Here there are some glimpses of the underground of the Crypta Balbi, one of the seats of the National Roman Museum and, above all, one of the best archaeological sites in the city of Rome to understand its stratification. Walking through the rooms and galleries of this modern museum means coming into intimate contact with the past of Rome, understanding how the Eternal City is so called also for the very long history that there is has behind it, with such an evolution that even a single patch of land can make the past centuries visible.

By entering the museum we can retrace the story of a small area corresponding to the ancient Balbo Theater and the surrounding architecture. Balbo, a man of Spanish origin and an Augustus' friend, decided to build a theater in Rome, at his own expense, giving to the city a new masonry building (which was the third and the smallest theatre of the Eternal City). At the same time, beyond the exedra where the marble seats of the public stood, he built an underground gallery that completely surrounded a space with a small building in the center, whose function we ignore today. But after this brief description, let me say why I recommend visiting this museum: in a few square meters, developed on three levels, in these rooms and undergrounds we can retrace the history of the area, from the 1st century b.C. almost until today!

The Balbo Theater of Rome was rebuilt in 80 a.D. following a fire, only to be gradually abandoned in the 4th century. And so here we have a classic example of the thousand facets of Rome! In the exedra, and in the whole surrounding area, a well was dug used as limestone (to collect and work the lime), a small necropolis was developed with lots of burials, a shelter was built for the poor and the needy, a monastery was established (7th century), the so-called Castellum was built (a small row of fortified houses belonging to a single family, in the 9th century), numerous shops were opened which gave the street its name (Via delle Botteghe Oscure, in the 13th century), noble palaces, baroque churches were built, there were the typical gutting and demolitions of the end of the 19th century. In short, in a small space, not only the historical evolution of this area is enclosed but, if you like, the very essence of Rome. As you can see, you get a true excursus of the history of the city, starting from a single point, an evolution visible both through the artifacts present in the rooms of the Crypta Balbi Museum and thanks to the information panels (or a local tour guide) that remind us how extraordinary the Eternal City is.