After excavating the Paved Roadway on the occasion of the Jubilee of 2000, the Superintendency of Latium decided to extend the excavation into the neighboring area, in search of two small temples that had been drawn in that position by Piranesi in his plan of 1781.
The excavation gave different results than expected, because discovered the foundations of a building which, thanks to the discovery of a small fragment with Egyptian decoration, was interpreted as a Cenotaph dedicated to Antinous, after his death in 130 AD. during a travel to Egypt.
Aerial view of the Antinoeion with the Paved Roadway
Several articles have been published with reconstructions of this building, to which the two red granite Telamons, the so-called "Cioci" of Tivoli, were erroneously attributed; actually did not belong to the Villa.
The same applies to the hypothesis that an obelisk dedicated to Antinous – which is currently in Rome – was placed in front of it, based on an erroneous interpretation of its inscription.
BIBLIOGRAHPY: Mari 2003, 204, 2006a, 2006,c; Pracchia 2006; Romeo 2005; Salza Prina Ricotti 2004, 2006; Sgalambro 2003, 2004. De Franceschini 2016.