You can now visit Rome’s ancient attractions from the comfort of your own home

One of ancient Rome's best-preserved homes, the House of the Griffins, is opening to the public for the first time, offering a unique livestreamed tour of its hard-to-reach underground frescoes and mosaics.

First unearthed during early 20th-century excavations on the Palatine Hill, the verdant rise overlooking the Roman Forum, the site now dominates central Rome with its striking red brick ruins.

Situated near the Colosseum, the hill was a hub for temples and leading citizens during Rome’s Republican era (509-27 B.C.). It later evolved into the aristocratic quarter of the Roman Empire, with new palaces built over older homes.

The House of the Griffins is one of those earlier Republican-era homes, and was hidden to the world underground after the Emperor Domitian built his palace on top of it in the first century A.D.

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Now for the first time, the general public can virtually visit the House of the Griffins and its newly restored frescoes, including the decoration that gives the home its name: An arched lunette fresco featuring two griffins — half-eagle, half-lion mythological creatures.

Visitors won’t actually walk through the home’s intimate rooms, which are only accessible via a perilously steep staircase underground. Rather, visitors above ground will watch as a tour guide wearing a head-mounted smartphone descends into the domus and walks through its rooms, livestreaming the visit and narration.

The live, virtual tour serves multiple purposes: It allows visitors to “see” a domus that, because of its underground location, would otherwise be off-limits. And by limiting the number of people in its rooms, the livestreaming protects the delicate frescoes from too much humidity and carbon dioxide.

Project chief Federica Rinaldi said that archaeologists don’t know much about the family who lived there, but said they were clearly well-off, given the level of decoration that recalls some of the elegant homes of the era in Pompeii. The frescoes feature richly colored faux marble designs, and floor mosaics of three-dimensional cubes.

“Its location at the highest point of the hill, its distribution over several levels that take advantage of the slopes of the Palatine Hill itself, and its preservation make it today an almost textbook reference," she said. “It was certainly a domus of the highest standard.”

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Starting on March 3, the livestreamed tours will be held weekly, on Tuesdays, with one in Italian and one in English, though more are foreseen. Groups are limited to a dozen people and require reservations, as well as an additional ticket beyond the typical Colosseum-Palatine Hill entrance fee.

The restoration of the House of the Griffins is one of 10 projects funded by the European Union in the archaeological park and is part of an effort to spread tourists out beyond the must-see Colosseum and Forum, which often get overwhelmed with visitors.

“It’s a great occasion to value the full territory of the park,” said the head of the park, Simone Quilici.