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The thermae built by Emperor Decius (249-251 AD) on the Aventine Hill toserve the rich quarter that had developed there are located in the zone that isoccupied today by Piazza del Tempio di Diana and by the nearby buildings thatrose on the ancient Vigna Torlonia. The thermal system was developed with roomssymmetrically arranged on the sides of a wide central hall (the frigidarium ortepidarium), as we can see from a sixteenth century drawing by Andrea Palladio.The thermae were restored by the sons of Constantine and still in 414 after thesack by Alaric. They were built using a previous domus as foundation. The roomsthat are accessible today are ten feet below the street level. They have mosaicfloors, while the walls and ceilings are painted with small landscapes,theatrical masks, candelabra, flowers and other phytomorphic elements depictedin red and green-striped linear panes on a white background. The image of abird in flight holding a cricket in his beak is of particular interest. Thepictorial style is typical of the Hadrian Age and leads to date the rooms backto the first half of the second century BC. Other rooms were probably destroyedby the papal troops in the years 1867-1872 to build fortifications on theAventine Hill against the Garibaldinians. This building in turn hasincorporated more ancient structures that belonged to a private house that hadpaintings of the first Pompeian style (rare example to be found in Rome) andcan be dated back to the second century BC. Some have suggested that thiscomplex of buildings might be the Privata Traiani, the private house of emperorTrajan (98-117 BC) that the ancient sources place on the Aventine Hill, whileothers believe it was part of the ruins under the Church of Santa Prisca.
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