Visitor s to Rome now have access to a large area of the Roman Forum which had been cordoned off for over twenty years due to safety problems. The famous House of the Vestal Virgins, home of the priestesses charged with tending the sacred fire of ancient Rome, has now been restored , along with its garden .
The House is considered to be one of the most fascinating areas of the Forum, with its long colonnade lined with the statues of the Vestals looking onto the green central garden. The fountain and ponds have been restored and antique roses, like the ones originally researched and planted last century by archaeologist Giacomo Boni, now flourish once more.
The cult of the Vestal Virgins lasted 1,150 years and was one of the most important in Rome. The Vestals were pre-adolescent girls chosen from aristocratic families, who served 30 years and enjoyed many privileges. They were, however, obliged to remain chaste and were punished with death if they were found to have had sexual relationships. The recent excavations have uncovered the remains of the very first sanctuary of the goddess Vesta, protectress of the domestic hearth and the wellbeing of Rome itself. The present House dates from after the fire that burned down Rome, on Neros orders, in 64 AD.
Restoration work has also been carried out on a series of ancient Roman shops that flanked the adjacent Via Nova.
