Domus dei Tappeti di Pietra

In 1993, during construction work for an underground car park in Via D'Azeglio, archaeologists found the remains of a wealthy 5th-6th century palace about three metres below ground. Everything was there: the rooms, the courtyards, and above all the mosaic and marble floors, intact beneath the earth.

The domus had fourteen rooms, and each floor has a different design: geometric patterns, flowers, interlacing motifs, warm colours that look like woven fabrics. That is why they are called stone carpets. You walk above them on glass and wooden walkways.

Two mosaics are unique. The Dance of the Genii of the Seasons shows four figures dancing in a circle holding hands, a subject unknown in any other ancient mosaic. Nearby, an unusual Good Shepherd, wearing different clothes from the traditional ones.

The entrance is inside the 18th-century church of Sant'Eufemia, in Via Barbiani: from there you descend below street level. It is managed by the Fondazione RavennAntica; it is advisable to buy your ticket online.