Pons Drusi Museum

The St. Elisabeth Foundation operates several facilities in Bolzano, including the Grieserhof Retirement Centre with 60 residential and nursing care places. When planning the new retirement centre building in the Via Cologna road, in the Gries-San Quirino district, builders stumbled upon spectacular finds from the Roman era. The discoveries include amphorae and remnants of underfloor heating, as well as entire sections of buildings.

A frescoed building with a colonnade and a massive substructure, once clad in columns and marble slabs, have been dated to the 1st century AD. The substructure was probably part of a temple or monument. Wall paintings with various patterns and a water basin in the courtyard were also unearthed. The buildings belong to the settlement "Pons Drusi", which was located at the intersection of the Via Claudia Augusta and the Roman road through the Isarco Valley.

The name goes back to Nero Claudius Drusus, the stepson of Emperor Augustus. He is said to have conquered the area around the Bolzano basin in a military campaign, thus laying the foundation for the settlement. Even today, the name of the Druso Bridge (Ponte Druso), which leads across the Talvera River to the town centre and the train station, recalls this Roman past.

It is located about 2 kilometres southeast of the Museum Pons Drusi. How to get there: You can visit the small museum by appointment. Parking is available at the Grieserhof. Bus lines 1 and 10A also stop at the Piazza Gries square, about 300 metres from the museum.