The site is situated at the centre of Roman Aquileia. The so-called “Domus dei Putti Danzanti” occupies the second insula north-east of the forum, a few tens of metres from the river port. Its name comes from the splendid polychrome mosaic of eroti surrounded by garlands discovered in 2005.

Although the plan of the house’s main phase of development is still not completely clear, over twenty rooms have been identified. The main entrance must have been situated on the ancient via Gemina, south of the modern road, and probably had reception rooms with very high quality decoration, of which the most famous of Aquileia’s mosaics the “Flowered Carpet” may have been a part.

North of the reception rooms, the private rooms were arranged around a small portico. Another group of rooms was arranged around a second peristyle, excavated in 2011-2012, situated to the north of the first nucleus of rooms. This porticoed courtyard had a system for draining and collecting rainwater and was probably closed on one or two sides, while it opened onto a large reception room to the east. This room had a tessellated floor into which an opus sectile panel was inserted. This area was accessed from the exterior on the east side via a narrow corridor linking the domus to a minor cardo, beyond a row of shops. The heated rooms of the bath suite and the large kitchen to the south could also be entered from the peristyle. The construction of the late antique house seems to have altered, at least in part, the original layout of the insula. Although the original perimeter remained unchanged, the internal road network was altered, further evidence of the known phenomenon of the encroachment of privately owned properties into the urban fabric in the late antique period.