Opening Soon - March 2026

Archaeological Garden

The Discovery

The mausoleum and the Roman necropolis were first identified in 1997 during an emergency excavation carried out for the construction of an underground garage on the Sabini property, at 25 Via degli Aranci. From that moment until 2001, several excavation campaigns followed, allowing for a deeper understanding of the site and bringing to light most of the structures, archaeological evidence, and materials. Even earlier, during the 1950s and 1960s, numerous burials had been found on nearby properties, confirming that this area was used as a necropolis from the Hellenistic period through Late Antiquity.

Near the nearby Porta Parsano, both alla cappuccina burials (pit graves covered with pitched roof tiles) and cinerary urns or columellae made of grey tuff and marble were discovered. Additionally, a hypogeal funerary chamber was excavated, dated between the late 2nd and early 1st century BC. Its interior walls were decorated with rectangular white panels framed by narrow Pompeian red borders with crustae marmoreae imitating the First Pompeian Style.All the burials excavated in this area were found to have been sealed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79.

The Restoration Project and Enhancement of the Archaeological Site

In the spring of 2025, important redevelopment works were carried out to bring new life to a site that had unfortunately been forgotten and never truly known. The work was performed by a team of archaeologists and restorers, with the aim of making the site accessible to visitors and enhancing our knowledge of it. When excavations resumed, the area was covered by dense vegetation that was damaging the preservation of the masonry and plaster. In many points, the plaster was detaching, and several stones and wall elements were improperly resting on the structures themselves.

The restoration was carried out simultaneously with the archaeological excavation, which focused inside the mausoleum, where the niches were cleared and the funerary objects recovered. The entire site was enhanced through the recovery of numerous interesting artifacts, which are now displayed in the exhibition cases. At the same time, a visitor path was created, allowing access to the key points of the site and offering a complete experience of the most significant elements that tell the story of the necropolis.

Phases and Chronology of the Site

The archaeological site shows evidence of long-term use, from the Hellenistic period until its abandonment in the Late Roman age.During the excavation campaigns of the 1990s, inhumation burials in simple earth pits were uncovered, dating to the 4th century BC, accompanied by grave goods including locally produced figured ceramics and black-glazed pottery, as well as terracotta unguentaria. A hut-shaped tomb also belongs to the Hellenistic phase.

Later, during the Late Republican period, the first funerary monuments were built, and some individuals were buried, as evidenced by the grey tuff cippi found in the northern area of the archaeological site.The mausoleum itself, together with the surrounding funerary enclosures, dates to the first half of the 1st century AD. About sixty funerary columellae and cippi—made of either white marble or local grey tuff—were found facing northwest. In front of them were tuff blocks where offerings were placed.The monument was sealed by the catastrophic eruption of AD 79, which caused the collapse of the building’s roof and a temporary abandonment of the area.

However, the funerary area was soon reused, with new burials placed inside the mausoleum itself, such as the two marble cippi marking two tombs. The surrounding area was also reoccupied at least until Late Antiquity, with the construction of new alla cappuccina tombs.

The Roman Necropolis of Sorrento

As in earlier periods, Roman necropoleis were located outside the city walls, mainly along the eastern and southern sides. A particularly dense area of burials extended between the Sottomonte area and the Hotel Vittoria, used continuously from the Archaic to the Imperial period.In the Late Republican era, funerary monuments began to appear, such as the one in Piazza Tasso, probably situated near a city gate and decorated with statues made of local tuff. By the late 1st century AD, square-plan mausolea were being built, as documented in Sottomonte, in Via Fuorimura (Chiomenzano property), and in Via degli Aranci.

The mausolea were surrounded by individual burials or groups of burials organized within enclosures.Inside these, the cinerary urn was marked by a columella—a small pillar or marble slab—often inscribed with details of the deceased. These funerary enclosures were likely organized along social or familial lines.The mausolea were typically aligned with ancient roads, particularly the Via Minervia, which connected Sorrento with the modern territory of Massa Lubrense and Punta della Campanella. Another nucleus of Imperial-era burials, with alla cappuccina or tuff-cut graves, was identified on the hill of San Renato, where burials continued for centuries thereafter.According to archaeological evidence, the mausolea and funerary areas were buried under the volcanic ash of the AD 79 eruption and were soon reused as burial grounds, in many cases until Late Antiquity.

A brief yet intense visit leads through the remains preserved in their original setting — exactly where they were found over two thousand years ago — offering the rare emotion of walking through history and still feeling its living breath