For years, students at Liceo Scientifico Cavour in Rome spoke about strange underground rooms hidden beneath their school gym. The stories sounded like ordinary school legends, but they turned out to contain something real: beneath the modern building, only a short distance from the Colosseum, archaeologists have confirmed the remains of a large and richly decorated Roman residence.
Archaeologists excavated a series of rooms hidden beneath a modern Italian high school. Image credit: Cantieri Narranti / Special Superintendency of Rome
The discovery began through student curiosity. Pupils exploring the underground areas of the school came across ancient spaces beneath the gymnasium. After the find was brought to the attention of a teacher, the information was passed to the relevant archaeological authorities. This eventually led to a formal investigation by specialists from the Special Superintendency of Rome.
The site is now known provisionally as the Domus Liceo Cavour. The name is temporary because archaeologists are still working to clarify the full history of the residence, including its construction phases and ownership. Current evidence places the house in the middle imperial period, around the mid-second century AD.
The high school itself stands in one of the most historically dense areas of Rome, between the ancient districts of the Carinae and the Esquiline, very close to the Colosseum. In antiquity, this was not an ordinary neighborhood. Important Roman figures, including Cicero, Pompey, and Octavian, the future emperor Augustus, are associated with this part of the city. Yet despite its importance, the area remains difficult to study archaeologically because modern buildings, roads, and later construction have covered much of the ancient landscape.
The building now used by the school was originally connected with a Catholic missionary congregation. During construction work in the late nineteenth century, parts of a Roman domus were already noticed. In 1895, archaeological work revealed part of the eastern sector of the residence, but that area was later lost during the creation of Via degli Annibaldi. The recent work beneath the school has brought attention back to this forgotten ancient house.
The preserved rooms lie below the male gymnasium of Liceo Cavour. Before the current intervention, the ancient spaces were largely filled in, but several vaulted and decorated rooms were still visible. Official descriptions note five visible rooms, although not all of them are currently part of the active work. The survival of the decoration is especially important: the walls and vaults still preserve painted plaster, floral motifs, human figures, and monochrome stucco ornament.
These features show that the structure was not a modest dwelling. It was part of a large elite residence. The decorative program, including frescoes, stucco work, and mosaic flooring, points to a wealthy domestic environment in imperial Rome. In one room, archaeologists identified a mosaic made with large, irregularly shaped tiles, a style associated with elite taste in the second century AD.
Well-preserved stucco ornamentation remains visible on the vaulted ceilings of an ancient Roman house. Image credit: Cantieri Narranti / Special Superintendency of Rome
A lead water pipe discovered during earlier investigations may help identify the social setting of the residence. The pipe bears the names Umbria Albina and L. Fabius Gallus. This evidence does not yet provide a complete biography of the owners, but it gives archaeologists an important clue about the people connected with the property. Some interpretations link the house to the Umbrii, a family that may have had origins in Samnium, a region of south-central Italy.
The discovery also contains a modern layer of history. Archaeologists recorded more recent graffiti and traces of damage on the ancient surfaces. Some markings appear to date from the twentieth century, including names, dates, and marks left by students, tourists, or underground explorers. These modern intrusions are now part of the conservation challenge, because the site must be protected without erasing evidence of its later history.
The current project is not only an excavation. It includes documentation, restoration, structural consolidation, and public access planning. Specialists are removing modern fill from selected rooms, recording the spaces with modern survey methods, cataloguing materials from the excavation, and stabilizing the ancient walls, vaults, and decorated surfaces. Conservation work also includes cleaning, treatment of biological growth, and careful repair of damaged plaster edges.
The project is part of a wider effort to protect and present Rome’s archaeological heritage. Plans include improving access, creating a visitor route, installing educational material, and developing both printed and digital resources. A direct entrance from the street is also part of the plan, along with ventilation and safety improvements for the archaeological area.
Only part of the Domus Liceo Cavour has been investigated so far. The residence appears to continue beneath other areas of the school, and possibly under the courtyard. Further excavation may reveal more rooms, more decoration, and a clearer picture of the building’s original layout.
One of the most interesting parts of the project is the role of the students themselves. The same school community that kept the underground stories alive may eventually help present the site to the public. Authorities and the school have discussed the possibility of opening the domus to visitors, potentially with students acting as guides.
The discovery is a strong example of how deeply layered Rome remains. Beneath classrooms, gyms, streets, and modern institutions, ancient buildings can still survive in remarkable condition. In this case, a school rumor led to the rediscovery of a decorated Roman residence only steps from one of the most famous monuments in the world.