{
  "id": 6769959,
  "title": "Ancient Rome’s Largest Fresco and Mosaic Complex, Featuring Depictions of a Mysterious Maritime City, Opens to the Public After 2,000 Years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/ancient-romes-largest-fresco-and-mosaic-complex-featuring-depictions",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-11T15:31:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Smithsonian",
    "slug": "smithsonian",
    "url": "https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ancient-romes-largest-fresco-and-mosaic-complex-featuring-depictions-of-a-mysterious-maritime-city-opens-to-the-public-after-2000-years-180989484/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "After two millennia underground, Rome has finally revealed its greatest artistic treasure: a vast fresco and mosaic complex dating back to the first century C.E. Hidden beneath the bustling city, the Painted City fresco and the Great Mosaic invite visitors to step back in time and marvel at the grandeur of a lost maritime city. The 107-square-foot fresco, measuring 107 square feet, showcases the city in vivid blue and terra cotta colors, complete with buildings, a theater, a temple, public piazzas, and towers as viewed from above. Experts remain uncertain as to which city the artwork represents, but they are confident that it was a well-known metropolis in ancient times. Accompanying the fresco is an equally impressive 33-foot-high and 52-foot-wide mosaic, depicting intricate columns, plinths, and other architectural features, as well as additional bird’s-eye views of the unknown port city. The mosaic also features several enigmatic human figures, including a philosopher, a centaur, and a poet receiving a laurel crown. Archaeologists continue to unearth more of the mosaic, currently focusing on a section depicting grape harvesting and winemaking. Discovered three decades ago during excavations of the sprawling Baths of Trajan, the artworks were likely part of the Domus Aurea, the opulent palace built by Emperor Nero between 65 and 68 C.E. As the subterranean works prepare to open to the public for the first time in centuries, authorities will closely monitor the impact of visitors on the delicate artworks before expanding access to a broader audience.",
  "summary": "The massive artworks, created in the first century C.E., were discovered in the 1990s during excavations of the Baths of Trajan",
  "key_points": [
    "Ancient Rome unveils 2,000-year-old Painted City fresco and mosaic complex to public.",
    "107-square-foot fresco depicts mysterious maritime city with buildings and towers.",
    "33-foot-high mosaic features enigmatic human figures and architectural details."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}