Trial trenches were dug during work undertaken by the civil authorities on the public lighting system along the lakeside road (locally known as viale Allea).
In the section south of plinth 52 the foundation of a wall came to light. On a NE-SW alignment it was built of cobbles and stones, mostly of local Angera limestone, bonded by sandy silt and was associated with post holes perhaps of medieval date.
A deliberately demolished wall was also uncovered, comprising large stones bonded silty soil mixed with mortar, upon which rested an opus signinum floor, which in turn was covered by a layer of roof collapse. Two other wall foundations were also revealed in the southern side of the section. These were badly conserved, comprising stones, cobbles and brick fragments bonded with abundant greyish mortar.
In another point a succession of floor levels was identified, relating to an outside area and consisting of a thin layer of dumped earth overlain by beaten earth and mortar floors. These were probably medieval pedestrian streets or pavements/sidewalks which obliterate the Roman structures.
In trench 50 part of asewage drain was uncovered, on a NNW/SSE alignment, comprising a covering in local limestone slabs and a brick floor. The fill (dark greyish brown sandy silt) did not contain any material useful for the dating of the structures abandonment, which could however be medieval or perhaps late antique.
The evidence from the trial trenches shows that the Roman settlement of Angera extended further south than the present line of houses and thus the level of the lake cannot have been higher than it is today. The evidence also confirmed that at a depth of a few decimeters there are structures relating to the Roman vicus. In particular, it can be assumed that the Roman residential structures that were only partially touched by this excavation are conserved below the road surface in the area between via Paletta and via Visconti. (Barbara Grassi, Emiliano Garatti)