The mosaics depict a range of scenes of life both on and off the estate. Images of the family life of the estate’s owners, likely a wealthy high-level senatorial aristocrat who traded in exotic animals, which was a big business back when Rome entertained its masses with arenas filled with wild beasts and gladiators, decorate one room; another is covered in images of bikini-clad women competing in sporting activities, famously called the 'Chamber of the Ten Maidens'; and in one long corridor - 'The Great Hunt Corridor' - the entire floor is decorated with illustrations of exotic animals in an ornate African hunting scene; while others pay homage to mythology and the epics of Homer. The house and mosaics show a North African influence, leading scholars to believe that African artisans did the tile work, as they were the most accomplished in the empire. One of the richest and largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world, Villa Romana del Casale was acclaimed as a “supreme example of a luxury Roman villa” by UNESCO. A masterpiece of human creative genius, Villa Casale is an architectural gem, and one of the most spectacular sites we visited in Sicily.
Valerina was our guide for the day and brought Villa Romana del Casale to life for us,
with her depth of knowledge and passion for the UNESCO site
Wood fired furnaces heated the floors and water of the Villas thermal baths
The raised floors in the baths allowed hot water to flower underneath and heat the spa
Original layout of Villa Romana del Casale, one of the largest villas surviving from Roman times
The original covered entrance to the Villa with beautiful mosaics
Original untouched fresco from the 4th-century
Small coloured tiles were used to detail the main subject, which was a highly prized task and given to senior artisans to complete
Larger tiles were used for geometric designs, a task usually given to a novice
Mosaics were used to detail the floors while frescoes decorated the walls,
always in the same colour palette
The mosaic pavement of the colonnade which runs around the peristyle is decorated with the heads of 162 European and African animals framed by laurel wreathes
Lions head detail
Surrounded with a magnificent mosaic pavement, the open colonnade of the peristyle, which is the central part of the Villa, allowed light into the facing main floor rooms
From the peristyle there is access to the thermal baths and latrine
Mosaic of an aristocrat dressed in robes ready for the thermal baths
decorates the floor of the entrance to the caldarium, tepidarium and frigidarium
Funded by UNESCO, Villa Casale is protected by a raised path for visitors to tour the complex,
and a covered roof which emulates the kind of roof the villa would have had
Room of the Four Seasons was used as an antechamber by important guests
Decorative duck motif
Image of a Roman aristocrat in the guest room
Whimsical fish mosaic
Room of the Little Hunt
Hunters spearing a wild boar
Atrium of the Fishing Cupids
Detail of cupids fishing
Geometric mosaic design used for servants quarters which was a less expensive motif
The famous "bikini girls" mosaic
The bikini-style bottom was actually a wrapped loincloth made of cloth or leather used by athletes
The spectacular 200-foot long Hall of the Great Hunt is the greatest wonder of the villa, and depicts the detailed capturing and shipping of exotic animals which was a big business back when Rome so creatively entertained its masses with arenas filled with wild beasts and gladiators
The other end of the Great Hunting Corridor
Exotic beasts were caught and transported by ship from distant lands
Hunters on the Great Hunt mosaic
Tiger and cub
Mosaic of child on chariot in the children's nursery at Villa Romana
Mosaics of fishing boats in the atrium at the end of the Hunting Corridor
with original frescoes on the wall
Child's Bedroom with scenes of them hunting but also playing with animals
Detail of child playing with birds in a garden with flowers
