Domus del Chirurgo

In spring 1989, whilst landscaping the gardens in Piazza Ferrari, tree roots pulled up fragments of fresco and pieces of mosaic. The excavations that followed brought to light a Roman house on the northern edge of Ariminum, near the ancient coastline.

The heart of the house was the surgery of a doctor who came from the East, with a consulting room and a room for brief stays. In the 3rd century a fire brought everything crashing down, and beneath the rubble remained mosaics, plasterwork, furnishings and his surgical instruments: one of the most complete sets from the Roman age.

The site tells two thousand years at a glance: after the doctor's house came a wealthy palace with colourful mosaics, in the Middle Ages a necropolis, then wooden houses and vegetable gardens. You visit it walking on transparent walkways suspended above the remains.

The surgeon's instruments are displayed in the nearby Museo della Città, in Via Tonini: the same ticket is valid for both, so it makes sense to do the two visits together.