Horrea Piperataria
The Horrea Piperataria, the warehouses of “Egyptian and Arab spices” built by Emperor Domitian on the south-west slopes of Velia, the hill between the Esquiline and the Palatine, open to the public for the first time.
The visit includes a multimedia story that shows the various construction phases of the buildings in the area from before Nero to the construction of the Basilica of Maxentius above and beyond.
The installation is conceived as a fascinating lighting and multimedia journey of discovery that starts from the Vicus delle Carinae and ends up inside the underground environments of the Horrea Piperataria. It then winds along an almost entirely glass walkway suspended from the 1930s concrete floor, leaving the underlying archaeological structures visible, as if it were a suspended and thin plane on which visitors “levitate”, moving a few centimeters from the ancient floors.
The modern attic and the metal structure, with their dark colours, disappear wrapped in dim light, interrupted only by video projections and the progressive and alternating switching on of the architectural lights on the ancient structures, which illuminate and turn off architectural elements to support the story.
Opening days: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Visiting times:
– In Italian: 10.00 – 11.45 – 1.15
– In English: 10.30 – 12.15 – 1.45
Maximum number of participants: 10 people
Duration of the visit: 75 minutes (45′ explanation + 30′ multimedia)
Price of the visit: €8.00, to be added to the Forum Pass Super ticket €18.00, it should be noted that legal concessions must be provided for the ticket only, not for the cost of the visit, which must be paid by everyone
Meeting point: Largo della Salara Vecchia entrance, near the security personnel’s sentry box
Photos and Texts: https://colosseo.it/visite-guidate/horrea-piperataria/
