Piazza Armerina
- Maximus Nostramabus
- Jul 3, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
An ancient royal villa up in the mountain with the largest mosaic in the world - Villa Romana del Casale 832
What and Why
We crossed from the west of Sicily (Italian: Sicilia) to the east and in the middle of the drive, we arrived at a ruined villa called Villa Romana del Casale in the middle of nowhere. The complex, dating back to the 4th century, used to be a very large villa both for public and private use. The villa is renowned for the extraordinary amount of well-preserved beautiful frescoes and mosaics inside the villa. Excavations have revealed that the villa contains one of the richest, largest, and most varied collections of Roman mosaics in the world, surviving from antiquity. The mosaics are exceptional for their artistic quality, invention as well as their size. These mosaics are the main draw of the villa. Covering approximately 3,500 m², they depict hunting scenes, mythological imageries, athletic competitions, and daily life. They also indirectly reveal the values, ambitions, and worldview of the Roman aristocracy.
Following the collapse of the Roman Empire (Latin: Imperium Romanum), the villa lost its importance. Countless floods and landslides buried the entire villa beneath layers of mud, unintentionally preserving the mosaics from damage over the centuries. The site was only systematically excavated in the 1950s and revealed one of the most spectacular archaeological discoveries in Europe.
I have to say I was just dumbfounded by the sheer beauty and size of most of these great art pieces when I saw them with my own eyes, and I am not even that artsy!
Toponymy
'Villa Romana del Casale' simply means a 'Roman country villa' in Italian. The origin of 'Armerina' is apparently linked to the Latin word 'arma' meaning 'arms' or 'weapons', probably suggesting the place as a former arsenal.
See
By the 4th century, the island of Sicily had become increasingly dominated by large aristocratic estates known as latifundia. These are villas built by wealthy landowners with substantial economic and political power, and rural villas became their symbols of elite status and authority.
The layout of this villa is, to be honest, quite weird as it seems that it was constructed without a main plan: with chambers and extensions sticking out here and there from the main hall without patterns and forms. It suggests that the villa had been rebuilt over and over again by different architects. Apparently neither the owner nor the architect(s) can be identified definitively.
The villa was definitely more than a residence. The layout and functionalities imply that the estate must have been used as a hospitality venue or even a public bath.
The villa itself has now become a huge museum and is well guided with very good and detailed explanation boards along walkways, in spite of the complicated layout. Amongst the many features, the few that draws main attentions are:
Thermal Baths (Terme)
The villa demonstrates advanced Roman engineering through features like hypocaust underfloor heating, sophisticated hydraulic and plumbing systems and elaborate bath facilities.
The apse - entrance into the baths with a beautiful and intact mosaic on the floor.
There are other beautiful mosaics in different rooms.
Peristyle garden (Giardino peristilio)
The face of the animal on at the tiles actually represents the direction of human traffic around the peristyle courtyard. The courtyard is also designed to purposefully separate the public and private sections of the villa. Everyone in my troop was able to figure out this pattern!
The Great Hunt (La Grande Caccia)
The highlight of the villa is definitely The Great Hunt (La Grande Caccia) along the large corridor. This is the largest mosaic fresco in the world and is extremely well preserved. From end-to-end, it measures up to 66 m. This is the piece of artwork that really captured my full attention during the journey.
The remarkable mosaic along this corridor is very complex. It is a depiction of the capture of live wild beasts all around the world and their subsequent transport by ship to Rome (Roma) for fights in the Colosseum or other circuses. The scenes portray animlas, hunters, sailors, and animal handlers working across different landscapes, cumulating into a long comic strip. The entire 66-m mosaic depicts almost a grand display of stories during the era. All the mosaics are almost certain to be made by African artists and artisans of the time.
The Great Hunt intends to take pride of the power of the Roman Empire. The ability to capture exotic animals from all over the world, the power and courage shown during hunting and the logistic network of transportation all highlight its imperial power.
Bikini Girls (Ragazze)
Another extraordinary piece is the so-called Bikini Girls (Ragazze), which features ten girls doing some kind of gymnastics with one being coronated the winner. What was more remarkable was that sports were not as common in the female gender during the era.
The other striking part was the fact that at the top left corner you see that someone had plied open the bikini mosaics and revealed another tile-layer underneath the bikini girls. This apparently shows that the villa has changed occupation and the use of the room had been rethought.
I have to say that the outfits from this mosaic are surprisingly contemporary!
There are other mosaics, like the Orpheus and The Small Hunt (La Piccola Caccia). I have to say that all the mosaics have been exceptionally well preserved.
Basilica
The grand room shows a good layer of marble tiles plus a very ornate but totally destroyed dome. The use of polished marble was the ultimate status symbol of the era.
We were fortunate that we visited in the afternoon, just coincidentally without planning. According to the local guides whom I eavesdropped, late afternoon was the 'golden hour' of the visit: the light and glare hitting the glass walkways allows one to see the textures of the tesserae of the mosaic with incredible clarity.
Experience, Buy and Do
There is a factory outlet called Sicilia Outlet Village in Agira, which is around 45-minute drive from Piazza Armerina. A good way to quench my friends' shopping thirst, where they found their usual joy and spent more time there than in the villa.
Eat and Drink
Before we went to the villa, we had lunch in a family-run restaurant called La Ruota. Honestly this is in the middle of nowhere and it is quite unbelievable that this restaurant is a Michelin-recommended eatery for ten consecutive years! You can see all the stickers on the door panel. Perhaps I was astounded by the stickers, I had an over-expectation of the food. Sometimes you really cannot just trust these guides...
Travel Suggestions and Logistics
By car, honestly it is in the middle of nowhere. The entrance fee is EUR 10€. A good half-day excursion from Palermo.
UNESCO Inscription
Roman exploitation of the countryside is symbolized by the Villa Romana del Casale (in Sicily), the centre of the large estate upon which the rural economy of the Western Empire was based. The villa is one of the most luxurious of its kind. It is especially noteworthy for the richness and quality of the mosaics which decorate almost every room; they are the finest mosaics in situ anywhere in the Roman world.
References
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