Monumental entrance

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

The imposing entrance connected the late antiquity building, included in the latifundium of Philosophiana , to the public road recorded by the Antonine Itinerary that connected Catania to Agrigento. The entrance is reminiscent of the Roman triumphal arches due to the presence of a monumental honorary triumphal arch with three fornices , originally richly decorated and used to accommodate the distinguished dominus considered the commissioner of the villa. A monumental arch was erected in Rome to celebrate an illustrious individual or victorious general.
The work of architecture had an ogival arch greater in size than the two side arches and hinged gates that allowed its closure.
These characteristics suggest the dual function that the villa would have had in the 4th century AD for its dominus: private residence but also a place of reception. In the imposts , located between the fornices of the portal, there are two double fountains that are different in shape but united by a symmetrical layout that gives greater solemnity to the portal and amplifies the perception of wealth. The pools at the entry of the monumental entrance still preserve faux marble frescoes, visible on the outside of the rectangular basins, and mosaics that cover the internal areas.

An organic microcosm: the structure of the villa

The public and private rooms of the villa

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

The main nuclei of the Domus

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

The mansio of Philosophiana. A stopping place

The senses tell the Bi-Apsed room

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

The astral interpretation of the mosaic

The protagonists of the mosaics

The senses tell the private entrance to the spa

The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

The senses tell the Vestibule

A small room embellished with marble

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

An official ceremony to welcome the Dominus

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

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

The senses tell the Basilica

A view of the race from the imperial gallery

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

A dialogue between mythological and realistic scenes

The senses tell the Sacellum of the Lares

An individual who has attracted the attention of scholars

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

A hidden meaning

The prestige of the dominus is revealed through the wall frescoes

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

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

The rural sacrifice

An eloquent symbol: the signum

The senses tell the massage room

The senses tell the monumental entrance

The apotheosis of Hercules

The senses tell the Tri-Apsed Triclinium

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

Form of greeting or ritual?

The possible celebration of a solemn event

Semi-public rooms

Outdoor breakfast

The senses tell the Quadrangular Peristyle

A small room used as a privileged entrance to the baths

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

A day of hunting at the villa

The senses tell the frigidarium

The Latifundium

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

Worship of the Lares

A royal room housed the Dominus during his audiences

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

The paths of virus, a reflection of the Dominus

The catalogue of animals

The protagonists of the mosaic and the military themed frescoes

The capture of wild animals for the roman amphitheatre games