Triapsidal Triclinium

The twelve labours of Hercules

In the floor mosaic of the central area, Hercules is evoked through his exploits. 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 thelast scene, which depicts the myth of Lycurgus and Ambrosia , 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 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.

Date Clues

Pars Fructuaria e Pars Rustica

The Mansio, a stopping place

The myth of Orpheus

The Mansio of Sophiana

A decoration that marks time

A room dedicated to the sea

A dignified setting dedicated to the myth of Arion

A large banquet hall

The Latifundium

The Peristyle of the Villa

The room of the seasons

The layout of the rooms

The public rooms of the Villa

The composition of the spaces