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T here are many things to see in Spoleto, an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia. One of them is the Roman House discovered in 1885 by Giusepper Sordini, an archeologist from Spoleto. It was built in the center of the Roman town, overlooking the Forum, nowadays the Market Square. The Forum (the center of various activities in Roman cities) was five feet (about 1.5 m) below the current surface level on the crossroad of the cardo maximus (a north-south oriented street in Roman cities, currently via dei Duchi and via Arco di Druso) and the decumanus (an east-west-oriented road, currently via del Municipio, via del Mercato).

The mosaic floors and its design indicate that the house was built at the beginning of the 1st century AD. The ancient house is without the original walls; it is located underneath the Town Hall.

The structure is designed according to a pattern used between the end of the Republic and beginning of the Empire. The entrance to the house was from an ancient road that went in the direction of the current via Visiale. However, the entrance as it it used to be does not exist today ( and two adjacent side rooms are gone as well). The preserved part of the entrance leads to the atrium, the central room of the house. The impluvium, a large square basin to collect rain water, is still there in the middle of atrium. Above was a compluvium, an opening in the inward sloping roof through which the water was collected (the compluvium was also the source of light in the house). There are still four circular bases at the corners of impluvium - the location of columns that used to support the compluvium.

Roman House in Spoleto (Italy) - floor plan

Other rooms were designed symmetrically around the atrium. Among them are two bedrooms (cubicula), two halls (alae), reception room (tablinum) and two living rooms. Kitchen, toilet and bathroom are missing.

The most interesting feature of the house are its mosaic floors (also because they are among few preserved items). They are found in all rooms - a great luxury at the time. Mosaic was created using small tessarae laid out in linear and geometric patterns repeated and combined in many ways to create elaborate decorations. Most tessarae are black and white with some limited use of red and yellow mosaics.

Among archeological finds are various objects such as pottery and glass fragments, metal and bone pieces, stucco fragments from ceiling decor, terracottas. Since 1991, restoration effort has been under way to save and preserve the floor mosaics.

An inscription was found during the site excavations with a dedication by Polla to the Emperor Caligula. Because of this, there has been a belief that the house was owned by Vespasia Polla, mother of the Emperor Vespasian. Although there are doubts regarding this theory, the prominent position of the house next to the town center as well as its rich decor lead to the conclusion that the house belonged to a person with social prestige and money.

Il Palazzo Comunale (Town Hall) in Spoleto - the Roman House is located under it.	This is what you will see when entering the premises of the Roman House. However, this is just an entrance for visitors - the actual entrance to the house does not exist today.	From the visitor entrance you get to a corridor that leads to the atrium, the central room of the house (see entrance in the background).	There are many artifacts found during the excavation of the Roman House. They include stucco fragments from ceiling decor, terracottas, metal and bone pieces, etc.
Casa Romana (Roman House, Spoleto, Italy) - atrium, the central room of the house.	The impluvium, a large square basin to collect rain water, is still there in the middle of atrium. Above was a compluvium, an opening in the roof through which the water was collected.	On the left side of the atrium, there was a bedroom.	The most interesting feature of the house are its mosaic floors found in all rooms - a great luxury at the time. Most mosaics are black and white with some limited use of red and yellow mosaics.
This photo of what is believed used to be one of the bedrooms is a bit deceiving. The time (and perhaps earthquakes and fire) destroyed the actual walls and the top of the structure.	Other rooms were designed symmetrically around the atrium. Among them are two bedrooms, two halls, reception room and two living rooms. On this photo we see a hall between the second bedroom (on the right) and a living room (left).	The mosaic floors and its design indicate that the house was built at the beginning of the 1st century AD.	This is an opening to the area where an internal garden was located. It was surrounded by various room.
I do not think that this part of the excavated space is as it was at the time when Casa Romana (Roman House, Spoleto, Italy) was inhabited.	Various archeological items found in Casa Romana (Roman House, Spoleto, Italy) on display: pottery and glass fragments, metal and bone pieces, etc.	Since there is a mosaic floor, this space was certainly one of the rooms in Casa Romana (Roman House, Spoleto, Italy). However, it seems that it has not been classified.