In Via Solferino in Cremona the remains of a Roman road have been preserved. One can see the remains through a glass window in the floor. Nearby an information board provides the following facts
The flagstone street of Via Solferino
In 1967, during the construction of the Chamber of Commerce's exchange hall, the remains of two Roman roads were discovered. One road ran parallel, almost to the modern street, in a NE/SW direction, where as the other one intersected the lastter perpendiculary.
They were paved with flagstones, laid on a dirt foundation with amphorae, bricks and roof tiles.
The street was one of the smaller cardines of the Roman city parallel to the cardo maximus which corresponds to the axis of streets now known as corso Campi, via Verdi and via Monteverdi. It intersected one of the decumanus streets now known as via Cavalotti, via Jacini and via Cavour.
While significant in its own right, this discovery becomes more important if considered along with the other finds so that it is possible to reconstruct the Roman city plan.
Other Roman roads have been brought to light in the area between via Monteverdi, piazza Stradivari and piazza della Pace as well as via Cesari (next to the Ponchielli theatre) and via Cavallo.
As a result of these finds the city blocks can be defined: the format is square and measures 80 metres per side. These measurements are similar to those of Piacenza, the Roman town founded, like Cremona, in B.C. 218.
Within the city limits the streets were paved with trachyte, a stone found in the Euganei hillsides.
During the Middle Ages, however, the stones were often removed and reused as building material with the result that often during excavations only the foundations of the road bed are brought to light.
Outside the city limits, even the most important roads were made up of gravel and brick fragments, as is the case of a stretch of the via Brixiana (the old road to Brescia), discovered near what is now via Persico.
The via Postumia, on the other hand, must have had a higher status.
This road, which linked Genoa to Aquileia on the Adriatic Sea, was for a long extent, the main decumanum of the Cremonese territory.
An excavation in via Gerolamo da Cremona, next to the church of San Lorenzo, has shown that the via Postumia was paved at least part of the way outside the town. Even now one can clearly see the traces of wagon wheels on both types of roads.
The original width of the larger road, parallel to via Solferino, is 7,20 meters.
This stretch of road has always been visible and open to the public thanks to an agreement between the Superintenency of Archaeological Heritage and the Chamber of Commerce. All the other ancient streets which have been found in the city have been excavated, documented and covered up.
A glass cover provides a view of part of the flagged road along via Solferino. It still has the remains of sidewalks (crepidines) on both sides. On the west side one can still see a piece of lead tubing (fistula) which was part of the ancient water supply system.
The conservation and restyling of the finds was financed by the Region of Lombardy through the ACT program "Enhancing the Cremona trademark".