Ninfeo di Colle Oppio

In 1936, during the redevelopment of Trajan's Park on the Opium Hill, an underground building was found about 6-8 metres below street level, which can be accessed today from the small pavilion on the corner of Viale del Monte Oppio. A (modern) spiral staircase leads to the vestibule and from there to a courtyard.

The building is composed of two clearly distinct parts: a porticoed atrium to the north and a series of rooms with niches to the south, which preserve part of the vitreous paste mosaic covering and frescoed plaster.

The structure has been identified as a 'nymphaeum', a place characterised by the presence of water (the holes of the pipes can still be seen) and intended for rest and meditation. The characteristics of the brick stamps found date it to the Trajan era, but it was probably already part of the buildings that constituted a sector of Nero's Domus Aurea in this area.

The situation we can see today is the result of a complex but also heavy restoration work, carried out at the time of its discovery, which partly prevents and distorts its understanding.