In 2005 the University of Trieste began excavations in an area beside the via Gemina corresponding with one of the ancient city’s largest residential _insulae_, close to the forum and the river port. The entire area was investigated in the 1930s by Brusin; other _sondages_ with oblique trenches closer to the area in question were excavated by Bertacchi. However, the zone next to the modern road, adjacent to the point where the so-called “Flowered carpet” was found, had never been excavated using modern methods. The investigation identified an important building complex, probably belonging to an imperial functionary or local person of high status, which is situated in one of the most interesting residential complexes of the late antique period in northern Italy. Although the complete plan of the house is not yet known, it may be suggested that it had more than one entrance. The main one (not yet identified) probably opened onto the _via_ _Gemina_, indicated by some as the town’s _decumanus_ _maximus_, situated south of the modern road, while a secondary entrance, with a paved courtyard and well, was partially excavated on the east side of the house, opening onto the _cardo_ bordering the _insula_ to the east. What is clear from the house plan is the creation of groups of rooms around at least three open courtyards linked by corridors, but in some ways independent and defined by different functions. The house owes its name to a polychrome mosaic floor, with _eroti_ inside floral garlands, which decorated one of the private rooms. Worthy of note is the fact that it was possible to date the creation of one of the mosaic floors very precisely to the years after 337-340 A.D. This _terminus_ _post_ _quem_ together with the evaluation of the levels and stratigraphic relationships of the floor surfaces made it possible to identify three construction phases. The original construction of the house dates to the central decades of the 4th century A.D., while the main phase of restructuring dates to the 370s A.D. The last phase did not significantly change the house plan, although some changes were made to the overall decorative scheme. In fact, the most noticeable intervention was the remaking of several mosaic floors at a level more than ten centimetres higher than the original floor. The third phase (5th century A.D.?) seems to correspond with the restoration of some floors or the creation of new ones, in addition to the building of walls to divide the large rooms into smaller ones. It is very interesting to note how the decorative scheme of the first phase _domus_ recalls models and motifs of clearly classical derivation, while in the second phase the choice of decoration seems to favour the formal language of the period.

In 2005, Trieste University began excavations in an area along the via Gemina in which one of the ancient city’s most important residential _insulae_ is situated, close to the forum and the river port. The entire area was investigated in the 1930s by Brusin; other oblique trenches were excavated closer to the area in question by Bertacchi. However, the zone beside the modern road, next to the place where the so-called “Flowered Carpet” mosaic was found, has never been the object of modern interventions. The excavations have identified an important building complex, probably the property of an imperial functionary or member of the local elite, which forms part of one of the most interesting late antique residential contexts in northern Italy. The main aim of the 2017 campaign was to clarify, by extending the excavation on the northern side of the _domus_, the relationship between the structures of the so-called “Case di Brusin” identified by the scholar from Aquileia in the first half of the 1900s and unfortunately not geo-referenced. The aim was to investigate whether there was a continuous relationship between the two contexts. The excavations uncovered the make-up for a mosaic floor that Brusin had lifted and is now on display in the National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia. The walls of the excavated rooms develop without a break in continuity from the so-called “Quartieri Nord” of the _domus_, showing that the late antique residence extended to the north of the previously investigated area, probably occupying the entire _insula_. The possibility of geo-referencing the plan drawn up in those years and inserting Brusin’s excavations into the overall archaeological map of Aquileia will certainly add to the picture of residential buildings in Aquileia and the topography of the area between the forum and the river port.