photo #9217117

Beneath Rome, every shovel of dirt risks striking 2,000 years of history. The Metro C line, begun in the early 2000s, has been halted time and again as archaeologists uncover major Roman ruins. Among the finds: Emperor Hadrian’s Athenaeum—once a school for philosophy and law—a 2nd-century military barracks with over 100 rooms, and remnants of a long-lost amphitheater. Rather than bypass the past, Italy has embraced it. Construction pauses for preservation, and in some cases, stations are redesigned to become mini-museums. In the Eternal City, even building a subway becomes an archaeological expedition.