This quarter contains the largest
number of vestiges of patrician houses discovered
in the ancient metropolis. Although a clearly
delineated portion of the paved street provides
a clear idea of the layout of a Roman city, the
surviving vestiges can only suggest a vague notion
of the beauty and luxury of these residences built
in tiers down a gently sloping hill to the seashore.

The house known as the “villa of the aviary”,
the best conserved of the site, was restored to
provide a reconstruction of the inside of an African
Roman villa: rooms preceded by a portico supported
by columns, surrounding a central courtyard containing
a garden and paved with mosaics. The terrace provides
a splendid view over the bay of Tunis. |