Location | Patti, Italy |
---|---|
Coordinates | 38°8′57″N14°58′19″E / 38.14917°N 14.97194°E |
History | |
Founded | 2nd c. AD |
Abandoned | Approximately 10th c. AD |
Periods | Roman Imperial |
Site notes | |
Ownership | Public |
Management | Soprintendenza per i Beni Culturali ed Ambientali di Messina |
The Villa Romana di Patti is a large and elaborate Roman villa located in the comune of Patti in the province of Messina on Sicily. [1]
It was the seat of a rich latifundium estate, which until its discovery had few known examples except for the Villa Romana del Casale. [2]
The villa was discovered in 1973 during construction work on a stretch of the A20 motorway, when part of the north side of the villa was destroyed.
Although excavation is continuing and many rooms still need to be revealed, the general configuration of the villa is already quite clear. [3]
The original villa was constructed in the 2nd-3rd c. AD and was demolished to make way for a larger and much more elaborate villa built over it in the early 4th c. AD.
The nucleus of the later villa consists of a peristyle surrounded by residential rooms, typical of the late Roman villa. The most representative rooms are, on the west wing, the particularly large Aula Absidata ("apse hall") which recalls the Piazza Armerina basilica, and on the south wing a tri-apsidal room where the peristyle overlooked the sea. The Aula Absidata contained a mosaic floor now destroyed, but the mosaic floors of the peristyle and tri-apse are in excellent condition. [4] The east–west orientation of the Aula Absidata, different to the north–south axis of the peristyle, raises doubts on its function and dating, suggesting that it might have been a church built after the owner had converted to Christianity.
The mosaic of the peristyle consists of a grid of square panels inserted in a frame of continuous laurel wreathes enriched with floral and ornamental motifs. The mosaic of the tri-apse includes octagonal and circular medallions with animals on curvilinear sides. The quality of both polychrome mosaics is not very high, which indicates they were the product of a Sicilian workshop instead of North African craftsmen.
In the north-east area a bath system had walls built using a different technique.
The residence had been abandoned prior to the earthquake that affected Sicily in AD 365.
After the earthquake between the sixth and seventh centuries, the remains of the villa were partly restored and there was continuing habitation at least until the tenth c. AD.
The site has been re-covered in recent years by a special protective roof. [5]
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly popular in the Ancient Roman world.
A latifundium was originally the term used by ancient Romans for great landed estates specialising in agriculture destined for sale: grain, olive oil, or wine. They were characteristic of Magna Graecia and Sicily, Egypt, Northwest Africa and Hispania Baetica. The latifundia were the closest approximation to industrialised agriculture in Antiquity, and their economics depended upon slavery.
Piazza Armerina is a comune in the province of Enna of the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy.
Soluntum or Solus was an ancient city on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily near present-day in the comune of Santa Flavia, Italy. The site is a major tourist attraction. The city was founded by the Phoenicians in the sixth century BC was one of the three chief Phoenician settlements in Sicily in the archaic and classical periods. It was destroyed at the beginning of the fourth century BC and re-founded on its present site atop Monte Catalfano. At the end of the fourth century BC, Greek soldiers were settled there and in the 3rd century BC the city came under the control of the Roman Republic. Excavations took place in the 19th century and in the mid-20th century. Around half of the urban area has been uncovered and it is relatively well preserved. The remains provide a good example of an ancient city in which Greek, Roman and Punic traditions mixed.
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 one of the richest, largest, and most varied collections of Roman mosaics in the world, for which the site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The villa and artwork contained within date to the early 4th century AD.
The Flavian Palace, normally known as the Domus Flavia, is part of the vast Palace of Domitian on the Palatine Hill in Rome. It was completed in 92 AD by Emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus, and attributed to his master architect, Rabirius.
Cottanello is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Rieti in the Italian region of Latium, located about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Rome and about 15 kilometres (9 mi) west of Rieti.
Casignana is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Calabria in region of Calabria, Italy and located about 35 km (22 mi) east of Reggio Calabria.
Realmonte is a comune (municipality) in the Region of Agrigento in the Italian Provence Sicily, located about 90 kilometres (56 mi) south of Palermo and about 10 kilometres (6 mi) west of Agrigento.
Oplontis is an ancient Roman archaeological site located in the town of Torre Annunziata, south of Naples in the Campania region of southern Italy. The excavated site comprises two Roman villas, the best-known of which is Villa A, the so-called Villa Poppaea.
Stabiae was an ancient city situated near the modern town of Castellammare di Stabia and approximately 4.5 km southwest of Pompeii. Like Pompeii, and being only 16 km (9.9 mi) from Mount Vesuvius, this seaside resort was largely buried by tephra ash in 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in this case at a shallower depth of up to 5 m.
Gino Vinicio Gentili was an Italian archaeologist.
The palatial Late Antique Roman villa at La Olmeda is situated in Pedrosa de la Vega in the province of Palencia, near the banks of the Carrión. Long known as the provenance of chance finds, it was finally professionally excavated from 1968, and was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural, 3 April 1996.
The Villa Romana del Tellaro is a large, elaborate Roman villa dating from the late Roman Empire.
The House of Eirene is an ancient Roman peristyle house with lavish mosaic floors in Philippopolis, built in the middle of the 3rd century AD in the provincial capital of Thracia. It is named after the image of the Greek goddess Eirene, depicted in the central mosaic.
The Roman Villa of Bagnoli is located in contrada Bagnoli-San Gregorio, near the town of Capo d'Orlando, Sicily.
The Villa of Gerace is a Roman villa located near Enna along provincial road 78 at the Rastello-Ramata junction, on the Fontanazza estate, Sicily.
Villa of Herodes Atticus is an ancient Roman villa located on the outskirts of Doliana and near Astros in Arcadia, Greece.
The ancient Roman Villa dei Volusii or Villa dei Volusii-Saturnini is an archaeological site located in the municipality of Fiano Romano, next to the ancient Roman town and sanctuary of Lucus Feroniae, along the route of ancient Via Tiberina.
The imperial ancient Roman villa of Ossaia was a large luxurious villa rustica in the rural locality of modern Ossaia, 5 km south of the ancient and modern town of Cortona. It belonged at one time to the family of Augustus, namely his grandsons Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)