Triapsidal triclinium

The protagonists of the mosaics

The vast hall is decorated with mosaics narrating three cycles of Greek-Roman mythology: the twelve labours of Hercules in the central hall and the myth of Marsyas in the northern apse, the gigantomachy in the eastern apse and the myth of Lycurgus and Ambrosia in the southern apse.

In the floor mosaic of the twelve labours of Hercules, the hero protagonist is never depicted but is replaced by the effects of his strength against defeated enemies.

In the gigantomachy, the epic struggle between the gods of Olympus and the Giants, the latter, with their powerful and expressive bodies, are portrayed as anguipeds, namely, with serpents in place of the part below the knee.
Finally, in the last scene, linked to the Dionysian theme, we can observe the moment in which Lycurgus, King of Thrace and hostile to the worship of the god of wine, tries to kill Ambrosia (a follower of Bacchus) with a double-headed axe, who is providentially aided by a procession of maenads (female followers of the god of wine) and transformed into vines by Dionysus himself.As this myth reveals, a particularly frequent subject in the mosaics of the late antiquity villa are the metamorphoses, a symbol of the eternal relationship between man and surrounding nature.As in other rooms of the villa, the depicted scenes conceal edifying meanings.

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

A small room used as a privileged entrance to the baths

The senses tell the Tri-Apsed Triclinium

A hidden meaning

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

Worship of the Lares

The senses tell the private entrance to the spa

The senses tell the Basilica

A dialogue between mythological and realistic scenes

An official ceremony to welcome the Dominus

Form of greeting or ritual?

A day of hunting at the villa

The catalogue of animals

The senses tell the Bi-Apsed room

An organic microcosm: the structure of the villa

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

The senses tell the monumental entrance

The paths of virus, a reflection of the Dominus

The senses tell the Vestibule

The rural sacrifice

The public and private rooms of the villa

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

The prestige of the dominus is revealed through the wall frescoes

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

The senses tell the Sacellum of the Lares

An eloquent symbol: the signum

The protagonists of the mosaic and the military themed frescoes

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

The senses tell the Quadrangular Peristyle

The senses tell the frigidarium

The mansio of Philosophiana. A stopping place

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

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

An individual who has attracted the attention of scholars

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

The apotheosis of Hercules

The astral interpretation of the mosaic

A small room embellished with marble

A royal room housed the Dominus during his audiences

The possible celebration of a solemn event

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

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

The Latifundium

Outdoor breakfast

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

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

The main nuclei of the Domus

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

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

The protagonists of the mosaics

The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

The senses tell the massage room

The capture of wild animals for the roman amphitheatre games

A view of the race from the imperial gallery

Semi-public rooms