La Stanza Gialla

Beneath the garden of the church of Santa Sabina are still preserved remnants of archaic fortification walls in cappellaccio tufa that follow the natural course of the terrain. Later in antiquity, they were levelled and became the footing for a restoration in Grotta Oscura tufa blocks. The use of these two types of stone not only shows that they belong to two chronologically independent phases, but also that the older blocks in cappellaccio should belong to the earliest 6th century BC walls of Rome.
Another conspicuous portion of Rome's most ancient walls was found in via di Porta Lavernale during the demolition of a house in the 1930's. This long stretch of walls in Grotta Oscura tufa is divided in two sections by a modern structure: one, between the apartment building and the perimetric wall, is 9 courses high; the other, in the open space in front of the building in via Santa Melania, is 5 courses high. In via dei Deci, a stretch of the same wall supports a hanging garden belonging to a house built at the beginning of the 1950's. Another 43 m long portion of wall, mostly realized in Grotta Oscura tufa with a few blocks of tufa from Monteverde and Fidene, is still standing nearby in via di Sant'Anselmo.

Part of the ditch that was originally cut behind the walls is still visible. The use of Monteverde and Fidene tufa blocks would suggest that this section was probably restored in the 3rd century BC.

Similarly, three more sections are visible in piazza Albania: two probably belong to a 1st century BC restoration. Immediately after the square, a further 42 m strecth of walls, built in concrete and a facing in Grotta Oscura tufa and preserved for a height of 8 m, are located in viale Aventino. In the upper part an arch made of Aniene tufa blocks is visible: as in the ancient fortification walls at Palazzo Antonelli in largo Magnanapoli, behind this opening was positioned a war machine.

Finally, more remnants of walls are preserved in the garden inside the Istituto di Santa Margherita and by the basilica of Santa Balbina. The Porta Naevia, mentioned by the ancient sources, was probably located in the area, near piazza Remuria. In spite of the significant archaeological remains, the precise path followed by the ancient fortification walls of Rome in this area, also known as the "Small Aventine", still remains speculative.


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