sight
The opulent and dynamic structure of the great hall is characterised by a square central plan into which three large apses are inserted, originally introduced by pairs of columns. The room was used for official banquets, during which special semi-circular beds, known as stibadia, were placed in the apses to accommodate the many guests. The various episodes narrated in the mosaics are linked by the common theme of the victory of virtue over evil, carried out by Hercules and Dionysus against monstrous and violent creatures. The choice of the pieces to be performed originates from a precise desire to communicate edifying messages and to eternalise the dominus of the villa on the same level as the deeds performed by the heroes. When you enter this room, you can feel the atmosphere that accompanied the preparation of dinner, the most important meal, which took place in the ninth hour during the warmer months. The scene seems to come back to life. The sun is disappearing over the horizon and, with its last rays, it illuminates a group of musicians and an educated servant with a gaunt face, who recites verses in Latin, starting the banquet. The servant butler, the nomenclator, has already announced the entry of the dominus and his guests, among whom are high-ranking figures. Three ministratores go, separately, to each apse to serve steaming food to great decorative effect, while other servants fill cups with wine. Each course is a true choreography, skilfully devised by the structor, who is responsible for the scenic effect that the food must evoke. The three-lobed hall represents, at this moment, different parts of the world: the stibadia on which the guests are lying are the Earth, the ceiling leads back to the sky, while the floor is connected to the world of the dead.
hearing
An overlapping of voices fills the atmosphere of this vast room. The importance of the mythological depictions in the floor mosaics, imbued with celebratory meanings, is dissipated by the banter of the guests who, between courses, focus on ephemeral speeches, war stories and satirical topics.
From the centre of the hall, against a floor scene depicting the labours of Hercules, jugglers invade the room and interrupt the gentle melody of a zither player reciting poetic verses. The banquet is populated by dancers, who enliven the dinner with the sound of tambourines after an evocative entrance from the ovoid portico, caressed by the last rays of the sunset. Everything seems to take the dominus and his guests away from the whirlwind life of Rome.
smell
The large triclinium becomes a stage imbued with a multitude of scents. A senator has taken his seat to the left of the dominus and is greeted by the intense fragrance of oriental essences, which sprinkles the clothes of a young woman close by. Distinguishing the aroma of the food becomes difficult and the focus seems to be on the sweet notes of seduction. As soon as they lie down on the large semi-circular sofas, after washing their hands with water mixed with rose petals, the diners are met with the essences of the oils sprinkled on the table where they are eating. To accompany the beginning of the banquet, some doves take flight and spread, with the beating of their wings, water mist enriched with perfumed oil. The entrance to the first courses is truly scenic, with a succession of culinary “triumphs”, and the smell of the dishes served recalls local products and those derived from fishing. All are extensively described in various rooms of the late antique residence, as in a large map of known species in the 4th century AD. The sweet aroma of honey is combined with the salty notes of some foods marked by a kaleidoscopic burst of aromatic plants.
taste
The attention to the imaginative decoration of the dishes does not neglect the careful layering of flavours. While the diners are distracted by the arduous exercise of two acrobats who seem to have distracted them from conversations and food, the complex banquet is enriched with new courses. The wine mixed with honey, which accompanies the starter, is followed by the evocative entry of a dish adorned with a yellow sauce made from saffron and eggs, reminiscent of the warm colours of the African desert. The wife of a member of the senatorial aristocracy, with her fancy clothes and distinctive ‘helmeted’ hair, focuses her attention on a tray containing a large lobster with claws sprinkled with flowers and stuffed with caviar. There is no shortage of meat, presented with various types of stuffing enriched with spices of different origins. The tables set in the triclinium of the villa become a reflection of distant cultures, acquired in the territories conquered during the imperial period and embellished by an ever-present scenic taste.
touch
Have you ever wondered how the Romans ate? Each banquet included at least seven courses, eaten on semi-circular sofas covered in precious fabrics.
Go back in time and imagine that you are in the middle of the Triclinium. Against the mythological backdrop of the floor, representing the labours of Hercules, the diners, lying on stibadia, pick up their food with their right hand while their left hand, resting on a soft cushion, holds their plate. The flickering light of the torches hanging on the walls and the reverberation of the fire rising from the forged metal braziers hit various types of knives and spoons arranged on the table. A servant is about to offer the guests small pieces of pork on a tray, whose beautiful workmanship distracts attention from the content of the dish. The wine is poured into cups that reflect the opulent atmosphere that fills the room, like mirrors. The women, dressed in fashionable clothes with fine fabrics and pearl inlays, wash their hands with fresh, perfumed water that comes out of silver jugs held by servants. The large tri-apsed hall represents a microcosm in which the power of the dominus is reflected.
