The remains of the fabled Basilica of Vitruvius, the first century BC Roman architect who was rediscovered by Leonardo da Vinci and other Renaissance greats and whose treatise on architecture remained a classic text for centuries, may finally have been discovered at Fano in Marche, archaeologists said Saturday.
The Basilica of Vitruvius, which was mentioned in his treatise 'De Architectura' , may have been discovered during building work in the northern Marche coastal city, not far from Renaissance jewel Urbino, they said.
The vestiges of an important building with a public function from the Roman era have emerged following construction work, in the area where, according to some experts, the famous basilica was once located.
Officials of the Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio of Ancona-Pesaro Urbino and art cops from the Nucleo Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale have carried out surveys with a drone on the remains of the important Roman public building rich in precious marbles.
The remains, the superintendency said, show such a wealth of marble that they must have belonged to a major public building from the Augustan era.
"We cannot rule out that they may actually be the Basilica of Vitruvius," architect Ilaria Venanzoni told ANSA.
"All that remains is to await the results of a deeper and more thoroughgoing activity of excavation and analysis of the complex".
photo: Leonardo's Vitruvian Man
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