Riproduzioni di sectilia pavimenta nella Collezione Lanciani. Un "nuovo" pavimento dagli scavi romani di fine Ottocento sull'Esquilino

This contribution aims to illustrate the discovery of an unpublished drawing of an opus sectile floor preserved in the Lanciani collection of the Istituto Nazionale di Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte. The reproduction shows the floor decoration of an ancient room discovered during the construction, at the end of the 19th century, of the new building that houses the Penitentiary Fathers of Santa Maria Maggiore on the Esquiline Hill. It has been possible to partially reconstruct the context of the discovery of the floor through another drawing from the same collection and the decoding of complex archival documentation, not only of a purely archaeological nature. During this historical period, in fact, more complex than ever for the protection of Rome’s antiquities, the recording of the discoveries was difficult due to the frenetic urban development of the city. Overall, however, it has been possible to hypothesize how this chamber was part of a high-level domus, probably dating from the late antiquity period, composed of several rooms characterized by a rich marble decoration.