Entering at the archaeological and underground complex  of the Case Romane at the Caelian Hill (highly recommend visiting), you will certainly be fascinated by the succession of environments that were located in the different buildings which developed in the area, the same area, over the centuries. Let me suggest you, as a local tour guide and lover of Rome, that the complex of the Case Romane at the Caelian Hill (one of the most historical hills of the city, as you can read here) is one of the best archeological areas of Rome where you can understand the concept of stratification. 

Imagine how in one piece of land, which was not so urbanized as other areas of the Eternal City, were built different buildings having several purposes and destinations. Sometimes reusing what was there before, other times side by side. From the artisan workshops to the domus of the rich aristocrats, and this area of the Celian hill has turned up to show us today the finest examples of roman painting. Like this one!

We are in an environment that is defined Nymphaeum. It was a place of refreshment inside of an ancient roman domus of the III - IV century a.D. Imagine a small rectangular room where you can take a bath with fresh water, or sitting on blocks of stone with your feet into water. Studies about the pavement, still visible today, lead us to think of the constant presence of water. But the presence of water is also given by the presence of terracotta pipes which is, of course, needed to manage the runoff. But now we try to project ourselves into the atmosphere, calm and relaxing, a room like that. A true dream! On the back wall of the nymphaeum there is this enigmatic fresco. We notice a clearly aquatic background, with children engaged in chores typical of the marine world: they are fishing. The time is right, however, to concentrate on the central figures, the ones that stand out, with the clear aim of guiding our gaze on that point, at the centre of the pictorial composition. We have a man and a woman reclined on her side, with next to them a man who seems to pour something. Who are the two main characters?

It looks like a scene that usually can be found in an environment such as a triclinium, in the ancient dining rooms of the romans, where they loved to guzzle! The man could be the master of the house, while the woman is the wife. Do you see how the last one is naked? She looks like a Venus, one of the many that the Romans could observe through a marble statue. Then, according to this theory, the man could be the husband who wanted to leave a tribute to his bride. Or, according to other archaeologists, the painting could represent a scene deriving from the myth of Proserpina, the Goddess Demeter's daughter who was abducted by Pluto (God of the Underground), who fell in love with her. But, again, we note that close to the two reclined characters there is another figure serving wine. In spite of the doubts we still have on the identity of the subjects depicted, it is certain that all the items that we have in our possession, and which are in front of our eyes, lead us to think that it is, however, a banquet, and then something related to the relaxation and the joy of living. Just what the garden wanted to convey! Therefore this place is a clear example of how art (and especially painting) in ancient Rome was also a way to amuse the mind...