Rome's Ostiense Necropolis Opens Newly Restored Archaeological Area

A previously inaccessible sector of the Sepolcreto on the Rupe di San Paolo in Rome’s Via Ostiense has been opened to visitors. The work, carried out by the Soprintendenza Capitolina under the PNRR‑funded Caput Mundi programme, included structural consolidation, removal of invasive vegetation, restoration of ancient wall surfaces, and the installation of modern lighting, security cameras and educational panels. Mayor Roberto Gualtieri highlighted the project’s aim to make a lesser‑known part of the city’s funerary heritage available to the public.

Concurrent excavations have uncovered five imperial‑era tomb structures about a metre below street level. The early‑imperial columbaria feature frescoes with vegetal motifs, stucco work and reliefs of Roman funerary symbolism, as well as a mosaic‑covered floor and an apsidal chamber. Archaeologists say the findings expand knowledge of the necropolis’s layout from the late Republic through the late Imperial period and will likely yield further artefacts, inscriptions and burial goods as digs continue.