An ancient Roman building has been found during excavations at a former cinema in the northern Italian city of Verona in what has been described as a “miniature Pompeii”. The discovery was made during excavations in the basement of Astra cinema, which is undergoing renovation after lying abandoned for more than 20 years. 

With its “magnificent frescoed walls”, the building, which dates back to the second century, “evokes a miniature Pompeii”, said Verona’s archaeological superintendent, the department in charge of archaeology for the area. It is not yet clear what function the building had, but experts said it appeared to have survived a fire as the roof had collapsed and there were items of charred wooden furniture among the finds.