Houses of the Celio Revealed
A social thread revisited the Roman Houses of the Celio — a 2nd–4th century ‘mini Pompeii’ found beneath a basilica along the Clivus Scaurus and first uncovered in 1887 — notable for preserved domestic layouts under later Christian structures ArchaeoHistories on the Celio houses.
Excavations were initiated and led by Father Germano di San Stanislao, the basilica’s rector who first exposed the decorated rooms beneath the church’s floor turismoroma.it. Archaeologists identify three main occupation phases at the site: an early imperial domus with a private balneum, a 3rd‑century conversion into an insula with ground‑floor tabernae, and a later re‑fashioning into a single, more sumptuous residence. ancientrome.it Roughly 20 rooms survive on multiple levels, with stratigraphy and finds showing successive domestic, commercial and cult uses rather than a single static plan. archaeology-travel.com The wall-paintings range from late‑antique mythological panels and garlanded animals to nymphaea and a named “Genii” decorative chamber, while a compact medieval oratory preserves traces of early-Christian frescoes. archaeology-travel.com Tradition ties the complex to the 4th‑century martyrs Saints John and Paul, and historical notices record that the senator Pammachius later transformed parts of the house into a memorial chapel. ancientrome.it A major conservation program overseen by the Fondo Edifici di Culto and the Soprintendenza restored the painted rooms and the adjoining antiquarium, after which the site reopened to the public in 2002 and now operates with scheduled guided visits. churches-of-rome.info
