The Ipogeo degli Aureli is one of the most important funerary complexes of imperial Rome. The lowest part is in tuff and the area near the ground floor is of brickwork. The remains of the hypogeum that we can see today, on the basis of stylized letters, probably dates back to the third century A.D.
Located 200m from Porta Maggiore, the hypogeum was rediscovered in 1919. The lower part of the top floor, made of Severian bricks, still remains. Upon entering through the ancient portal, there are two arcosoli in the walls and graves, later dug into the floor.
The more damaged back wall has a scene of the original sin on the left, and the creation of the first man on the right. The city and four figures, probably the evangelists, are represented on the side walls. There are two cubicles downstairs. One is completely frescoed, with the name of the grave owners (the Aureli) written in the floor mosaics.
The wall paintings are very interesting. The main frescoes represent eleven figures wearing togas, while the vault decorations depict various scenes. On the left, a bearded man stands reading a scroll with a flock of sheep at his feet. The following scene shows a man on horseback galloping alongside a temple, followed by a group of figures, while he meets another group as they leave a city. On another wall, a man in a white tunic seems to be about to judge some people, while characters dressed in white stand by the city door, completing the scene.
|
 | | | I Municipio
Rione XV - Esquilino
Regio V - Esquiliae
Tra viale Manzoni e via Luzzatti (piazza Vittorio Emanuele - Porta Maggiore) |  |
|
