New fragment from dispersed plan of Ancient Rome on view at Ara Pacis

These are the last days to see the recently discovered fragment of the dispersed 1800-year-old marble plan of Ancient Rome, exceptionally on display in the Sala Paladino at Museo dell’Ara Pacis, together with other pieces, which once probably belonged to the same slab n. 31 of the Forma Urbis Romae.

Set-up of the fragments belonging to the slab n. 31 of the Forma Urbis Romae, ca. 203-211 AD, proconnesio marble, Rome, Museo dell'Ara Pacis (25 February - 17 March 2016).

The Forma Urbis Romae, also referred to as the Severan Forma Urbis, was a large architectural plan of Ancient Rome, carved on 150 marble slabs at the times of Septimius Severus, perhaps in substitution of an older one, and hung on the still visible wall of the aula at the Forum Pacis, which was then incorporated in the complex of the basilica dei Santi Cosma e Damiano.

Giuseppe Vasi, Palazzo Maffei Marescotti alla Pigna, Rome, 1746, engraving. The palace located along via della Pigna is property of the Holy See, so the City of Rome has been granted the Vatican fragment to safeguard as much as possible the unity of the rest of the collection of fragments in Rome, belonging to the Musei in Comune network.

Found on the occasion of the restoration works performed on Palazzo Maffei Marescotti in the latest years, the Vatican fragment is a precious addition to the still incomplete panorama of Ancient Roman topography.

This discovery fosters a more thorough historical-archaeological study of the monumental area near the Theatre of Marcellus and the Porticus Octaviae, as it looked like in Antiquity. It’s a great emotion realizing how perfectly the Vatican fragment fits into the original context of the plan, finally completing the inscription “Circus Flaminius” with the adjacent left piece of this old “marble puzzle”.