Porticoed Courtyard at the entrance

A space between public and private

The porticoed courtyard represents the first public/private space, located immediately beyond the entrance threshold, through the large monumental portal , designed to imitate a large triumphant arch  and three vaults.
The courtyard has an irregular semicircular shape with a fountain in the centre and is surrounded on three sides by a porticoed colonnade, with Ionic style  capitals. Its construction dates back to the Villa’s final phase of construction, when it was enlarged with new rooms; the great triapsidal triclinium and the  ovoid peristyle in front of it were built and in geometric relation to the axes of these constructions, and the new entrance with the grand monumental portal was raised.
The courtyard provides connection and passageway, through its portico, for various entrances to the Villa: the entrance through the vestibule , the external access to the thermal baths and the space leading to the large external porticoed latrine , evidently for public use.

The Mansio of Sophiana

The layout of the rooms

The composition of the spaces

The Mansio, a stopping place

Pars Fructuaria e Pars Rustica

A dignified setting dedicated to the myth of Arion

The public rooms of the Villa

The room of the seasons

The myth of Orpheus

A room dedicated to the sea

A large banquet hall

Date Clues

A decoration that marks time

The Peristyle of the Villa

The Latifundium