SURGEON'S DOMUS RIMINI

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MONUMENTS RIMINI

The Surgeon’s Domus

The Surgeon’s domus, still visible in Ferrari Square, is of great historical and artistic importance. Discovered in 1989, the Surgeon’s domus is called so after the important surgeon’s outfit found in one of the domus’ rooms. The surgeon’s outfit is composed of numerous iron and bronze surgical instruments of incomparable value, like forceps, bistouries, chisels and sounds, which were, in ancient times, placed in a bronze box, and small terracotta vases, glass ampoules, balances and small measures. The sumptuous Surgeon’s domus, which has been definitively restructured between the last years of the II century and the first decade of the III century A.D., was abandoned in consequence of a fire that broke out and destroyed it around 258 A.D., like the most recent coin of a hoard of about 80 coins found among the second floor ruins attests. The Surgeon’s domus had rooms, which opened on a corridor leading to a courtyard, paved with conspicuous mosaics. The splendid polychromatic mosaic pavement depicting Orpheus has, in fact, been found in the so called room A. This marvellous mosaic is based on a geometrical scheme of hexagons, in which are depicted satyrs and maenads, representing the Bacchic cortege, with crowns of greenery and musical instruments. In the centre there is the splendid emblema representing Orpheus encircled by wild animals, in the part of the mosaic on the threshold of  the room there are two winged victoriae holding a tondo, in which a Gorgon’s  head is depicted. In room C, which probably was the triclinium of the domus, there was a mosaic pavement with a geometric decoration in the same colours of the mosaic representing Orpheus.