A section of the ancient Via Latina has come to light in the southernmost sector of the Villa di Sette Bassi in Roma Vecchia, the extensive archaeological area with impressive remains between the Via Tuscolana, Parco degli Acquedotti and the Lucrezia Romana district. The discovery was made last week as part of research conducted over a long period of time on a building nucleus clearly detached from the most monumental sector of the remains, located in the southern part of the archaeological area.

The activities, promoted and directed by the Parco Archeologico dell'Appia Antica, are based on the research currently carried out on the so-called "Dépendance" structures, coordinated by Professor Alessandra Ten of the Department of Ancient World Studies of Sapienza University and Carla Maria Amici, professor at the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Salento. They have also benefited from the collaboration of the Engineering Department of the University of Roma Tre, which, under the scientific coordination of Professor Andrea Benedetto, provided scientific expertise and advanced technologies aimed at detecting possible buried evidence.

In the portion brought to light, the roadway is about 3.80 m wide. The paving is disrupted but well defined along the edges; the road, found at a depth of about 50 cm, as predicted by the surveys, is perfectly consistent with the straight route previously only hypothesised. The hypothesis that the road passed through this point  was not new, given the outcrops located, respectively, in the Parco degli Acquedotti and in the Metro A depot area at Osteria del Curato. However, the distance between these locations – over 1.5 km – had prevented archaeologists from achieving a precise reconstruction of the road and from understanding to what extent its layout depended on the proximity of the remains Villa di Sette Bassi. The traditional denomination of the building known as the Dépendance was presumably influenced by its proximity to the Via Latina which was considered to be the first entrance to the Villa; the most recent studies of these ancient structures point to a thermal building dating back to the 2nd century AD, which was reused as an early Christian place of worship.

Based on these results, says Professor Alessandra Ten, research can focus on the intersection between the road and the branch of the Villa’s private aqueduct. Indeed, this aqueduct came from the south and must have crossed the Via to reach the cistern located at its eastern core. The aim is to enhance our knowledge of the ancient road with a view to its conservation and valorisation.

Professor Benedetto emphasised how 'the result is of singular importance not only for research, because in addition to providing a significant contribution to the understanding of the layout of the ancient road network and aspects related to the daily life of Roman society , is an example of how civil engineering can find solutions when there is a clash between archaeological values and new infrastructure projects.

"The work on the Via Latina marks the beginning of the rediscovery of the Villa di Sette Bassi through a series of projects over the coming months focusing on heritage conservation, improved accessibility and use, and redevelopment and opening of the buildings. After years of closure,this new knowledge will also make it possible to give back to the citizens an extraordinary asset that belongs to everyone and provides a strong identity for the local community," concludes the director of the Appia Antica Archaeological Park Simone Quilici.