Caseggiato del Serapide

Panel 73 - Location

Together with the Caseggiato degli Aurighi and the Terme dei Sette Sapienti, the Caseggiato del Serapide makes up one of the city’s largest building complexes, unitary from a construction point of view.

The building, of the Hadrianic period (AD 117-138), had a courtyard with very tall brick pillars and at least two upper floors that could be reached from stairs located in the courtyard itself and occupied by apartments.

Panel 73 - Figure 1Axonometric reconstruction of the building
(I. Gismondi)

In the early 3rd century AD, a small cult building was constructed in the courtyard, with a stucco depiction of the god Serapis and other Egyptian deities at the sides.

A gateway decorated with stucco reliefs was also built, with a frieze of bucrania (ox heads, originally holding religious significance), which gave access to the next-door Terme dei Sette Sapienti.

Panel 73 - Figure 2Elevation of the entrance and of the shrine with a statue of the god Serapis
(A. Pascolini)
Panel 73 - Figure 3Excavation and conservation work in the Caseggiato del Serapide

See also:

The Residential Districts of the Upper-Middle Class