Starting from a citation by the paragraph that Vitruvio devoted to the pavements, in his treatise “De Architectura”, the paper tries to investigate the reasons because several ancient pavements often “disappear”, or are sacrificed within our restoration interventions. Rules about safety or technical requirements are sometimes recalled to justify this attitude and the destruction of those artifacts. In other occasions, the search for a new comfort, or of a new “decor”, supports the same destiny. Other times, further on, it is simply the personal design choice that brings to the same result. The problem, at the end, it is that no one of these reasons seems to be really compulsory or without alternative. This circumstance, therefore, imposes a serious consideration about our choices and our capability in finding new technical and design solutions, to balance the needs of safety, of strengthening or of cleanness, with those of the respect for important traces of our past. pavements, restoration, conservation, destruction, maintenance