Opus vermiculatum was the technique from which colourful mosaic was developed. Using tiles cut according to the figure to be represented, it was composed of tiles of different shapes, some larger, others very small, which followed the contour of the images and the result was therefore of extreme p...

Opus sectile was a type of flooring that used marble and stones of square, triangular and rhomboidal shapes that were generally larger than those of other mosaic techniques. The pieces that made up the design were larger than the tiles and therefore required less precision in cutting; even the har...

Opus signinum, or cocciopesto, was a flooring and wall covering technique used in ancient Roman houses to protect the walls from damp. Its mixture was made up of scrap amphorae or tiles combined with fat lime. During the Republican era, small pieces of marble were set into the fresh mixture on the...

For the ancient Romans, the Lares were the protective gods of the family and household, privately venerated inside the domus together with the Penates, gods of the pantry, and Vesta, goddess of the hearth. According to a legend described by Ovid, the Lares were twins born to the nymph Lara, who wat...

In addition to sculptural finds of statues and bas-reliefs with delicate figures of leaves and bunches of grapes, substantial finds of fine tableware have been identified, including a group of no less than 519 examples of Italic terra sigillata pottery with its characteristic bright red colour that ...

The mosaics found in Agrigentum are clear evidence of the contamination between Italic tradition - characterised by black and white mosaics - and Alexandrian tradition, brought to Italy by artists from North Africa and instead characterised by polychrome tiles. Some refined examples are the Casa de...

Of Greek tradition, the ambitus were the water drainage channels between one house and another. In Agrigentum they also represented a separating element of the buildings, were functional for water regulation but also for the rationality of the orthogonal network of the Hippodamian Plan....

The Greek engravings found on the gymnasium seats are a fundamental key to understanding the atmosphere in Agrigentum where the Greek roots of the city in the Augustan age were still very present. The inscriptions confirm the presence of flamines in the city and the area’s use for sports: they ar...

The Panhellenic games were sporting events involving all the cities of ancient Greece. The most important ones were held in Olympia in honour of Zeus, but there were also the Pythian Games in Delphi, the Nemean Games in Nemea and the Isthmian Games in Corinth, all dedicated to different deities. ...

Through the words of Pindar, a lyrical poet of Theban origin (5th century BC), the deeds of the Akragantine athletes during some editions of the Panhellenic Games have been preserved. Two Olympic odes celebrated the victories of Theron, ancient tyrant of Agrigento, in the quadriga competitions in ...