Roman Villa
24 May 1999
Above are exterior views of the ruins of a Roman Villa near Piazza Armerina. We got in late because our tour guide was late, and as a result we were stuck in line waiting to get inside the villa for quite a while. The tour guide tried to explain the history of the site to us, but she spoke very softly and was easily drowned out by the louder nearby tour guides.
The villa was destroyed and buiried by a combination of barbarian attacks, earthquakes, and landslides. It was discovered in the 1920s, and a protective roof was later installed to protect the remains.
The ruins of the villa contain lots of mosaics. The floor of every room and hallway is covered with mosaics, many of them well preserved. The above pictures show just a few of these many mosaics.
This hallway shows the effects of the earthquakes. The mosaics are still intact, but the floor is a little bent out of shape. Also above are more views of the rooms inside the villa. The last picture shows one of the better preserved frescos in the villa (this is the same room as shown in the fourth picture in the row above).
Created and maintained by Matthew M. Lug (Contact Matthew M. Lug)
http://www.mttlg.net/
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