House of Livia

It was, of course, closed.

But you could peer through the windows and see something of the frescoes inside.

The house of Augustus didn't even offer that much: a tree, and some walls behind a fence, and a sign indicating that the Casa di Augusto was indeed beyond that gate and down that walk. But no clue as to when, or if, it was ever actually open.








I sent a picture of some brick rooms on the outside of Livia's house back to New York, and tried to be philosophical about the whole thing. If nothing else, I figured that the sixteen euros I hadn't had to pay for admission should be more than enough to persuade one of the thieving cab drivers to take me back to my hotel.

And so it was.