Pittura parietale ad Aquileia. Intonaci dipinti dalla seconda insula a nord-est del Foro

The archaeological area named “Fondi ex Cassis” represents one of the most interesting quarters in Aquileia, along the via Gemina. Thanks to archaeological excavation, performed from 2005 to 2016 by University of Trieste, an area of 6000 m2 has been uncovered. The stratigraphic evidence reveals that the area has been in use from the republican age until the Fourth Century AD. The first survey (2005) unearthed a portion of the so-called “Casa dei Putti danzanti”. From a structural standpoint, it is possible to identify two main phases, which can be related to the beginning and to the end of the fourth Century AD. A large quantity of fragmentary wall-paintings came to light during the excavation: the majority of preserved frescoes can be dated to the first half of the fourth century AD on the basis of both its motifs and the stratigraphical observations. In the painting, it is worth pointing out the absence of walls to fake marble, actually greatly testified in Regio X between the third and the fourth centuries AD and in Aquileia in the panels at the Aula north in the Basilica (beginning of the fourth century AD). The remains of thermae complex, dated to the republican period, was documented in the southwestern section of the excavated area. The discovery of a consistent nucleus of frescoes has been particularly significant, mostly imitating marble of various colours and types. Stylistic analysis suggests a timeframe between the end of the second century BC and the first half of the first century BC. The fragments of wall-painting show high quality in composition and style and represent an important example of First style in Cisalpine Gaul.