Excavations crypt

Guida Aquileia

Excavations crypt


Discovered shortly before the Great War, the Crypt of the Excavations preserves the testimonies of several buildings that have overlapped over the course of history: the mosaic floors of a stately home from the Augustan age, the remains of port warehouses dating back to the II-III century, the mosaics and the cocciopesto coatings of the North Theodorian Hall, partially occupied by the base of the bell tower, the remains of the great post-Theodorian Basilica, built in the mid-4th century to accommodate the increasingly numerous faithful and flanked by a new baptistery.

Not to be missed: the large mosaic commissioned by Bishop Theodore, where figures of birds, winged horses, lobsters, turtles indicate the way to salvation in a complex web of symbols.