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yesterday

Rome Opens Restored 1st-Century Fresco and Massive Mosaic Under Baths of Trajan

Limited weekend trials of 15 visitors will test how humidity affects the fragile artworks during ongoing excavation.

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

  • The Painted City fresco and the Great Mosaic were publicly unveiled on Tuesday, Sept. 8, and opened to visitors for the first time as part of a controlled trial led by the City of Rome.
  • Officials and archaeologists say the mosaic measures roughly 10 metres high by 16 metres wide and shows multi-level architectural scenes with a bird’s-eye depiction of a walled port city.
  • Access is restricted to small weekend groups capped at 15 so conservators can monitor visitor-generated humidity and other climate effects that can damage pigments and tesserae.
  • Archaeologists stressed that significant portions of the mosaic remain buried and that work continues to define its full extent and whether it belonged to a private domus or to Nero’s Domus Aurea.
  • The site will serve research, conservation and public programs near the Colosseum, with officials saying the trial opening balances tourism, ongoing study and long-term preservation.