Domus romana di Piazza Nogara

Under the Banca Popolare di Verona lies one of the best-preserved examples of private Roman architecture in Verona and Northern Italy. This domus is located at the southern edge of the Roman city, facing onto a cardo corresponding to the present-day Via San Cosimo. It was built at the end of the 1st century b.c. and subsequently modified between the 2nd and 3rd centuries a.d.

The building, which is one story high, is characterized by a central courtyard to which a portico on three sides was later added. The columns made of local tuff with Tuscan capitals of the inner portico, the rectangular basin with a flat bottom for collecting rainwater (impluvium) in the atrium, and the rooms that opened into it, featuring mosaic flooring of various patterns, are still visible.
On the north side, there were probably the summer rooms, characterized by large openings and floors of cocciopesto and beaten earth, while to the east were the winter rooms, identifiable thanks to a small compartment with an opening towards the portico where fuel was unloaded, an adjacent area with the heating system, and a further small room with a raised floor for the passage of warm air coming from the boiler.

The domus in Piazza Nogara was uncovered in 1976, during the renovation works of the Banca Popolare di Verona building. In the following years, the excavation conducted by the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Veneto led to the complete unveiling of the structure, which was then restored for public enjoyment.