[1] It was built during the 2nd century AD, and rediscovered, under an old church, when Benito Mussolini initiated a plan for massive urban renewal of Rome's historic Capitoline Hill neighbourhood.

Analyzing the archeological evidence S. Priester showed, that the south wing, hypothetically assumed by previous researchers, cannot be proven; he proposed a new reconstruction of the entire area: S. Priester differentiated and described the "west building", which today, with the exception of its massive brick facade, is almost entirely covered by the modern Via del Teatro di Marcello.

By adding the portico to the "east building", the width of the street was reduced to about 3.8 meters; the alley was paved safely in a secondary phase and was finally abandoned as a traffic route in late antiquity.

The ground floor consisted of shops that faced the surrounding streets, with the owners using ladders to access living quarters immediately above.

Archaeologist Andrew Wallace-Hadrill suggested that with a little imagination, these suites are comparable to apartments in which many 21st century Roman families live.