The context - the territory

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

Due to the multiple varieties of architectural and decorative elements that characterise it, the Villa Romana del Casale can be considered one of the most significant examples of a residence of reception from the first half of the 4th century AD,

compared to other dwellings in the Roman West   in the same period.
The domus stands on the slopes of Mount Mangone, above the remains of a villa rustica built between the first and second half of the 3rd century AD.
The role assumed by the countryside for the economic activities of the time contributed to significantly change the use of residences, considered by Titus Lucretius Carus as mere places dedicated to reflection and the search for spiritual peace.
Archaeological investigations identified the pars fructuaria , or pars rustica  according to some scholars, south of the late antiquity residence, recognisable by remaining structures of warehouses used to store farming products.

This discovery underlines the important role held by the villa as a centre of economic and productive activity. Therefore, no longer was it an isolated building with articulated architecture, but a miniature city that had moved from urban reality to the countryside.
Olympiodorus of Thebes, a 5th-century historian, later recalled that the villas “were like a city, and indeed they contained a thousand cities”.

For these reasons the Roman domus assumes the dual function of place, immersed in nature in a private setting, and a dynamic centre for economic and administrative activity.

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

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

Semi-public rooms

An organic microcosm: the structure of the villa

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

The catalogue of animals

A royal room housed the Dominus during his audiences

The protagonists of the mosaics

The senses tell the Basilica

The senses tell the Vestibule

The prestige of the dominus is revealed through the wall frescoes

The main nuclei of the Domus

The senses tell the massage room

The senses tell the Quadrangular Peristyle

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

Form of greeting or ritual?

An eloquent symbol: the signum

The paths of virus, a reflection of the Dominus

The mansio of Philosophiana. A stopping place

A view of the race from the imperial gallery

The senses tell the frigidarium

The astral interpretation of the mosaic

The Latifundium

The public and private rooms of the villa

The senses tell the private entrance to the spa

The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

Outdoor breakfast

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

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

The senses tell the Bi-Apsed room

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

A small room embellished with marble

The senses tell the monumental entrance

The apotheosis of Hercules

Worship of the Lares

The possible celebration of a solemn event

The senses tell the Tri-Apsed Triclinium

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

A day of hunting at the villa

An individual who has attracted the attention of scholars

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

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

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

A dialogue between mythological and realistic scenes

A hidden meaning

A small room used as a privileged entrance to the baths

The capture of wild animals for the roman amphitheatre games

The protagonists of the mosaic and the military themed frescoes

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

The senses tell the Sacellum of the Lares

An official ceremony to welcome the Dominus

The rural sacrifice

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

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

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