Legendary Lost Basilica of Vitruvius Emerges in “Tutankhamun-like” Find

Left; the remains of Vitruvius' basilica. Right; Historic diagram showing the basilica

January

/ 2026

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A public building described by the Roman architect Vitruvius, and searched for by scholars for centuries, has now been linked to excavated remains in Fano, Italy. Italian officials have compared the breakthrough to a modern “Tutankhamun-like” moment, arguing it could reshape how researchers connect Vitruvius’ famous words to physical Roman architecture.

Crucially, the basilica at Fanum Fortunae (ancient Fano) is the only building Vitruvius explicitly references in his surviving treatise De architectura, making the identification unusually significant if the match holds as excavations continue, reports Italian news agency ANSA.

Vitruvius (80 BC - 15 BC) 19^th century engraving by Jacopo Bernardi (engraver); Vincenzo Raggio (painter). (Public Domain)

“An Absolute Match”: How Text Guided the Dig

According to Reuters, archaeologists say the uncovered structure fits Vitruvius’ own description with striking precision. Italy’s regional archaeological superintendent Andrea Pessina said the team found “an absolute match” between the remains and Vitruvius’ measurements and layout.

The reported plan is rectangular, with ten columns on the long sides and four on the short sides. Reuters adds a detail that will delight anyone who loves a good archaeological “aha” moment: when evidence of four columns appeared, researchers used Vitruvius’ text to calculate where a corner column should be, then excavation uncovered it almost immediately.

This kind of “text-to-trench” confirmation is rare, and it explains why local and national officials are talking about a before-and-after moment for the city’s history and for classical architectural studies more broadly.

The column that allowed for identification. (Comune di Fano / Ministero della Cultura/La Brújula Verde)

What Makes This “Vitruvius Basilica” Discovery So Important?

Vitruvius (1st century BC) is remembered less for a surviving body of buildings and more for the impact of De architectura, often described as the only major architectural treatise from antiquity to survive intact. That work later influenced Renaissance thinkers and artists, including Leonardo da Vinci, whose famous “Vitruvian Man” conceptually ties human proportion to architectural harmony.

Because so few Roman architects can be connected to specific surviving structures, a convincing identification of the “Vitruvius basilica” would provide a rare test case: a chance to compare written theory (dimensions, column spacing, overall layout) with what an architect actually built.

Arkeonews, reporting from the press event in Fano, adds that the remains lie beneath Piazza Andrea Costa and stresses the broader research opportunity: an attributed building that Vitruvius himself claimed, potentially allowing scholars to track how his “rules” played out in stone.

Historic diagram showing the basilica plan associated with Fano in editions of Vitruvius’ work. (Vitruvius the Ten Books on Architecture.djvu/Public domain) Right; “Vitruvian Man”

Left; Historic diagram showing the basilica plan associated with Fano in editions of Vitruvius’ work. (Vitruvius the Ten Books on Architecture.djvu/Public domain) Right; “Vitruvian Man” image (photograph of the artwork), illustrating human proportion and geometry. (Paris Orlando/CC BY-SA 4.0)

What Happens Next

Officials and archaeologists caution that more excavation is needed to understand how much of the structure survives and whether the site can be opened to the public. Pessina told Reuters that future digging should clarify if further parts of the basilica lie underground and how best to present it.

Top image: Top image: Left; The presumed remains of Vitruvius' basilica. Right; Historic diagram showing the basilica plan associated with Fano. Source: Left; Comune di Fano / Ministero della Cultura/La Brújula Verde, Right; Public domain

By Gary Manners