It is the most imposing and complex Roman villa known. The complex contains over 30 monumental and scenic buildings arranged on a series of artificial esplanades at different heights and surrounded by gardens decorated with water basins and nymphaea (fountains). The whole covers an area of at least a square kilometre, an area larger than the city of Pompeii. In addition to the villa's impressive layout, many of the buildings are considered masterpieces of architecture[citation needed], making use of striking curved shapes enabled by extensive use of concrete. They were ingenious for the complex symmetry of their ground plans and are considered unrivalled until the arrival of Baroque architecture in the 17th century, initiated by Borromini, who used Hadrian's Villa for inspiration.[1]
The site, much of which is still unexcavated, is owned by the Republic of Italy and has been managed since 2014 by the Polo Museale del Lazio.
History
The villa was constructed near Tibur (modern-day Tivoli) as a retreat from Rome for Emperor Hadrian during the second and third decades of the 2nd century AD. Hadrian is said to have disliked the palace on the Palatine Hill in Rome, leading to the construction of the retreat.[citation needed] It was traditional for the Roman emperor to have constructed a villa as a place to relax from everyday life. Previous emperors and Romans with wealth had also constructed villas (e.g. Villa of Trajan). Though emperors' villas were supposed to be a place of rest and leisure, there is some evidence of Hadrian conducting official duty from the villa in the form of an inscription of an official letter sent from the villa in the summer of 125 AD.[2]
The picturesque landscape around Tibur had made the area a popular choice for villas and rural retreats. It was reputed to have been popular with people from the Spanish peninsula who were residents in the city of Rome.[citation needed] This may have contributed to Hadrian's choice of the property: although born in Rome, his parents came from Spain and he may have become familiar with the area during his early life. There may have also been a connection through his wife Vibia Sabina (83–136/137), who was the niece of the Emperor Trajan. Sabina's family held large land holdings and it is speculated the Tibur property may have been one of them. A villa from the Republican era formed the basis for Hadrian's establishment.[citation needed]. Hadrian began construction on the villa early in his career as emperor, though brick stamp evidence shows us that construction of the villa was ongoing.[3]
During the later years of his reign, Hadrian governed the empire from the villa.[citation needed] He started using the villa as his official residence around AD 128. Therefore, a large court lived there permanently and large numbers of visitors and bureaucrats would have to have been entertained and housed temporarily on site.
After Hadrian, the villa was used occasionally by his various successors (busts of Antoninus Pius (138–161), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Lucius Verus (161–169), Septimius Severus and Caracalla have been found on the premises).[4]Zenobia, the deposed queen of Palmyra, lived near the villa from 273 until her passing. The villa was restored by Diocletian during the final decades of the third century.[2]
During the decline of the Roman Empire in the 4th century, the villa gradually fell into disuse and was partially ruined as valuable statues and marble were taken away by Constantine the Great and his successors. The facility was used as a warehouse by both sides during the destructive Gothic War (535–554) between the Ostrogoths and Byzantines. Remains of lime kilns have been found, where marble from the complex was burned to extract lime for building material. Building material was also reused by the Christians to build basilicas and other buildings.[citation needed]
The first documented rediscovery of the villa was by Historian Biondo Flavio in the late 15th century who brought its attention to Pope Pius II whose writings on the villa in his Comeratti began to pique architectural interest in the villa.[4] In the 16th century, CardinalIppolito II d'Este had much of the remaining marble and statues in Hadrian's Villa removed to decorate his own Villa d'Este located nearby.[3][4] Since that period, excavations have sporadically turned up more fragments and sculptures, some of which have been kept in situ or housed on site in the display buildings.[citation needed]
There were no stratigraphical excavations on most of the site and much information was lost forever. Only from the end of the 19th century have its architecture and functionality begun to be studied scientifically.
Structure and architecture
A model of Hadrian's VillaA plan of Hadrian's Villa
Hadrian's Villa is a vast area of land with many pools, baths, fountains and classical Greek and Roman architecture set in what would have been a mixture of landscaped gardens, wilderness areas and cultivated farmlands. Due to Hadrian's travels, he also commissioned Egyptian style buildings and statues, even naming some of the buildings after Egyptian cities or temples.[citation needed]
The buildings are constructed in travertine, brick, lime, pozzolana, and tufa. Villas were typically sited on hilltops, but with its fountains, pools and gardens, Hadrian's villa required abundant sources of water, which was supplied by aqueducts feeding Rome, including the Aqua Anio Vetus, Aqua Anio Novus, Aqua Marcia, and Aqua Claudia. To avail themselves of those sources, the villa had to be located on land lower than the aqueduct.[5]
The complex of the villa contains many structures from different cultures. For example, the villa has a small river running through it which relates back to the Egyptian Nile river. The villa contains several Greek figures called Poikilos. All surviving written evidence of Hadrian's Villa in ancient writing is from the Historia Augusta, which describes how Hadrian named rooms of the villa after various significant locations within the Roman Empire (the Lyceum, the Academy, Hades) and these continue today to be the terms scholars use to describe sections of the villa.[2]
The villa's recreation area known as Canopus, as seen from the temple of Serapis
The architecture goes beyond the mere naming of its structures after places and monuments seen by Hadrian on his extensive travels across the empire. Certain buildings clearly attempt to recreate specific features of landscapes or architecture that had personal significance for the emperor.
Thus, the area known as the Canopus, named after the Egyptian city and a section of the Nile which leads to the city,[2] features a long, stately reflecting pool representing the Nile. It is a large open-air dining area with a covered triclinium with a huge stibadium (a semicircular masonry couch) located in an enormous domed exedra overlooking the lake.[6] This area's sculptural program is the most complete including copies of famous sculptures including the caryatids of the Erechtheion, a statue depicting the Egyptian dwarf and fertility god Bes, and a crocodile.[2][7]
Throughout the canopus, there are many different types of marble seen. The sculptures from the Tiber and Nile gods are made from Parian marble. Pentelic makes up the Caryatids and Telamons. The head of Hadrian of Lunense along with the Amazons and Hermes are made of white Dokymaean.
The Pecile is modeled after the Stoa Poikile in Athens, a city favored by Hadrian. The structures freely mix traditional Greek and innovative Roman elements. The island enclosure (known as the Maritime Theatre) uses the classical Ionic order, albeit in a novel way; the triclinium of the so-called Piazza d'Oro and the Serapeum were covered with Roman segmented concrete domes, probably designed by Hadrian himself.[citation needed]
Hadrian's Pecile located inside the villa was a huge garden surrounded by a swimming pool and an arcade. The pool's dimensions measure 232 by 97 metres (761 by 318ft). Originally, the pool was surrounded by four walls with colonnaded interior. These columns helped to support the roof. In the centre of the quadriportico was a large rectangular pool. The four walls create a peaceful solitude for Hadrian and guests.[citation needed]
One structure in the villa is the so-called "Maritime Theatre". It consists of a round portico with a barrel vault supported by pillars. Inside the portico was a ring-shaped pool with a central island. The large circular enclosure 40 metres (130ft) in diameter has an entrance to the north. Inside the outer wall and surrounding the moat are a ring of unfluted Ionic columns. The Maritime Theater includes a lounge, a library, heated baths, three suites with heated floors, washbasin, an art gallery, and a large fountain.[8] During the ancient times, the island was connected to the portico by two wooden drawbridges. On the island sits a small domus, complete with an atrium, a library, a triclinium, and small baths. The area was probably used by the emperor as a retreat from the busy life at the court.[citation needed]
Grand Thermae
The villa utilizes numerous architectural styles and innovations. The domes of the steam baths have circular holes on the apex to allow steam to escape. This is reminiscent of the Pantheon, also built by Hadrian. The area has a network of tunnels and were mostly used to transport servants and goods from one area to another.[citation needed]
The personal baths of Emperor Hadrian, constructed around 118 AD, were part of his Republican residence and included the innovative Heliocaminus room, which was heated by both sunlight and a traditional hypocaust system. This room featured bakery openings to enhance the heat, serving as a sauna. The hall had a coffered dome with a central opening and large windows facing the south-west. The materials used in the Heliocaminus included marble coatings and stone fillings. The baths feature a unique and complex architectural design, with different types of mortars and concretes used in their construction.
The Antinoeion
In 1998 a new section of the villa, named by scholars the Antinoeion, was rediscovered.[9] This area is located on the main road leading to the grand vestibule. The discovery of a large concrete foundation has been used as evidence of the original location of the Antinous Obelisk which is now located on the Pincian Hill in Rome.[9] Some scholars have argued that this evidence is proof of Antinous' tomb being located on the villa.[9] This has been challenged by scholars who argue that the area instead was a highly Egyptianized nypheum.[10] The Antinoeion is just one example of Egyptianization of the villa. Artwork such as the crocodile of the Canopus and the statue of Osiris-Antinous show the prevalence of this orientalist aesthetic in the villa.[11]
In September 2013, a network of tunnels was investigated, buried deep beneath the villa; these were probably service routes for staff so that the idyllic nature of the landscape might remain undisturbed. The site housed several thousand people including staff, visitors, servants and slaves. Although much major activity would have been engaged in during Hadrian's absence on tours of inspection of the provinces a great many people (and animals) must have been moving about the Tivoli site on a daily basis.[citation needed]
Many beautiful artifacts have been unearthed and restored at the villa, such as marble statues of Antinous, Hadrian's deified lover, accidentally drowned in Egypt, and mosaics from the theatre and baths.[citation needed]However, not all could be completely restored. The best-preserved pieces of sculptures are usually the ones that get published, while over a thousand fragments remain housed in the villa's Canopus and Cento Camerelle and are ignored.
A lifelike mosaic depicted a group of doves around a bowl, with one drinking, seems to be a copy of a work by Sosus of Pergamon as described by Pliny the Elder. It has in turn been widely copied.[15]
Many copies of Greek statues (such as the Wounded Amazon) have been found, and even Egyptian-style interpretations of Roman gods and vice versa. Most of these have been taken to Rome for preservation and restoration, and can be seen at the Musei Capitolini or the Musei Vaticani. However, many were also excavated in the 18th century by antiquities dealers such as Piranesi and Gavin Hamilton to sell to Grand Tourists and antiquarians such as Charles Towneley, and so are in major antiquities collections elsewhere in Europe and North America.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Hadrian's Villa as a World Heritage Site in 1999. The designation specified the boundaries of the site and created a buffer zone around it in which no new construction was permitted. In 2011, the communal government of Tivoli announced plans, later cancelled, to build a waste dump in the vicinity of the villa and approved the construction of public housing on 120,000 sq. meters within the buffer zone. At its 36th Annual Meeting, UNESCO formally addressed these encroachments on the site. While they commended the Italian government for its decision to abandon the construction of a waste dump in the Corcolle area, the committee requested the government "to inform the World Heritage Centre in due time about any major development project planned in the buffer zone of the property, including the housing development at Comprensorio di Ponte Lucano, for which a Heritage Impact Assessment should be included, in accordance with Paragraph 172 of the Operational Guidelines, before any irreversible commitment is made." UNESCO also requested "the State Party to submit . . . an updated report on the state of conservation of the property," by February 2014, reflecting concerns over the deterioration of the exposed ruins.[16]
The reasons for making the villa a World Heritage Site are: it is a masterpiece that brings together the material culture of the Mediterranean world, it inspired the Renaissance and baroque period, it inspires the modern world as well, and the villa is an exceptional survival of the early Roman Empire.[17]
In 2016, as part of the reorganization of the Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali, Hadrian's Villa, the neighboring Villa d'Este and the Temple of Hercules in Tivoli were placed under the supervision of the newly created Istituto Autonomo di Villa Adriana.[citation needed]
The Accademia Adrianea di Architettura ed Archeologia1 issued a call for papers for a conference titled Designing the UNESCO Buffer Aobe.[citation needed]
The Academy of the villa was placed on the 100 Most Endangered Sites 2006 list of the World Monuments Watch because of the rapid deterioration of the ruins.[citation needed]
In 2019, UNESCO designated Hadrian's Villa as a site with special immunity from wartime activity due to its profound symbolic value.[18] This added level of security prohibits U.N. members from attacking the site or using it for military purposes in the event of a war.[citation needed]
In 2021 February, archaeologists led by researcher Rafael Hidalgo Prieto from the Pablo de Olavide University announced the discovery of remains of Hadrian's breakfast room which used to show his imperial power. They revealed a structure as a water triclinium and a separate dining room that served as a model for the well-known Serapeum.[19][20]
"The emperor wanted to show things that would overwhelm the visitor, something that had not been seen anywhere else in the world and that exists only in Villa Adriana" said Prieto.[21][22]
Gallery
The Temple of Venus
The Nymphaeum
The Maritime theatre
The Three Exedras
The Casino
"Battle of Centaurs and Wild Beasts" mosaic was made for the dining room of Hadrian's Villa (120–130 AD). Altes Museum Berlin, Germany
The 130s was a decade that ran from January 1, 130, to December 31, 139.
Year 130 (CXXX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Catullinus and Aper. The denomination 130 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Antinous, also called Antinoös, was a Greek youth from Bithynia and a favourite and lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his 20th birthday, Antinous was deified on Hadrian's orders, being worshipped in both the Greek East and Latin West, sometimes as a god and sometimes merely as a hero.
Tivoli is a town and comune in Lazio, central Italy, 30 kilometres north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine Hills. The city offers a wide view over the Roman Campagna.
The Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Roman public baths, or thermae, after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 and 216/217, during the reigns of emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla. They were in operation until the 530s and then fell into disuse and ruin.
A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Greco-Egyptian deity Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form that was accepted by the Ptolemaic Greeks of Alexandria. There were several such religious centers, each of which was called a serapeion/serapeum or poserapi, coming from an Egyptian name for the temple of Osiris-Apis.
Baiae was an ancient Roman town situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples and now in the comune of Bacoli. It was a fashionable resort for centuries in antiquity, particularly towards the end of the Roman Republic, when it was reckoned as superior to Capri, Pompeii, and Herculaneum by wealthy Romans, who built villas here from 100 BC. Ancient authors attest that many emperors built in Baia, almost in competition with their predecessors, and they and their courts often stayed there. It was notorious for its hedonistic offerings and the attendant rumours of corruption and scandal.
Canopus, also known as Canobus, was an ancient Egyptian coastal town, located in the Nile Delta. Its site is in the eastern outskirts of modern-day Alexandria, around 25 kilometers (16 mi) from the center of that city. Canopus was located on the western bank at the mouth of the westernmost branch of the Delta – known as the Canopic or Heracleotic branch. It belonged to the seventh Egyptian Nome, known as Menelaites, and later as Canopites, after it. It was the principal port in Egypt for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria, along with Naucratis and Heracleion. Its ruins lie near the present Egyptian town of Abu Qir.
The Villa Romana del Casale is a large and elaborate Roman villa or palace located about 3 km from the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily. Excavations have revealed Roman mosaics which, according to the Grove Dictionary of Art, are the richest, largest and most varied collection that remains, for which the site was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The villa and its artwork date to the early 4th century AD.
The Gardens of Sallust was an ancient Roman estate including a landscaped pleasure garden developed by the historian Sallust in the 1st century BC. It occupied a large area in the northeastern sector of Rome, in what would become Region VI, between the Pincian and Quirinal hills, near the Via Salaria and later Porta Salaria. The modern rione is now known as Sallustiano.
The National Roman Museum is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of Rome, Italy. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological findings from the period of Ancient Rome.
The Antinous Mondragone is a 0.95-metre high marble example of the Mondragone type of the deified Antinous. This colossal head was made sometime in the period between 130 AD to 138 AD and then is believed to have been rediscovered in the early 18th century, near the ruined Roman city, Tusculum. After its rediscovery, it was housed at the Villa Mondragone as a part of the Borghese collection, and in 1807, it was sold to Napoleon Bonaparte; it is now housed in the Louvre in Paris, France.
The Antinous Farnese is a marble sculptural representation of Antinous that was sculpted between 130 and 137 CE. Antinous was the lover to Roman Emperor Hadrian; the emperor who, after Antinous's death, perpetuated the image of Antinous as a Roman god within the Roman empire. This sculpture is a part of the Roman Imperial style and was sculpted during a revival of Greek culture, initiated by Hadrian's philhellenism. Its found spot and provenance are unknown, but this sculpture is currently a part of the Farnese Collection in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.
The Villa of the Quintilii is a monumental ancient Roman villa beyond the fifth milestone along the Via Appia Antica just outside the traditional boundaries of Rome, Italy. It was built by the rich and cultured Quintilii brothers Sextus Quintilius Valerius Maximus and Sextus Quintilius Condianus.
The Domus Transitoria was Roman emperor Nero's first palace damaged or destroyed by the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, and then extended by his Domus Aurea.
The Villa of Domitian, known as Albanum Domitiani or Albanum Caesari in Latin, was a vast and sumptuous Roman villa or palace built by emperor Domitian. It was situated 20 km (12 mi) from Rome, high in the Alban Hills where summer temperatures are more comfortable. It faced west overlooking the sea and Ostia. To travellers on the via Appia it would have made an impressive sight.
Terme Taurine, also known as the Taurine Baths, is a large elaborate ancient Roman baths complex located about 4 km east of the city of Civitavecchia.
Villa of Herodes Atticus is an ancient Roman villa located on the outskirts of Doliana and near Astros in Arcadia, Greece.
The Bust of Antinous-Dionysus in the Hermitage is an ancient Roman colossal marble sculptural portrait of Antinous, the favorite and beloved of the Roman emperor Hadrian. He is depicted as the god Dionysus with a bronze vine wreath on his head. The bust is believed to have been found at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli. It was in the collection of the Marquis Giampietro Campana and was known as one of his finest sculptures. After the ruin of the marquis, the bust of Antinous-Dionysus was acquired in 1861 by Emperor Alexander II of Russia for the Hermitage.
The Palazzo Massimo alle Terme is the main of the four sites of the Roman National Museum, along with the original site of the Baths of Diocletian, which currently houses the epigraphic and protohistoric section, Palazzo Altemps, home to the Renaissance collections of ancient sculpture, and the Crypta Balbi, home to the early medieval collection.
↑ Jashemski, Wilhelmina F., Eugenia Salza Prina Ricotti, and John Foss. "Preliminary Excavations in the Gardens of Hadrian's Villa: The Canopus Area and the Piazza d'Oro." American Journal of Archaeology 96, no. 4 (1992): 579–97. https://doi.org/10.2307/505186.
1 2 3 Mari, Zaccaria; Sgalambro, Sergio (2007). "The Antinoeion of Hadrian's Villa: Interpretation and Architectural Reconstruction". American Journal of Archaeology. 111 (1): 83–104. doi:10.1086/AJS40024582. JSTOR40024582. S2CID245264948.
↑ Renberg, Gil (2010). "Hadrian and the Oracles of Antinous (Sha Hadr. 14.7); with an Appendix on the So-Called Antinoeion at Hadrian's Villa and Rome's Monte Pincio Obelisk". Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. 55: 159–198. JSTOR41419692.
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Villa Adriana. Paesaggio antico e ambiente moderno: elementi di novita` e ricerche in corso. Atti del Convegno: Roma 23–24 giugnio 2000, ed. A. M. Reggiani (2002. Milan)
E. Salza Prina Ricotti, Villa Adriana il sogno di un imperatore (2001)
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W. L. MacDonald and J. A. Pinto, Hadrian's Villa and its legacy (1995)
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