The Romain Fountain

THE ROMAN FOUNTAIN 

The archaeological area you can admire today, albeit of limited extent, is part of a larger excavation area that was investigated in 1988-1989 during some interventions for laying pipes for district heating systems, in the area between Piazza San Francesco and Piazza Levi.

The excavations brought to light - below the levels of medieval and modern occupation - a public Roman fountain, located at the intersection of two cobblestone streets, made with large stone slabs fixed by metal clamps. If you look through the windows, you will notice a perfectly preserved structure, connected to a second smaller basin, a spouting fountain, to which a lead pipe (fistula aquaria) is attached, functional for the passage of water.

Next to them, the excavation also revealed the remains of some rooms belonging to a domus, a Roman private residence, where there is evidence of a heated room with the use of Roman suspensurae - ancient pillars that held up the floor and allowed the passage of hot air - still in place.