Archaeologists
have considered it one of the most important discoveries since the Roman Forum:
a recently completed excavation of a 900-seat auditorium under Rome’s piazza
Venezia, believed to have been funded by Emperor Hadrian around 123 CE.
Situated 5.5
metres below ground, with three halls, 13 metre-high arched ceilings and
terraced marble seating, the auditorium was part of an ancient arts complex,
where Rome’s noblemen gathered to hear poetry recitals, speeches and treatises
on philosophy.
Excavated
over a period of five years, the complex was discovered as the city planned its
third underground metro line, the Metro C, whose construction has been slowed
by the extensive archaeological heritage that is constantly unearthed beneath
the city. For this reason, Italy’s Audit Court called the project ‘the most
expensive and slowest public works project in Europe and the world.’
As a result
of the discovery, plans for the proposed metro station in piazza Venezia will
likely be abandoned. The archaeological site is expected to be open to the
public in three years.
