Insula dell’Ara Coeli

Archaeologists believe the Insula dell’Ara Coeli originally had at least five stories. Today, as you stand before the Insula dell’Ara Coeli, you’re looking at a remarkable relic of ancient Roman life. This isn’t some grand temple or palace. The Insula dell’Ara Coeli offers a glimpse into the everyday lives of ordinary Romans. These apartment blocks, known as “insulae,” housed the majority of the city’s population. Picture Rome in the 2nd century AD. The Insula dell’Ara Coeli would have been bustling with activity, its shops on the ground level catering to the needs of its residents. People would have been coming and going, using ladders to access their living quarters above these shops. Interestingly, the higher you went in an insula, the less desirable the living arrangements became. The lower floors, like the spacious apartments we believe existed on the third floor of this building, would have been for the wealthy. The upper floors, however, with their smaller rooms and lack of amenities, were for the city’s poorer residents. The Insula dell’Ara Coeli serves as a reminder that even in the grandeur of ancient Rome, life was a mix of social classes and living conditions.