Roman House of Spoleto
The sumptuous residence of a patrician family hidden in the heart of the city
Beneath the Palazzo Comunale of Spoleto, in the area of the ancient Roman forum, is hidden a true jewel of underground archaeology, the sumptuous patrician domus that probably belonged to the Emperor Vespasian’s mother. Nearby, further remains of the Roman Spoletium can be admired, in particular those under the church of Sant’Ansano and next to the majestic Arch of Drusus and Germanicus. History of the discovery The first excavation campaign that led to the discovery of the domus was carried out in 1885 by the Spoleto archaeologist Giuseppe Sordini, thanks to funding from the British Ambassador Sir Savile Lumeley. During the work, an inscription was brought to light with the dedication of a woman named “Polla” to the Emperor Caligula. The name led to the assumption that the domus belonged to Vespasia Polla, mother of Emperor Vespasian, born in Norcia to a wealthy family of equestrian rank, the gens Vespasia. As the Roman historian Suetonius reports, this important family had numerous properties in a place six miles from Norcia in the direction of Spoleto, called Vespasiae. This place should correspond to today’s Forca Vespia, where around the middle of the 19th century some historians reported the presence of numerous wall structures, interpreting them as the remains of buildings that belonged to the Roman emperor’s maternal family.
The elegance of a Roman house The layout of the domus corresponds to a building scheme in use between the end of the Republican and the beginning of the Imperial age. The entrance hall of the residence is the atrium, with the impluvium, the large quadrangular basin that collected rainwater, in the centre. In correspondence with the impluvium, positioned on a roof that was probably pitched, must have been the compluvium, a hole that had the dual function of collecting water and lighting the room. Circular signs at the corners of the basin suggest that the compluvium was originally supported by four columns, while on one side there is still the well for drawing water from the underlying water reservoir. Remarkable is the presence of two trapezophors, marble plinths decorated in relief that served as the base of a tràpeza, a sumptuous table placed in the entrance hall. Arranged symmetrically around the atrium were two cubicola, i.e. bedrooms, next to which were two alae, passage rooms. At the end of the domus and in axis with the entrance was the tablinium, a reception space where the dominus - or in this case, more probably, the domina - i.e. the owner of the dwelling, received guests and managed his administrative activities. Next to the tablinium were two other living rooms, one of which still preserves the raised basement that housed the triclinium. The architecture of the residence was closed by the peristylium, the porticoed inner garden, of which only a few fragments of the brick columns resting on limestone bases remain. According to reconstructive hypotheses, the dwelling must also have had a second floor, thus reaching considerable dimensions, befitting a property of high rank. Mosaics and frescoes A special feature of the Roman domus in Spoleto are the mosaic floors, which are still preserved in the rooms of the dwelling. The mosaic floors are mainly composed of small black and white tesserae arranged in geometric patterns, which can still be dated to the 1st century A.D. With the exception of those in the rooms next to the tabliunium, which, given the polychromy obtained thanks to the presence, albeit slight, of red tesserae, could belong to a restoration phase that took place between the end of the 1st century and the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. The room to the right of the tabliunium also shows the best traces of wall decoration. The house completed its interior decoration with frescoes in the so-called “ III Pompeian style”, with a faux-marble plinth at the base, above which are frescoed yellow and red panels framed by garlands and grotesques. The last testimony to the richness of the dwelling is the materials that emerged during the excavations, some of which are displayed in showcases. Among these, many reveal part of life in this house, such as the numerous fragments of ceramic pottery and glassware, artefacts related to the female world such as combs, pins and needles, or fragments of bronze statuettes. Fragments of plaster, decorative stucco and terracotta slabs, which covered the upper part of the inner porticoes and the compluvium, finally belong to the decorative layout of the Roman house. For more information, please visit the Roman House of Spoleto website.