Quadrangular Peristyle

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

While moving through the corridor of the quadrangular peristyle we can distinguish, especially on the southern wall, fresco writing, applied over an earlier fresco, which contains male figures inserted individually in large squares. All are standing, face on, holding two javelins and a large round shield. Our gaze cannot help but be drawn to the variety of colours and decorations that enrich it around the dark umbone , with concentric circles or pairs of segments in different shades, so much so that the characters it protects are driven to the background.

A similar exuberance in the choice of colour can be seen in the copies we have of a summary document of the civil and military organisation, probably written in the first twenty years of the 5th century AD, the Notitia dignitatum et administrationum omnium tam civilium quam militarum, of still uncertain interpretation. It contains depictions of the shield emblems of the various military units of the Eastern and Western Empires.However, the shields of the soldiers occupying the remains of the peristyle fresco do not seem to be connected to the military units shown in the Notitia. On the contrary, the fact that each warrior is distinguished by different symbols does not lead us to think of a specific military group, but a general summary of units. The presence of such an imposing guard decorating the walls certainly suggests that the master of the domus was a very important person.

Is the profile of the dominus hidden among the scenes depicted in the mosaics?

The golden age: hypotheses about the villa’s period of construction and clues

The senses tell the Tri-Apsed Triclinium

The senses tell the frigidarium

Banquets and panegyrics enlivened the vast hall, against the background of a floor mosaic celebrating the feats of Hercules

The public and private rooms of the villa

A view of the race from the imperial gallery

A day of hunting at the villa

The senses tell the private entrance to the spa

The paths of virus, a reflection of the Dominus

The mansio of Philosophiana. A stopping place

The late antiquity residence: locus amoenus and centre of administrative activities in the heart of Sicily

The marble from the regions of the empire to decorate the basilica

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

The senses tell the room in the private apartment known as “small hunt”

A small room embellished with marble

The senses tell the massage room

An eloquent symbol: the signum

The senses tell the bi-apsed ambulatory – Corridor of the “Great Hunt”

A hidden meaning

A royal room housed the Dominus during his audiences

The senses tell the Quadrangular Peristyle

The astral interpretation of the mosaic

The senses tell the Basilica

A chariot race, set in the circus Maximus of Rome, connects the villa to the city and centre of power

Outdoor breakfast

The catalogue of animals

Worship of the Lares

Form of greeting or ritual?

The senses tell the monumental entrance

An individual who has attracted the attention of scholars

A dialogue between mythological and realistic scenes

The prestige of the dominus is revealed through the wall frescoes

The apotheosis of Hercules

The senses tell the Sacellum of the Lares

The realistic depiction of a spa procession with a high-ranking female figure

A small room represents one of the activities of the thermal bath route

An organic microcosm: the structure of the villa

High-ranking characters depicted in the mosaics of the apsidal niches of the frigidarium

The protagonists of the mosaic and the military themed frescoes

The senses tell the Bi-Apsed room

The possible celebration of a solemn event

The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

A large colonnaded portico, a place of connection between the rooms

The capture of wild animals for the roman amphitheatre games

The rural sacrifice

The protagonists of the mosaics

The senses tell the Vestibule

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

Auspicious symbols and perhaps the initials of the commissioner’s name decorate the mosaic of the apsidal room

A small room used as a privileged entrance to the baths

Semi-public rooms

An official ceremony to welcome the Dominus

The Latifundium

The main nuclei of the Domus