In 2017, during excavations for the construction of the district heating network in Piazzale della Vittoria, under the war memorial, archaeological finds of great interest came to light.  
In fact, excerpts of the Via Emilia emerged, from the ancient cobblestones dating back to the 1800s (with the grooves of wagon wheels still visible) all the way down to the oldest levels of the consular road: this confirms that the ancient Via Emilia of the Romans ran exactly where the current road stands today, along the axis of Viale Roma.  

Another excavation, parallel to the route of the Via Aemilia and carried out at a distance of approximately 10 m from its south-western edge, brought to light a Roman necropolis with 23 well-preserved burials and respective grave goods.  

On the one hand, these are brick tombs with a double-sloping roof, the so-called 'cappuccina tombs', and on the other, even rarer and more precious, direct incineration tombs. The deceased was buried or cremated with the objects of common or ritual life; and this is why fragments of burnt bones (one skull in particular has turned up well preserved), small blue and yellow glass ampoules (balsamaria), amphorae for libation rituals (ritual banquets were held on the grave of the deceased), bronze lanterns altered by fire, and game pieces have been found next to them.   

In those days, having tombs on the sides of the busiest and most frequented roads was a source of prestige, because being visible from busy traffic routes somehow perpetuated the memory of the deceased.  

A further find from the same excavations, which aroused much interest, was a perfectly preserved two-thousand-year-old loaf of bread.