WHL

Criteria for including Piazza Armerina in the WHL

Roman exploitation of the countryside is symbolised by the Villa Romana del Casale (Sicily), the centre of the large estate upon which the rural economy of the Western Empire was based. The villa is one of the most luxurious of its kind. It is especially noteworthy for the richness and quality of the mosaics which decorate almost every room; they are the finest mosaics in situ anywhere in the Roman world
The UNESCO Committee decided to inscribe this property on the basis of criteria (i), (ii) and (iii), considering that the Villa del Casale in Piazza Armerina is the supreme example of a luxury Roman villa, which graphically expresses the predominant social and economic structure of its age. The mosaics that decorate it are exceptional for their artistic quality and invention as well as for their extent.

Source: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/832/

A dignified setting dedicated to the myth of Arion

The public and private rooms of the villa

The senses tell the frigidarium

Semi-public rooms

A small room used as a privileged entrance to the baths

The room of the seasons

The senses tell the room in the private apartment known as “small hunt”

The Mansio, a stopping place

The senses tell the Vestibule

A royal room housed the Dominus during his audiences

Is the profile of the dominus hidden among the scenes depicted in the mosaics?

The main nuclei of the Domus

An individual who has attracted the attention of scholars

The marble from the regions of the empire to decorate the basilica

The prestige of the dominus is revealed through the wall frescoes

The astral interpretation of the mosaic

The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

A dialogue between mythological and realistic scenes

An organic microcosm: the structure of the villa

The senses tell the massage room

The paths of virus, a reflection of the Dominus

The senses tell the Sacellum of the Lares

The golden age: hypotheses about the villa’s period of construction and clues

A small room represents one of the activities of the thermal bath route

The senses tell the Bi-Apsed room

A day of hunting at the villa

The public rooms of the Villa

The mansio of Philosophiana. A stopping place

High-ranking characters depicted in the mosaics of the apsidal niches of the frigidarium

A decoration that marks time

Banquets and panegyrics enlivened the vast hall, against the background of a floor mosaic celebrating the feats of Hercules

The possible celebration of a solemn event

A large colonnaded portico, a place of connection between the rooms

The senses tell the monumental entrance

An eloquent symbol: the signum

Worship of the Lares

Outdoor breakfast

Pars Fructuaria e Pars Rustica

The Latifundium

The capture of wild animals for the roman amphitheatre games

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

A view of the race from the imperial gallery

The catalogue of animals

The protagonists of the mosaics

A small room embellished with marble

The senses tell the Tri-Apsed Triclinium

A large banquet hall

The realistic depiction of a spa procession with a high-ranking female figure

Auspicious symbols and perhaps the initials of the commissioner’s name decorate the mosaic of the apsidal room

The senses tell the bi-apsed ambulatory – Corridor of the “Great Hunt”

The late antiquity residence: locus amoenus and centre of administrative activities in the heart of Sicily

The rural sacrifice

The apotheosis of Hercules

Date Clues

Criteria for including Piazza Armerina in the WHL

The composition of the spaces

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

Form of greeting or ritual?

The senses tell the Basilica

A hidden meaning

The protagonists of the mosaic and the military themed frescoes

The layout of the rooms

The senses tell the private entrance to the spa

An official ceremony to welcome the Dominus

The Mansio of Sophiana

The Latifundium

A chariot race, set in the circus Maximus of Rome, connects the villa to the city and centre of power

A room dedicated to the sea

The senses tell the Quadrangular Peristyle

The Peristyle of the Villa

The myth of Orpheus