Piazza Armerina-History of Villa Romana del Casale

Piazza Armerina is a small town in central Sicily. This town attracts a lot of tourists, but it is not the town they come to see. People from all over the world come to Piazza Armerina to see Villa Romana del Casale, a Roman villa about 10 miles outside the city that contains the richest, largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world.

While no one is really sure who originally owed the villa, it is thought it may have belonged to the tetrarch Marcus Aurelius Maximianius. The mosaics are believed to have been brought from Africa and the craftsmanship that of North African slaves. The art is absolutely beautiful and one can only imagine how much work went into each of these pictures. The mosaics were probably made in the 4th century AD, a time when the North African provinces were important area in the economic and artistic world. The many colored mosaics were specialties of the North African artists. The mosaics at the villa are most definitely of African origin and similar ones have been found in Carthage and other areas in North Africa. Many of the motives of the mosaics are also African in nature, especially the hunting scenes. A large part of the tesserae--the small colored stones--used in the mosaics are in colors not found locally.

There have been debates over whether the mosaics were made at the same time or over a long period of time, or if they are the work of one or several groups of mosaicists. While it is probably true they were made by several groups due to the number, most likely they were made in a relatively short period. Several of the motifs appear frequently in all parts of the villa and are obviously the work of one group of artists. This makes it appear that all the major parts of the villa were done in a short period of time. It is also unlikely the owner was willing to wait long periods of time to get the work done.

There is little known as to the methods used by the artists. many of the motifs in the villa appear in other areas of Sicily, so it is thought there were catalogs or worksheets of standard motifs so they could produce them over again. It is doubted that there was centralized production of the mosaic fragments since they would be fragile and would break during transportation. Because of this it would have been easier the move the workmen. More than likely the entire mosaic was made at the site, especially since it had to be fitted to the space available and well known motifs were used for some parts and custom motifs were made for others.

There was obviously a division between the artists, the masters being used for the overall work. They may have drawn the composition on the ground and the skilled tessellarii--the tessarae layers--would make the central or picture parts, the less skilled apprentices would make the standard motifs, and the novices would do the fill in areas. There is also evidence the workers were used to the limit, as in some areas there are non-standard motifs that were probably drawn by the skilled artists, but the workmanship is poor. This may be because the more skilled artists were busy in the more important rooms of the villa and the owner was forced to use the less skilled workers to do some of the other work.

Some of the rooms with interesting motifs include the Corridor of the Great Hunt which has hunting scenes from Africa, an allegory of India or Arabia and the embarkation of the animals for transport to the Colosseum in Rome; the Triclinium with magnificent mosaics with mythological motives related to the Labours of Hercules, showing the stricken giants, the carnage after the Twelve Labours of Hercules and Hercules' coronation and introduction in Olympus; the smaller private apartments includes a vestibule with a mosaic of Ulysses and Polyphemus, the cubicle with the erotic mosaic, which is actually a bedroom, and the cubicle of fruits; the larger apartments include the Atrium of the Fishing Cupids, the Vestibule of Eros and Pan, the Cubicle of Children Hunting, the Hall of Arion and the Vestibule of Small Circus; In the public rooms are the Hall of Orpheus with mosaics of birds and wildlife and the famous Room With the Girls in Bikinis; the thermal baths is the frigidarium, or cold baths, with scenes of fishing cupids, the palestra, or gym, with the horse races at the Circus Maximus, and the entrance to the baths with a family picture of the domina with children and slaves; the guest rooms include a Room of the Dance with dancing women, the Room of the Fishing Cupids, the Room of the Little hunt, which includes hunting scenes and an offering to Diana; and finally the entrance area with a mosaic of the host welcoming the guests.

While the mosaics are the major attraction of the villa today, when it was first built there were many other areas of interest. Marble was used throughout the villa. Many of the walls were covered with marble veneer, and the floor in the Great Basilica was an intricate inlay work of many colors of marble. Many of the columns and statues in the villa were of marble. The marble came from nearly all the major quarries in the empire, and nearly all types of marble were used.

Columns were used throughout the villa, some for decorative purposes and others for structural purposes. There were also many statues throughout the villa, and fragments of them have been found during the excavations. There may have been a statue of Venus in the entrance to the baths from the atrium; a statue of a cherub holding a dove in the peristyle; a statue of Apollo in the Room of Orpheus, and a large statue, possibly of the emperor, in the Great Basilica. Many of the rooms have niches or pedestals for statues.

Many of the walls were covered with painting. Remains of these painting can be seen in the Room of the Fishing Cupids, and Cubicle With Erotic Mosaic. Traces of frescoes can be found in every room, and while they were as colorful and frequent as the mosaics there is little left of them.

The villa was constructed on the remains of an older villa in the first quarter of the fourth century AD, probably as the center of a large latifundium covering the entire surrounding area. It is not known how long the villa kept this role. It may have been for 150 years or less, but it remained inhabited and a village grew around it. The village was named Platia, which is derived from the word palatium (palace). The villa may have been destroyed during the time of the Vandals and Visigoths, but the buildings remained partially in use during the Byzantine and Arab period. In the 12th century a landslide covered the villa and it was abandoned, the remaining inhabitants moving to the current location of Piazza Armerina.

Even though some of the tallest parts of the villa have always been above ground, the existence of the villa were almost entirely forgotten and the area was used for cultivation. Early in the 19th century pieces of mosaics and some columns were found. Some excavations were carried out later in that century, but the first serious excavations were carried out by Paolo Orsi in 1929, and then from 1935-1939 by Giuseppe Cultrera. The most recent major excavations were done from 1950-1960 by Gino Vinicio Gentili, after which a cover was built over the entire villa to protect it. A few minor excavations were done in the 1970s by Andrea Carandini.

In the late ages most of Sicily was partitioned into huge agricultural estates called "latifundia" (singular "latifundium"). The size of the villa and the amount and quality of its artwork indicate it was probably the center of one of these latifundium, and the owner was probably a member of the sentorial class, maybe even the imperial family--the absolute upper class of the Roman Empire.

It is believed the villa served several purposes. Some of the rooms in the villa were obviously residential, others were used for official purposes and the purpose of many of the rooms has yet to be determined. It is also obvious the unknown rooms were not built for commercial or production reasons. It probably had been the permanent or semi-permanent residence of the owner. It would have been where the owner, in his role as patron, received his local clients, and would have also functioned as the administrative center of the latifundium. As of today only the manorial portions of the villa have been excavated. The ancillary structures--those for housing the slaves, the workshops, stables and so forth, have not yet been located.

The villa was a single story building, centered on the peristyle (the central open span in a Roman house). All of the main public and private rooms were arranged around this peristyle. Entrance to the peristyle is via the atrium from the west, with thermal baths in the northwest. On the north were service rooms and guest rooms, and on the east were private apartments and a huge basilica (central hall in the villa). On the south are rooms of unknown purpose. To the south, somewhat detached and almost as an afterthought, is a separate area containing the elliptical peristyle (a secondary peristyle for invited guests), service rooms and a large triclinium (dining room which contains Herculean mosaics).

The overall plan of the villa was dictated by several factors--older constructions on the site, the slight slope on which it was built, and the passage of the sun and the evening winds. The higher ground to the east is occupied by the Great Basilica, the private apartments and the Corridor o the Great Hunt, where can be found outstanding mosaics with magnificent scenes of hunts for live animals. In the middle ground by the peristyle are the guest rooms, the Elliptical Peristyle and the triclinium, while the lower ground to the west contains the thermal baths. These baths are heated by hot air chambers beneath them, and the floor of the baths are held above these chambers by a pile of bricks. There is a picture of the baths in the slide show below.

The entire villa is somewhat complex and organized along three major axes. The primary axis is a slightly bent line that passes from the atrium, tablinum (room for welcoming guests), peristyle and the great basilica which co-insides with the path visitors would take. The thermal baths and the triculinium are centered on separate axes. In spite of the different orientations of the various parts of the villa, they all form a single structure, built simultaneously and there is no indication the villa was constructed in several stages, although it is thought it took approximately 50 years to build.

When one visits the site today it appears to be housed in a huge greenhouse. This structure was built to protect it from the elements, but unfortunately the greenhouse effect may be causing harm to the mosaics. Visitors walk on wooden scaffolds to also protect the art. The pictures vary, depending on where they are. In the Corridor of the Great Hunt are mosaics of various animals, some of which are shown below. Walking on the scaffolds actually gives a better view of the mosaics than viewing them from floor level. This does limit access because the scaffolds are not in all rooms, and it is sometimes hard to get good pictures of some of the mosaics. There is also the problem of dust covering the mosaics, and even though they are periodically cleaned the dust covers the bright colors causing them to look pale and faded. The cover built over the villa allows the sun in through narrow openings and this also causes problems when taking pictures.

In the time the villa was in use, the common visitor, usually male, would arrive at the entrance, viewing the three way arch of triumph with fountains between the arches and frescoes on the walls. These would be testimony to the military might of the proprietor of the villa. The visitor would then enter the atrium with yet another fountain and a shady colonnade on tow sides. To the left was the passage to the latrine in case the visitor needed to use the facilities. To the right was the tablinum (room for welcoming guests), which was also the entrance to the peristyle, or central open space in the villa. Less important visitors would be allowed no further than the atrium.

The visitor would be greeted symbolically in the tablinum by mosaics of the hosts offering olive branches before entering the peristyle. He would then wait in the shade of the colonnade until he could be received in the great basilica. There was a more luxurious internal latrine here in case once again it was needed. Many visitors would be allowed no further than this. The most important visitors would be allowed to climb the few steps to the Corridor of the Great Hunt, and once again he would have to wait. He would view amazing mosaics of odd animals that could be found on various estates of the patron. If the visitor was one of the utmost importance he may be invited into the Great Basilica to finally meet the master of the house. The rest of the villa was probably off limits to all but a select few who were mostly peers of the owner. They may be invited to use the thermal baths, which was an occasion for socialising for the Romans. They may also be invited to have dinner and conversation with the master in the elliptical peristyle and the triclinium.

Most of the rooms in the villa had an actual purpose that was obvious. The purpose of the rooms could be determined from their position in the villa and from the way the room was decorated. The purpose of the thermal baths, various latrines and the areas intended for the public--the entrance, atrium, tablinum, peristyle and great basilica--were easily recognized. The elliptical peristyle and the triclinium were private or semi-private and were intended for relaxing and dining.

Some of the guest rooms were probably used for service rooms and others were intended for guests or for the proprietor and his family. Some of these rooms have simple geometric or poorly laid mosaics indicating a less important purpose. Other rooms have elaborate mosaics, indicating a more important purpose. These include the Room of the Dance, the Room of the Fishing Cupids, and the Room of the Little Hunt.

The private apartments are open to several interpretations. The larger southern apartment has a central hall--The Hall of Arion--that is flanked by smaller rooms with mosaics of children playing or working, and was thought to be the cubicle of mothers and children, while the northern apartment has a cubicle with erotic scenes and was taken to be the quarters of the pater familias. This theory has been contradicted by the fact that the highest ranking member of the family would probably not have the smaller and less elaborately decorated rooms, while the children would have the more comfortable sleeping quarters. It makes much more sense to think of the areas as separate apartments for two couples of unequal social status. There are some parallels in the rooms that also indicate this is probably true. Each apartment have two cubicles, one with a square apse and one with a round apse, possibly intended for the male and female respectively, with a common entrance. In the larger apartment the Hall of Arion may have been a library.

The Hall of Orpheus is yet another room with an unclear purpose. It has been compared to the central hall in the larger apartment, but could also be compared to the Great Basilica because it too has an apse. If the villa had been inhabited by two families of unequal standing, each would have had his own areas for the reception of guests and clients.

As stated earlier, there is really no definite information as to who owned the villa. A very early travel guide names the third mansio, or station for resting and changing horses on the Catania-Agregento road as Philosophiana, which was located about 45 Roman mikes from Agrigento. This is in the area of the villa. About 10 miles to the south of the villa is the location of Sofiana, where Roman remains are associated with the latifundium Philosophiana. Sofiana is the most likely candidate for the mansio on the main Roman road. The stations were usually named for the latifundium on whose territory they were located, so the latifundium of the villa was probably named Philosophiana.

There are several theories as to who was the first owner of the villa. Some believed it belonged to the Roman Emperor Maximianus Herculius, due to the images of ivy leaves in many of the mosaics, a decorative element often associated with him. Others feel the villa may have belonged to Maxentius, the son of the Emperor Maximianus Herculius, or to Claudius Mamertinus, who was prefect of Illyricum, Italy and Africa under Julian the Apostate.

There are also elements in the villa of both the military and civilian worlds. The entrance has all the characteristics of a triumphal arch and remains of military insignia can be found on the walls beside the entrance arches. On the other side, the villa is obviously civilian and there are references to literature and poetry in the mosaics, leading people to believe the owner was an accomplished intellectual. At the time the villa was built military and civilian careers had been separated for decades. No one could have both military and civilian ties, with one exception--C. Ceionius Rufius Volusiano, who had been Prefect of the City of Rome--a civilian responsibility--and consul under both Maxentius and Constantine I, but he had also been prefect of the praetorian guard under Maxentius--a military post. He had suppressed a rebellion in Africa where he also ahd huge estates. His son, Ceionius Rufius Albinus, was consul in 335 and Prefect of the CIty. Albinus was also a renowned writes of logic, geometry, history and poetry. By tradition the honorary crown of a poet was made of ivy, which would explain the use of ivy in many of the mosaics, and in the only surviving official inscription to him he is given the title philosophus, just as the latifundium. This could also explain the two private apartments in the villa and the two separate halls for receiving clients, one being smaller than the other.

All of these theories are only supported by circumstantial evidence. In actuality it is not known who owned the villa, and it will probably never be known unless there is some evidence found in future excavations. What we do know is the owner was wealthy and powerful, probably a member of the senatorial class or imperial family, he had property in Africa, he made money from the capture of wild animals for the venationes (animal hunts) in the Colosseum and elsewhere, he was fond of hunting, he was a lover and patron of music and poetry, he used ivy leaves as a personal or family symbol, he was almost certainly pagan, and finally, he supported the factio prasina (green team) in the races in the Circus Maximus.