The Villa Romana outside Piazza Armerina has the largest collection of Roman mosaics in the world, and not surprisingly is a world heritage site. The size and opulence of the site is staggering, with private rooms, public rooms, baths and open spaces, servants' and slaves' quarters. It is presumed to have been the residence of a family of the very highest Roman class, probably in government.
Rooms and rooms of Roman mosaics might sound boring, but it really wasn't, and the three hours we passed there went quickly.. The main reason was that every mosaic told a story, and these were well explained by the interpretation boards in each room.
The story of the site is interesting, in that it was inhabited by the Romans, obviously, then the Visigoths, Byzantines, Saracens and Normans. Then, it was covered by a huge mudslide and frgotten for centuries, which preserved the mosaics for us all to marvel at.
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| In the entrance courtyard |
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| The atrium - animal mosaics gleaming in the sun |
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| Bread and circuses - it was hard work for the lads in North Africa trapping and caging animals to supply the amphitheatres of the empire |
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| Girls just wanna have fun - The mosaic inevitably dubbed "the Bikini Girls" is a popular one for the postcards |
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| Wild animals are regular favourite subjects |
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| Another favourite - Cupid seduces Psyche |
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| One of the three furnaces for the bath house - note hot air ducts on the left |
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| Our charming hosts at our B&B in Piazza Armerina |
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| One of the few pictures I took of the landscape - rocky terrain, thin soil grazed by sheep, and more cattle than we have here in the Garfagnana |
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