The thermal baths

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

The subjects that emerge in the first phase mosaics are more legible in the north-eastern apse.
A young man, seated on a chair on which a fringed pardalis rests, is wrapped in a soft towel, used after bathing in the pool. Behind him, a servant approaches while holding a cloth and another young man, placed opposite, holds a white robe with clavi , a green cloak and a pardalis, all folded in an orderly fashion.An opposite scene can be seen in the niche to the west, from whose mosaic fragments four figures can be made out, represented in the act of undressing. The central figure has just removed his green paenula , handed to the servant dressed in red, and dons the colobium, a robe covering the tunic, adorned with elegantly decorated clavi and orbiculi . At his feet, another servant is probably kneeling to unbuckle this character’s sandals.

The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

The Latifundium

An individual who has attracted the attention of scholars

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

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

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

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

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

Form of greeting or ritual?

The senses tell the Sacellum of the Lares

A dialogue between mythological and realistic scenes

The main nuclei of the Domus

Worship of the Lares

The capture of wild animals for the roman amphitheatre games

The public and private rooms of the villa

The apotheosis of Hercules

An organic microcosm: the structure of the villa

The senses tell the Vestibule

A small room used as a privileged entrance to the baths

The protagonists of the mosaics

The senses tell the private entrance to the spa

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

The possible celebration of a solemn event

Semi-public rooms

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

Outdoor breakfast

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

The senses tell the monumental entrance

A royal room housed the Dominus during his audiences

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

The senses tell the frigidarium

An eloquent symbol: the signum

A day of hunting at the villa

The protagonists of the mosaic and the military themed frescoes

The rural sacrifice

A hidden meaning

A small room embellished with marble

The mansio of Philosophiana. A stopping place

The astral interpretation of the mosaic

The paths of virus, a reflection of the Dominus

The senses tell the Tri-Apsed Triclinium

A view of the race from the imperial gallery

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

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

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

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

An official ceremony to welcome the Dominus

The senses tell the Basilica

The senses tell the massage room

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

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

The senses tell the Bi-Apsed room

The prestige of the dominus is revealed through the wall frescoes

The catalogue of animals

The senses tell the Quadrangular Peristyle