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2d ago

Baths of Trajan Open to Visitors After Restoration

City officials are running weekend trials to monitor how the newly restored fresco and mosaic respond to humidity before widening public access.

Reporters film the "The Painted City" fresco, discovered during 1990s built as foundations for the Baths of Trajan that has been restored, in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026.(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Rome's Baths of Trajan are opening to the public this weekend following a painstaking restoration of frescoes and mosaics at a site that once spread out over 60,000 square metres
A section of the restored 15-meter ancient wall mosaic from "The Painted City" site, discovered in the late 1990s within the underground structures that served as foundations for the Baths of Trajan, is seen in Rome on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
View of the "The Painted City 15-meter wall mosaic" discovered during 1990s built as foundations for the Baths of Trajan during 1990s, has been restored, in Rome, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026.(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Overview

  • Rome unveiled the restored Painted City fresco and the 15‑metre multi-level mosaic and opened the Baths of Trajan for limited public visits on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, with weekend groups capped at 15 people.
  • Mayor Roberto Gualtieri and cultural officials said the works may be the largest surviving Roman wall fresco and mosaic, praising their scale, vivid colors and rare iconography of a walled port city and theatrical scenes.
  • Archaeologists recovered the fresco and mosaic from an underground gallery during 1990s excavations and conservators completed recent, careful restorations that made this public display possible.
  • Access is being tightly managed for conservation reasons: authorities will measure humidity and other climatic effects during the trial visits before approving broader opening and programming.
  • The Baths, built in 109 AD and attributed to Apollodorus of Damascus, span roughly 60,000 square meters on Oppio hill near the Colosseum and include an upper semicircular exedra intended for future cultural events as site planning continues.