"Il corpo retrostante della "Schola del Traiano a Ostia Antica: un bilancio critico"

This intervention suggests a synthesis of the totality of data concerning the rear section of the “Schola del Traiano” in Ostia: the most recent results of the excavations, as well as the raised sections and the decorative elements, will be discussed and integrated into an overall outlook of this wing of the building. This procedure aims to demonstrate the need to resume the analysis of mosaics, the only element of conflict. The results of this survey will be the object, in a synthetic way, of the second part of this article. Each floor will be placed in its visual horizon, herein limited to Latium and the archaeological and the decorative contexts will be taken into account for each parallel. Although the results seem to be rather limited, the investigation allowed us to uncover some issues linked to Latium’s mosaic production and more particularly concerning the mosaics found in the sites of both Rome and Ostia. Nevertheless, by means of our analytical synthesis, we are forced to change our minds and reconsider our understanding of the “Schola del Traiano”: the South Wing and its mosaics couldn’t have been built before the middle of the third century AD.