

The Domus Augusto is another spectacular discovery in the heart of an ancient Rome that continues to astonish and to give extraordinary experiences.

From Monday 17 march 2008 entrance to the Roman Forum is no longer free. The fee is 11 euros ($16; £8) for a combined ticket that allows you to the Forum, the Palatine Hill and the nearby Colosseum.

How do I visit the House of Augustus ? No booking in advance is possible at this time and you have to queue. Access is allowed by small groups composed of 5 persons at a time.

Where? From Termini station you can take metro line B to Colosseum (3 stops away)  and then is a few minutes walk.

For your Hotel stay in Rome see our suggested  Rome Hotels.

See the related reads on the Domus Augusto.