In southern Sabina, in the area called Madonna dei Colori, la Soprintendenza per I Beni Archeologici del Lazio has been investigating since 1998 the villa belonging to the Bruttii Praesentes, a senatorial family related by marriage to the emperor Commodus. The complex was already known in archaeological literature for the important finds of marble statues, at present located in Copenhagen, Rome, Berlin, Dresden and Paris. The new investigations have brought to light the impluvium of the villa, the fauces, a series of rooms used for representation, a latrine and a bath complex. The recovered materials allow the dating of the occupation of the site between the early imperial period and the beginning of the fifth century AD. It is not possible, on the basis of the available facts, to state with certaintly exactly when the residential building changed function. The presence of the church of the Madonna dei Colori as early as the beginning of the ninth century is certain, however, as the written documentation attests. Investigations conducted below the pavement level of the sacred building, which was constructed on the remains of the older residential complex, have brought to light tombs of the fourth-fifth century AD.

In May 2004, a geophysical survey was undertaken at the site of the Roman villa of Bruttii Praesentes, Lazio by the Archaeological Prospection Services of Southampton and The British School at Rome. The work was carried out on behalf of Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali and Soprintendenza per i Beni archeologici del Lazio. Overall, the geophysical survey has begun to expose the extent and layout of the Roman villa at Monte Calvo. The excellent results indicate that the use of magnetometry was very successful in locating buried archaeological features and were complimented well by the resistivity survey. The geophysical survey has demonstrated that the Roman remains are substantial and that the villa of Bruttii Praesentes may be considered to be part of a much larger and extensive complex whose importance will have been enhanced by its proximity to the via Salaria.