Structures and decorations datable to the early imperial age and identifiable with the remains of Nero's Theatre have come to light beneath the inner courtyard of Palazzo della Rovere, the seat of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
The excavations were conducted by the Special Superintendency of Rome, directed by Daniela Porro, under the scientific direction of Alessio De Cristofaro and Renato Sebastiani, site manager Marzia Di Mento.
Built on the Horti belonging to Agrippina the Elder, grandmother of the emperor who loved art and music, and on the great circus erected by Caligula for the horse races, Nero's Theatre, whose memory was entrusted only to the hypotheses of scholars and the literary references of authoritative sources such as Pliny, Suetonius, and Tacitus, had never been found. Its memory was lost in time until it was cloaked in an aura of legend.
Today, however, the extraordinary building from the Julio-Claudian era, where Nero rehearsed his poetic and singing performances, has risen from its ashes, and the discovery of immeasurable value appears to our eyes two years after the start of the complex archaeological investigation conducted by the Special Superintendency.
Of the finds, all of the highest technical achievements and the result of high-ranking patronage, as can be seen from the lavish decorations, are two brickwork structures. The first, characterised by a semi-circular floor plan, includes the left side of the cavea, the scenæ frons, some extraordinary columns finely worked in precious white and polychrome marble, possibly of the Ionic order, refined stucco ornaments covered with gold leaf - also found in the Domus Aurea. The second, perpendicular to the first, consists of service rooms, perhaps made to house costumes, stage sets, materials, and equipment used for the staging of performances in the theatre.
Finds that, therefore, would leave no doubt: we are in front of the remains of the ancient Theatrum Neronis, although only the results of analyses and studies of the finds will be able to confirm this without a shadow of a doubt.
Of no secondary importance are the traces of production and manufacturing activities probably of the Schola Saxonum, one of the oldest scholæ peregrinorum that arose around the Basilica of Peter to welcome pilgrims visiting Rome. To this phase, datable to around the 10th century, refer the rare examples of glass columned chalices, precious liturgical furnishings, jugs, and ceramics, which testify to the evolution of an area already rich in testimonies and teeming with activity and pilgrims who in the Middle Ages, amidst a thousand dangers, undertook their journey to kneel at the tomb of the Apostle Peter.
In the middle of the 13th century, when the area came into the possession of the Ospedale di Santo Spirito in Sassia - completely rebuilt on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1475 - date back, on the other hand, the numerous worked bones, semi-finished products, and rosary die, which could indicate in the handicraft work of bone linked to pilgrimage and worship, one of the main activities of the area.
Of considerable importance are also the road traces connected to the landing place on the Tiber downstream of Ponte Sant'Angelo, from which two pilgrim's insignia (Holy Face of Lucca, Holy Virgin of Rocamadour) and a flask-shaped in the form of St. Peter's cock come from.
It is precisely the stratigraphic sequences from the Julio-Claudian period to the entire Middle Ages that represent an exceptional testimony to the economic and social history of Rome, especially those between the 10th and mid-15th centuries, which will allow scholars to reconstruct, on solid archaeological foundations, the aspects of such an important phenomenon as pilgrimage.
In collaboration with the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem - a lay institution of pontifical right that supports the works and organizations of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land and has the task of strengthening the practice of Christian life in its members - after the end of the investigations, the findings will be exhibited in the Palazzo della Rovere.
Theatre of Nero Overview Ph. Fabio Caricchia
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