Rome unveils restored Baths of Trajan with massive mosaic and fresco

Rome has opened a restored underground chamber beneath the Baths of Trajan, allowing the public to view the world’s largest wall mosaic and a unique fresco depicting an unidentified city.

Found in the 1990s on the Oppian Hill near the Colosseum, the artworks include a 33-foot tall and 52-foot wide mosaic featuring architectural imagery and human figures. Alongside it is the ‘Painted City’ fresco, a 107-square-foot work showing a walled maritime city from an aerial perspective. Researchers suggest these pieces may have originally belonged to Emperor Nero’s Domus Aurea complex rather than the Baths of Trajan, which were completed in 109 C.E.

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri described the finds as unique in terms of both artistic beauty and historical importance. In addition to the mosaic and fresco, visitors can access an above-ground exedra believed to have functioned as a library.