Rimini's Domus del Chirurgo: 2,000 Years of History in an Archaeological Park

Full text

The Domus del Chirurgo (Surgeon's House) is an archaeological park covering more than 700 m².

It is dedicated to telling 2000 years of Rimini's history: from Roman times to the Middle Ages.

The most important finding here is called the Surgeon's House owing to the profession of its last owner. The owner's occupation was revealed by the over 150 surgical instruments found here. The remains of the property also include a taberna medica (doctor’s surgery).

The house was destroyed by a fire in the middle of the 3rd century that likely developed on the heels of the first barbarian invasions.

When excavated, the house revealed, among the wreckage of the collapse, mosaics, plasterwork and furnishings that offer a look at life in ancient Rimini.

Among the most important areas of the property, there’s the triclinium, which is decorated with a mosaic with a large vase on the floor and, on the walls, frescoes and a stained-glass panel depicting fish on the sea floor (now in the City Museum). In the taberna medica was an elegant polychrome mosaic that served as a pavement and featured a representation of Orpheus at the center.

The history of the site did not end with the devastating fire. This is demonstrated by the remains of a late-antique palatial residence built in the 5th century on top of the front section of the domus.

Later, probably in the 7th century, the western zone was involved in a new construction using wood and mud and re-used materials. The destruction of this final edifice, in the early Middle Ages, probably gave way to an open area.