The Hostaria Antica Roma is situated on via Appia ( now called Appia Antica ) , the queen of all roads of the Roman Empire.
On The inside...you will find the monument to the liberti ( Freedmen ) of Augustus, built by the emperor Augustus for the slaves freed by him.
This type of construction is known as " Colombario " ( columbary ), the term colombario derives from Latin " colombarium " and signifies a bulding with niches similar to those used by doves and pigeons.
The Columbary you see is a typical roman sepulchral building ( cemetary ) where the walls are lined with rows of niches to keep urns for the ashes.
In the colombarium, the Liberti used to gather and worship their gods , and once passed to a " better life "...their remains were placed in a clay urn and arranged in the niches.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, the via Appia was abandoned, as most of the commercial traffic took place predominantly towards the north.
In 1724,after excavations close to the via Appia, the ruins of Livia's colombarium came to light, and a short distance away , covered by centuries old bushes, the colombarium was found.
Like most builidings of the Roman era that were discovered in that period, these were stripped of all ornaments that have since found their way around the world. For example , a very beautiful sarcophagus can be admired in Potsdam near Berlin.
During the same period a country homestead was built adjacent the columbarium.
Together with the surrounding vineyards, these were the inspiration for establishing a typical tavern in the same premises that were witnesses to the rites of the Liberti.
In 1747, the great architect and engraver Giovan Battista Piranesi studied the colombarium and captured its particular atmosphere in a series of etchings, including one showing the arragement of wine barrels.
In 1790 , another artist Carlo Labruzzi made an etching of the monument.
Around the same time, the Vatican State took a census of the taverns in the city, aimed at increasing the number of tax payers ( history repeats itself ).
According to this census it appears that in 1796 the present restaurant was named Hosteria del colombario.
Interest in the arts and warm italian hospitality brought men of culture in the footsteps of Goethe, among whom one of his countrymen, a certain Hans Barth , who wrote an amusing guide in careful and precise way .
The last know edition of this guide is 1923 , and it has a beautiful foreword dedicated to the most pleasure-loving poet of Italian literature : Gabriele D'Annunzio.
" ...while the sun gilds the nearby pines and unfurls the green cloak of life upon the gigantic mausoleum...
She is the life personified , the splendid daughter of the host , Annunziata , with the full breast , who pours us wine , which her greedy mother sells at unusual prices to the foreigners : for we are overcome by a double ardor and together Love and Bacchus urges us on , both powerful Gods "
Since 1982, Massimo Magnanimi with the help of his family has transformed the tavern in the ancient colombarium into a casual and family restaurant.