The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

Introduction to the Route

Reconstruction of the events that gave rise to the dynamic architecture of the late antiquity residence and the investigation of its commissioner’s profile have, over time, animated studies conducted by historians and archaeologists, with a formulation of theories that leaves questions unsolved even today.
The itinerary invites us on a journey through time, in some rooms of the Villa Romana, to find revealed or hidden clues relating to the identity of the dominus, present in the iconographies of the mosaic ornaments in the public and private spaces.
Myth and reality merge seamlessly to represent the complexity of the life and activities of an individual of the highest rank, in the late Roman Empire, who skilfully reconciled power and philosophical reflection.

The astral interpretation of the mosaic

A line of armed men for an important Dominus

The senses tell the Vestibule

The mansio of Philosophiana. A stopping place

The senses tell the Bi-Apsed room

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

The senses tell the Basilica

A royal room housed the Dominus during his audiences

A dialogue between mythological and realistic scenes

The senses tell the monumental entrance

The mosaics of the late antiquity residence

The senses tell the massage room

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

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

The senses tell the Quadrangular Peristyle

The apotheosis of Hercules

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

An official ceremony to welcome the Dominus

Semi-public rooms

The paths of virus, a reflection of the Dominus

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

The protagonists of the mosaics

The senses tell the private entrance to the spa

Outdoor breakfast

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

The catalogue of animals

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

A day of hunting at the villa

The protagonists of the mosaic and the military themed frescoes

The Latifundium

The senses tell the frigidarium

Form of greeting or ritual?

The prestige of the dominus is revealed through the wall frescoes

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

The possible celebration of a solemn event

A view of the race from the imperial gallery

A hidden meaning

Worship of the Lares

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

The senses tell the Tri-Apsed Triclinium

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

A small room embellished with marble

The main nuclei of the Domus

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

An organic microcosm: the structure of the villa

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

An individual who has attracted the attention of scholars

The senses tell the Sacellum of the Lares

Solemn and majestic architecture to welcome a high-ranking commissioner

A small room used as a privileged entrance to the baths

The public and private rooms of the villa

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

The rural sacrifice

An eloquent symbol: the signum

The capture of wild animals for the roman amphitheatre games