Xystus and rooms of the ovoid Portico

The rooms of the Otium

On the southern and northern sides of the ovoid peristyle , there are two symmetrical quarters, each composed of three small but refined rooms.
The rooms are entered from the xystus that surrounds the atrium, connecting on one side the entrance to the triapsidal triclinium and, on the opposite side, a monumental apsidal niche , probably a scenic nymphaeum .
The rooms might have been used to welcome guests as rest rooms or be dedicated to private meetings, or a place to rest during the walks that took place in the xystus.
The theme linked to the Dionysian series can be found in some of the rooms of the Villa del Casale, linked to mythological scenes or generic depictions; some representations show the harvest cycle.
One of these scenes, which decorates the mosaic floor of these rooms, is characterised by grape-harvesting cherubs intent on transporting and pressing the grapes.
The composition represents two carts full of grapes which are pulled by a pair of oxen towards the centre of the landscape.
Inside a band decorated with branches and vine shoots, there are some cherubs dressed with short tunics decorated with stripes and orbs .
In another field you can see the figure of a cherub pouring must into a vessel.
The whole scene is reminiscent of the rites of the grape harvest, and a rustic building can be seen in the background the pressing of the grapes is carried out by three naked putti.
Other cherubs are dedicated to transporting the harvest from the fields.

The layout of the rooms

The Mansio of Sophiana

A large banquet hall

The room of the seasons

The Peristyle of the Villa

A decoration that marks time

A dignified setting dedicated to the myth of Arion

The Latifundium

The Mansio, a stopping place

The myth of Orpheus

The public rooms of the Villa

Pars Fructuaria e Pars Rustica

The composition of the spaces

Date Clues

A room dedicated to the sea