Insula dell'Ara Coeli

The Insula dell'Ara Coeli

The Rome audio-guided tour presents you, on your left, with the Insula dell'Ara Coeli, the only example of a Roman apartment building accessible today.

The ancestor of our apartment buildings

An insula, which means island in Latin, is the ancestor of our apartment buildings. The end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire coincided with strong demographic growth, and therefore a housing problem: people then began to build upwards. The insulae probably had four to five floors and could hold up to a few hundred people. First built in wood and cob, they were later reinforced by the use of brick. The part visible today, dating from the second century, corresponds to the ground floor, occupied by shops; the dwellings began on the upper floor and were reached by stairs. The excavations suggest that the lower levels, more comfortable, were reserved for the well-off classes, while the upper floors, more cramped, housed the plebs, as opposed to the patricians. A rare testimony of daily life in popular Rome.

What there is to see

The Insula dell'Ara Coeli is the only preserved example of an apartment building of ancient Rome, a rare vestige of the popular life of the city. One makes out there the ground-floor shops and the dwellings of the upper floors, witnesses of ancient urban density. It is a singular stage, at the foot of the Capitoline hill.

Practical information

The Insula dell'Ara Coeli is at the foot of the steps leading to the Aracoeli basilica, on the slopes of the Capitoline, in Rome. The vestiges can be contemplated from the street; their interior access may be restricted, according to conditions to be checked on site.

What is a Roman insula?

The ancestor of our apartment buildings: a building of several floors housing shops and dwellings, born of the demographic growth of Rome.

Why is the Insula dell'Ara Coeli remarkable?

It is the only example of an apartment building of ancient Rome still accessible, a rare witness of popular life.