The archaeological area in the square “Piazza del Foro Romano” is located underneath the modern buildings and it is perfectly integrated within them. The area displays the remains of the forum compound of Oderzo in Roman times and it also includes part of a rich Roman house and of pavements. All these remains span between the end of the I century B.C. and the first half of the I century A.D.

The forum (A), which was built upon the late Republican one, was paved in trachyte from the Euganean hills and along its long sides had a porch which could be reached through few steps. Of this forum it is possible to see a good part of the stone pavements and three of the steps that would provide access to the porch. On the western side of the forum there was a double row of workshops which were later transformed into offices with various functions, such as meeting halls or religious places. On the northern side of the forum there was the basilica (B), a public building, which was divided in three naves by 4 rows of 8 columns each. Some remains are still visible today, particularly the bases of the columns. The southern short side of the forum is not clearly understandable today. However, the excavations suggest that here there should be the “Capitolium” of Oderzo, that is the temple for the three supreme deities in Roman religion, Jupiter, Juno and Minerva.

On the western side the forum was closed by a road, a “cardo maximus”, which could be identified thanks to the presence of a sewer (D) that is still visible today. The sewer was in bricks with vaulted ceiling. The position of the road, its orientation and dimensions (it was 6 metres large) suggest that it was the “cardo maximus” of the town, that is the main north-south road.

Underneath the gallery that links the modern square to the street “Via Mazzini” we can see a rich Roman house, a “domus”, of a high complexity (C). The original core of this house was oriented north-south and was organized around a peristyle with a garden. Of this, it is possible to see a beautiful white mosaic with ivy decorations and some parts of the rooms which were located near it, all paved with mosaics. The secondary area of the house was built around a courtyard. It is possible to see its three “tryclinia” with white pavements and inlays of marble and mosaics.