Along the north western slopes of the Aventino, corresponding to the overhanging area where the churches S. Maria del Priorato and S. Alessio are located and the nearby Parco degli Aranci, you can see large pieces of antique walls belonging to dwellings, taverns and granaries perhaps connected to the nearby infrastructures of the old river port.
In the years 1951 – 53, during excavations to construct supporting wall for buttressing the slopes, a large number of remains of walls were discovered constructed in network, brick and bordered, belonging to spaces with arches, with painted geometrical frescoes where the floor in certain areas was black and white. These are probably the remains of houses on several floors (insulae) going back some eras, starting from the Republican era and covering the entire Imperial era.
Other remains of walls and mosaics had already been discovered, prior to 1914, a few meters below the building annexed to the church of S. Alessio, the present seat of the Istituto di Studi Romani. The latter was directly built on top of antique buildings, partially examined in 1941 and only partially visible in the cellars closely connected to the structures along the slopes.
The whole complex continues towards north and then meets the group of constructions discovered over various eras, starting from the 17th Century, under the church of S. Sabina. Other structures, belonging to the same buildings are located on the slopes of the Aventino corresponding to the church itself and the nearby Savello park. They are also partially visible from the banks of the Tiber.
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 | I Municipio
Rione XII - Ripa
Regio XIII - Aventinus
Lungotevere Aventino, 7 |  |
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