The Domus del Chirurgo is an archaeological site in Rimini, in piazza Luigi Ferrari, preserving the remains of a Roman-era house alongside one of the most important collections of surgical instruments from the ancient world.
What to see
The site was discovered in spring 1989 during tree-removal work in piazza Ferrari, and opened to the public in 2007 via suspended, transparent walkways that let visitors walk above the remains without touching them. The excavation, covering an area of several hundred square metres, brought to light not only the domus but also later strata: imperial-era walls, a high-status residence from the late Roman or Gothic period, and part of an early medieval house of Byzantine character.
The house, rebuilt in the second half of the 2nd century, held the practice of a physician, likely of Greek-Eastern origin and possibly named Eutyches according to a graffito in Greek characters; nearly one hundred fifty surgical instruments were found there — scalpels, probes, forceps, dental pliers, orthopedic levers, a drill with a movable arm, and the rare «spoon of Diocles», used to extract arrowheads lodged in flesh — making it one of the most complete collections in the world for Roman surgery. The building was destroyed by a sudden fire, dated between 257 and 258 thanks to a hoard of eighty-nine Roman coins, mostly silver, found in a wooden box among the rubble.
Visiting
The visit runs along walkways raised above the remains, which lie about two and a half metres below the current street level; recognizable rooms include a vestibule, a courtyard-garden, a triclinium, the so-called «Orpheus room» where the medical instruments were found, a latrine, and a heated room with a hypocaust floor.
Our editors' tip
Look for the «Orpheus among the animals» mosaic in the room with the surgical instruments: the name of the physician who worked there remains uncertain, but the musical scene that decorated his practice speaks, more than any scalpel, to the refinement of this Roman house.
