Explore the Description of this artwork.
It is a mosaic of opus tessellatum decorated with tesselles of marble of 6 millimeters.It presents a central decoration polychromated showing figures that represent the shepherd Faustulus and his brother in front of a cave where there is a wolf that would suckle to Romulus and Remus.The remaining decoration of the mosaic is bichromatic, in white and black. It consists of borders with plant motifs, including lobed and serrated grapevine leaves, grape pendants, and various alternating flowers with four and six petals. There are two corolla designs resembling a crater, stems with enveloping leaves, and other motifs. Additionally, there are geometric patterns that shape crosses, flowers, and stars.
A portion of the mosaic is missing, a longitudinal strip located in the central area. This loss is the result of municipal construction work carried out in the past decade. In the northwest corner, there was a white marble staircase resembling a ramp with perpendicular moldings serving as steps. This staircase provided access to a lower space where this mosaic floor was located.
Romulus and Remus mosaic Faustulus polychromated opus tessellatum