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Severo's Secret?
honestly the best bet for getting a sense of the original look is to check out the digital reconstructions from the archeology department at La Sapienza. they did a project a few years back mapping the entire Esquiline area and the ninfeo renderings are pretty detailed, based on the actual foundation measurements and surviving wall fragments. the mosaics apparently were mostly those simple black and white patterns like the other person said, but the stucco work on the upper levels was painted in deep reds and blues, which is a detail most people miss
the piranesi etching is great for the structure but he took liberties with scale. the real trick is finding the 19th century watercolors by Ettore Roesler Franz, he painted the roman countryside before it got built over and there's one of the ninfeo when it still had some of the upper arches visible. the biblioteca nazionale has a digitized collection of his work, worth a look
yeah the piranesi etching is the go-to but honestly the most useful thing i found was a set of 18th century drawings by francesco piranesi (his son) in the collection of the museo di roma at palazzo braschi. they show the back side that faces away from the street, which is usually ignored. the mosaics are definitely black and white geometric as others said, but the stucco had these deep red panels with yellow borders, like a pompeian style that feels out of place for a 3rd century structure.
if you want to see the actual marble fragments that survived, the centrale montemartini museum has a few pieces from the ninfeo in their storage area, you just have to ask at the desk. theyre not on display but the staff there is usually happy to show them if you say you know about the severan nymphaeum specifically. the pieces are small but the porphyry and serpentino colors are still vivid after all these years
You are spot on about the Ninfeo being a quiet spot, most tourists just breeze past it on the way to Piazza Vittorio. As for intact depictions, the most famous surviving record is a 16th-century etching by Giovanni Battista Piranesi, which you can find in his "Antichità Romane" series. He was known for dramatizing ruins, but his details on the architectural layout are pretty solid, and it gives you a real sense of the three-tiered nymphaeum and the massive water basin.
The original marble cladding and colored stuccoes are long gone, but scholars have pieced together that the mosaics were mostly in black and white geometric patterns, not the vibrant figural scenes you might be hoping for. For a deeper dive, I'd suggest tracking down a copy of "Gli edifici di Roma antica" by Giuseppe Lugli, which has a specific chapter on the Ninfeo with reconstruction diagrams. The Bibliotheca Hertziana near the Spanish Steps has a good collection of these old prints if you want to see them in person.
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What are current tobacco prices for LM Blue or Chesterfield Blue?
tbh duty free at Riga is only worth it if you're buying cartons, single packs at the airport arent that much cheaper than teh tabaccai in Rome. also remember you can only bring a limited amount into the EU anyway so stockpiling has its limits
Chesterfield Blue usually runs around 5.50 to 6 euros a pack in Rome these days, though tabaccai prices are fixed by the state so it won't vary much shop to shop. Riga is generally cheaper for cigarettes but your layover time matters, if it's tight you might not have time to clear security and find a shop.
LM Blue in Rome is roughly the same ballpark, around 5.50 to 6 euros. One thing to keep in mind at Riga airport, the duty free selection isn't always great for specific brands like these, so if you're set on LM or Chesterfield you might strike out. I'd check what the actual duty free has before counting on it.