Detail of the Mosaic with hunting scenes and marine animals

The black and white mosaic with figurative motifs, dating from the second half of the 2nd century AD, adorned the pavement of the porticoed courtyard of one of the buildings of the Vicus Augustanus. The mosaic flooring, arranged in a quadrilateral, shows scenes of hunting and fighting between animals - venationes - which adorn the longer sides while divinities and marine animals are depicted on the two shorter sides. The mosaic shows a series of fights between men and animals of various species: the bear, the boar, the lion, the leopard, the tiger, the antelope, the deer, horses, dogs, the bull with human figures of hunters or trainers - bestiarii. In the early 1900s the mosaic was removed from its original location and transported to Rome to be placed in the National Roman Museum. After a complex restoration campaign, in 2002, it was relocated to the gardens of the Castle.