Rome opens massive ancient fresco and mosaic depicting a port city at Baths of Trajan
Rome unveiled what is believed to be the largest ancient fresco and mosaic complex, showing a bird-eye view of a maritime city, inside the restored Baths of Trajan.
Authorities in Rome have opened to the public what may be the empire’s biggest fresco-and-mosaic ensemble, a first-century AD representation of a bustling maritime city uncovered at the Baths of Trajan on the Oppio hill. Mayor Robert Gualtieri unveiled the “Painted City” fresco, the largest wall fresco of its type, and the “Great Mosaic,” a 15-metre-high piece with four tiered scenes of columns, figures, and another port-city view.
The artworks, found in an underground gallery during 1990s digs, are being shown to limited groups of fifteen visitors on weekends while officials monitor humidity and climate impacts. Claudio Parisi Presicce highlighted the remarkable condition of the city’s structures, theatre and temple within the fresco. The Baths of Trajan, dedicated by Emperor Trajan in 109 AD, once covered six hectares and included a semicircular upper-level library for cultural activities, now part of the public tour.
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