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New Pompeii hidden beneath Rome's Colle Oppio

By: Wanted in Rome

Date:

08 May, 2018

Major funds would be required to excavate the Oppio hill in Rome.

A "new Pompeii" could lie hidden deep beneath Rome's Colle Oppio however it would take "several millions" of euro to excavate it, according to Eleonora Ronchetti of the capital's culture superintendency.
Ronchetti made her remarks during a meeting with the city's culture and environment committees to discuss a playground project on the site which is best known as the home of Emperor Nero's Domus Aurea.
Ronchetti said that the entire area of the hill, which overlooks the Colosseum, could contain the remains of the Baths of Titus. The bath complex, which dates to 80 AD, was excavated partially on the hill in 1998-1999 before being reburied for safety reasons.

Ronchetti believes that the Baths of Titus "probably extend to the whole area" of the hill but acknowledged that the "conditions" required for such a major excavation did not exist currently.

The park on the Colle Oppio hill can be visited by day but in recent years the area has become synonymous with crime and anti-social activity, leading to its closure at night since 2016.