Rome’s travelers can now travel through time as well as space, with two highly anticipated Metro C stations unveiling ancient artifacts unearthed during construction. The new stops—Colosseo-Fori Imperiali, sprawling beside the Colosseum and spanning four levels, and Porta Metronia, near San Giovanni—feature extensive archaeological displays that include remnants of a Republican-era townhouse, an early imperial-era thermal bath, and 28 wells predating the first aqueduct. Alongside these relics, visitors will find votives, jugs, bowls, stag antlers, and hairpins, all presented behind protective glass.
These museum-style stations are part of Rome’s driverless Metro C, which links the city’s outer districts with its core. The project has faced years of delays, making the openings a welcome relief for commuters and a treasure trove for tourists seeking a new kind of transit experience in the Italian capital.
The Colosseo-Fori Imperiali site also preserves other antiquities, including a Republican-era townhouse and a bathhouse dating to the early imperial period, as well as the 28 wells used long before the invention of Rome’s classic aqueducts. The discoveries, many recovered during excavation work, are displayed publicly, offering a tangible link to the city’s distant past.
At Porta Metronia, excavations uncovered a substantial military complex, featuring a commander’s residence with frescoes and mosaic floors. The remains lie at depths of 7 to 12 meters and are believed to originate in the early second century AD, a time before the Aurelian Walls were erected to fortify the city.
“The military complex was an exceptional find,” commented Simona Moretta, the excavation’s scientific director, who noted that soldiers stationed there were likely part of the emperor’s guard or assigned to city security.
Although services on the Porta Metronia line are currently running, the museum portions are slated to open in the early part of next year.
Together, these stations add about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) to Metro C. The broader extension, funded by a Webuild-led consortium, will eventually connect through Piazza Venezia and extend toward the Vatican area.
Webuild chief executive Pietro Salini described the milestone as “a strategic turning point that marries infrastructure progress with the preservation of our heritage.”
Carlo Andrea, a local tour guide and historian who has chronicled the project on his blog Odissea Quotidiana, noted the significance from a visitor’s perspective: “It’s been an eternal wait. Romans have sometimes felt our city would never match other European capitals in infrastructure. Yet moments like this remind us that building the subway—though challenging in Rome—brings us extraordinary rewards.”
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