Italian officials on Monday hailed the discovery of a more than 2,000-year-old public building attributed to Vitruvius, the ancient Roman architect and engineer known as the "father of architecture."
"It is a sensational finding ... something that our grandchildren will be talking about," Italian Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli told a press conference.
Vitruvius, who lived in the 1st century BC, is celebrated for having written "De architectura," or The Ten Books on Architecture, the oldest surviving treatise on the subject.
His teachings on the classical proportions of buildings have inspired artists over centuries, including Leonardo da Vinci, whose famous drawing of the human body is known as the "Vitruvian Man."
Archaeologists believe they have found the remains of an ancient basilica, or public building, in the central Italian city of Fano northeast of Rome, that was created by Vitruvius.
"I feel like this is the discovery of the century, because scientists and researchers have been searching for this basilica for over 500 years," said the Mayor of Fano Luca Serfilippi.
"We have absolute match" between what was discovered and the descriptions given by Vitruvius in his books, regional archaeological superintendent Andrea Pessina told reporters.
The basilica had a rectangular layout, with 10 columns on the long side, and four on the short ones, Pessina said.
During excavation, when traces of four columns emerged, archaeologists used Vitruvius' descriptions to calculate where the top right column should be. When they started digging, they found it immediately, Pessina said.
"The are few certainties in archaeology ... but we were impressed by the precision" of the match, he added.
Further digging will determine whether more of the basilica lies underground and if the site can be shown to the public, the superintendent said.
