Hall of the private apartment named after the “small hunt”

Outdoor breakfast

At the centre of the scenes that animate the third register of the floor mosaic in a dynamic and realistic way is a large composition that extends to the lower register; an open-air breakfast. It is probably taking place in the septum venationis of the late antiquity domus, the wood where the dominus, accompanied by his family and servants, enjoyed hunting and other kinds of relaxation in the shade of oaks and cypresses.
With extreme skill and attention to detail, like a painting, the mosaicists depicted the hunters at rest. Even the materials used for hunting seem to be abandoned on the branches of the trees, almost as if to create some shade for resting.A large red tent, the parapetasma, protects diners from the sun as they lie on a stibadium .Among them, in the centre, the same character stands out, wearing a purple tunic, represented in the scene of the rural sacrifice in the second register of the mosaic ornament.The man, who stands out for his refined clothing, begins the banquet consisting of a large roasted bird placed on a round table, the mensa.
On the far right, a diner offers food to a bloodhound to reward it for its work. In front of the guests, one of the servants is removing an animal from a basket.A depiction similar to that found in the mosaic of the “small hunt” of the Villa del Casale is found in a collection of silverware, the Seuso Treasure .

The prestige of the dominus is revealed through the wall frescoes

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

The senses tell the Tri-Apsed Triclinium

The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

A view of the race from the imperial gallery

The Latifundium

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

A royal room housed the Dominus during his audiences

The astral interpretation of the mosaic

Semi-public rooms

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

An organic microcosm: the structure of the villa

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

An eloquent symbol: the signum

The possible celebration of a solemn event

The senses tell the Sacellum of the Lares

The rural sacrifice

A hidden meaning

An official ceremony to welcome the Dominus

The senses tell the frigidarium

Outdoor breakfast

Worship of the Lares

A day of hunting at the villa

The senses tell the massage room

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

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

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

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

A small room embellished with marble

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

The public and private rooms of the villa

The mansio of Philosophiana. A stopping place

A dialogue between mythological and realistic scenes

A small room used as a privileged entrance to the baths

The protagonists of the mosaics

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

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

The main nuclei of the Domus

The senses tell the Quadrangular Peristyle

The senses tell the Bi-Apsed room

The senses tell the monumental entrance

The senses tell the private entrance to the spa

The capture of wild animals for the roman amphitheatre games

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

The protagonists of the mosaic and the military themed frescoes

The paths of virus, a reflection of the Dominus

Form of greeting or ritual?

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

The senses tell the Vestibule

An individual who has attracted the attention of scholars

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

The catalogue of animals

The apotheosis of Hercules

The senses tell the Basilica

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