The last inner exhibition space stands in complete contrast to the one a few meters down the ramp. It's bright and tall; a square skylight gleams down to the floor and creates sharp shadow edges. The plain walls allow the noises of the visitors to echo. In the middle, metal poles protrude in a disorderly manner towards the high ceiling. Numerous marble fragments are attached to them. While a large part of the fragments of the Forma Urbis can be found in their original location and are supplemented by reconstructions, others cannot be assigned to this day. The “Hall of Fragments” shows the latter in the sunlight up close and uses drawings and photographs to explain the eventful history of this urban historical document.
The sunlight reveals the fine veins of the marble and the traces that two thousand years of history have left behind. The structures recognizable on the fragments are reminiscent of the streets of today's Rome. Where is the place shown? Under the floor of a pizzeria, between the roots of a pine tree on Quirinals Hill or built into a baroque church? Even today, a walk through the city is like a series of fragments from different times, the interplay of which forms a unique whole.
The exhibition ends after the quiet last stage in the roof garden; Visitors can take the elevator down to the square’s level. The bar, which extends onto the square, creates a place to rest after the impressions in the museum. Those who continue the tour reach the basement via the ramp and thus to the Imperial Forums or via the Vicus ad Carinas to the Roman Forum.
