Domus of Titus Macrus

On 11 February 2019 the conclusion of the first lot of the innovative project of reconstruction of the volumes of the "Domus of Titus Macrus" in the Cossar funds in Aquileia was inaugurated.
This is the largest monochrome brick roofing structure of an archaeological area built in Europe in order to allude to the shapes of the Roman house, with the implicit challenge of giving form to the most up-to-date interpretative readings of the traces that emerged from the excavation activities.
The dwelling extended for about 1500 square meters between two of the paved streets of the city, inside a block that returned some of the most valuable mosaics now exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum and that of the Good Shepherd provisionally located at Palazzo Meizlik. In particular, the excavations made it possible to recognize the plan of the domus of the 1st century AD, when the house must have belonged to a certain Titus Macrus, whose name is engraved on a stone weight found in recent excavations.
The new roof includes about 560 square meters of the domus, corresponding to the eastern part, with the shops (including a bakery for baking, the remains of which have remained in sight) overlooking one of the hinges, bedrooms and service areas, part of the corridor surrounding the garden, with a fountain whose remains have been recognized. The mosaic floors have been the subject of a careful conservative restoration, which has brought them back to their ancient splendor.
The elegant and agile structure, supported by pillars of steel painted in Pompeian red, alludes in its articulation to the volumes of the ancient domus: the roof is made up of a wooden framework, which supports the roof tiles inspired by those in use in Roman times. On the sides the structure is closed by brick elements, adjustable for optimal ventilation of the covered area. The second section, which will begin in February, will be completed in the early months of 2020 and will extend the structure in the western part with the main representative environment and the atrium opening onto the street.
Once completed, the visitor will be able to walk the interior spaces of an ancient Roman residence, recognize the various rooms and their functional destination, admire the mosaic floors. The visit is expected to be enriched with a set-up particularly attentive to the didactic aspects, thanks also to the aid of new technologies and shortly it will be possible to make guided visits within the structures so far completed.