During the restoration works of the Sant ‘Agostino convent between via delle Orfane and via Santa Chiara, the Quadrilateral district of Turin and the heart of the Roman city of Augusta Taurinorum, archaeological findings of exceptional consistency have emerged. It is a vast complex from the Roman imperial era dating back to a period between the 1st and 3rd centuries.
On the Quadrato site, particularly well-preserved Roman environments are located in the south-eastern sector of the area. Specifically, there are four rectangular and side-by-side rooms, which overlook a porticoed courtyard, witnessed by the remains of a brick column covered with grooved stucco, with large stone thresholds in which footprints can be seen that could correspond to wooden closing gates. The complete opening of the three southern rooms on the eastern side seems to exclude that it is a dwelling domus, hypothesizing rather the public and commercial use.
The rooms retain mosaic decorations of which the most noteworthy is that in the western sector of the large southern room, about 10 m X 6, depicting an emblem with white and black mosaic tiles, in which the mythological figure of the hunted Atteone is represented, torn apart from his dogs.
In synergy with the Superintendency of Architectural and Cultural Heritage of Piedmont, the Building Group has opted for the possibility of saving and preserving the complete portion of archaeological finds that will be open to the public in 2019. “We have been committed for years to safeguarding Turin’s historical heritage , alongside the Superintendency. The Roman find allowed us to build an archaeological site within Quadrato that can be visited freely, in absolute coherence with the philosophy of the other housing projects on via Lagrange 12 and via Alfieri 6 “, says the architect Luca Petrone, founder of Boffa, Petrone & Partners with Piero Boffa, President of the Building Group. The discovery is of great importance for the city and follows the findings of the important early Christian complex below the new Nuvola Lavazza Business District.
