Despite the discovery of significant archaeological finds, a major infrastructure project near the Vatican remains on schedule to open in time for the Jubilee 2025, Rome’s mayor announced on Friday.
During the excavation for an underpass in Piazza Pia, situated between Castel Sant’Angelo and Via della Conciliazione – the road leading to St. Peter’s Square – archaeologists uncovered the remnants of an ancient Roman laundry facility.
The site revealed a section of an early imperial age residential building, which was converted in the second century AD into a fullonica, the ancient Roman version of a dry-cleaning service.
Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, assured that this archaeological discovery would not delay the Jubilee 2025 project, one of the city’s largest ongoing initiatives. He confirmed the Metro Line C project is still set to be completed by December 2024.
Gualtieri informed the press on Friday the ancient remains would be carefully dismantled within 10 days, with the necessary approval from the city’s archaeological superintendency. It will eventually be exhibited in the nearby grounds of Castel Sant’Angelo.
Italy’s culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, echoed this practical approach, stating that authorities “are ready to collaborate and find a point of balance, with reasonableness and common sense, between the needs of safeguarding [heritage] and the modernisation of the city.”
The excavation unearthed vats used by the fullers to wash garments, initially treated with human and animal urine as a source of ammonia before being rinsed in other tubs.
The €70 million Jubilee project aims to pedestrianise Piazza Pia and redirect traffic underground. It will connect with the existing Lungotevere in Sassia underpass, which was constructed for the Jubilee 2000.
