 In Rome, the location of Cicero's house has been roughly identified from excavations of the Republican-era stratum on the northwestern slope of the Palatine Hill.Cicero's "domus" has long been known to have stood in the area, according to his own descriptions and those of later authors, but there is some debate about whether it stood near the base of the hill, very close to the Roman Forum, or nearer to the summit.During his life the area was the most desirable in Rome, densely occupied with Patrician houses including the "Domus Publica" of Julius Caesar and the home of Cicero's mortal enemy Clodius.