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)<\/small><\/p>\n
2026-09-08T12:15:19Z<\/p>\n
ROME (AP) \u2014 Authorities on Tuesday unveiled what is believed to be the largest fresco and mosaic complex of ancient Rome, a 1st century AD depiction of a maritime city in what became the largest bath complex in the world.<\/p>\n
Mayor Robert Gualtieri presented the recently restored \u201cPainted City\u201d fresco and \u201cGreat Mosaic\u201d that were discovered in an underground gallery during excavations in the 1990s of the Baths of Trajan on the Oppio hill near the Colosseum.<\/p>\n
The works are opening to the public for the first time, initially in small groups of 15 and during a trial period of weekend access starting this month. The aim is to determine how the delicate works respond to increased humidity and climactic impacts before allowing more general access.<\/p>\n
Gualtieri said the fresco, which features images of a walled port city from a birds-eye view perspective, was the largest wall fresco of its kind from ancient Rome and as such needs to be open to the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are truly unique in the world, both from the point of view of artistic beauty and the historic and documental importance,\u201d he said at the unveiling.<\/p>\n
Rome\u2019s cultural superintendent, Claudio Parisi Presicce, said the grandeur of the port city as depicted in the fresco, with buildings, a theater and temple, public piazzas and towers, was particularly well conserved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know what city it refers to, but it must have been a particularly well-known one,\u201d he said<\/p>\n
The mosaic, for its part, measures some 15 meters (yards) high and features intricately decorated columns and architectural elements and figures over four different levels. The top levels seem almost like a theatrical scene, while at the bottom are designs of another depiction of a port city that were only recently discovered during the restoration.<\/p>\n