Page 421 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

there are ongoing restoration works and it pays to check the website, or ask at Piazza

Armerina tourist office, before setting out to see the mosaics.

The site

Conflicting theories surround the function of the villa, but the most convincing
explanation of its deeply rural location is that it was an occasional retreat and hunting
lodge. That theory is supported by the many mosaics of animals and birds, including
two specific hunting scenes. It’s also immediately clear from the extent of the remains
that the villa complex belonged to an important owner, possibly Maximianus

Herculeus, co-emperor with Diocletian between 286 and 305 AD. There are four
separate groups of buildings, built on different levels of the hillside and connected by
passageways, doors and courtyards. Nearly all of what you see would have been
occupied by the family for which it was built – slaves’ housing and other outbuildings
are still to be excavated properly.

While there are other splendid Roman villas in Italy, none has anything like the

extraordinary interior decoration of the Villa Casale. The floors of almost the entire
building are covered with bright mosaics of excellent quality, stylistically belonging
to an early fourth-century Roman-African school, which explains many of the more
exotic scenes and animals portrayed. Their design also contains several hints as to
their period and patron, though given their extent they’re likely to have taken fifty or
sixty years to complete.

The main building

The villa’s main entrance gives one of the best impressions of its former grandeur,
with the approach leading through the remains of a columned arch into a wide
courtyard. Today’s site entrance, though, is through the adjacent thermae (or baths): a
typical arrangement of dressing/massage rooms and plunge-baths around an octagonal