<P> The site was rediscovered and explored as early as 1596, but it was not recognized as the Villa of Livia until the 19th century . In 1863 / 4 a marble krater carved in refined low relief was discovered at the site . In 1867 the famous heroic marble statue of Augustus, the Augustus of Prima Porta, was found: it is now in the Vatican Museums (Braccio Nuovo). The magisterial Augustus is a marble copy of a bronze statue that celebrated the return in 20 BCE of the military standards captured by the Parthians in 53 BCE after the defeat of Crassus at Carrhae . </P> <P> In the 19th century, the villa belonged to the Convent of Santa Maria in Via Lata . </P> <P> The villa and gardens have been excavated and can be visited . From three vaulted subterranean rooms, the largest contained superb illusionistic frescos of garden views, where all the plants and trees flower and fruit at once, which have been removed to Rome where, following cleaning and restoration, they have been reinstalled in the Palazzo Massimo . The vault above the fresco was covered with stucco reliefs, some of which survive . </P> <P> A new series of more meticulous modern excavations was initiated in 1970 . More modern scientific work began at the site in 1995, carried out by the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma and directed by Professor Gaetano Messineo, in tandem with the Swedish Institute in Rome . </P>

Who painted the painted garden of the villa of livia