Villa Romana del Casale

The Villa Romana del Casale lies a few kilometers (about 3 miles) south-west of Piazza Armerina and was the center of a large country estate in the 4th century. Its mosaic floors rank among the most important Roman ones still lying where they were laid: of more than 60 rooms on four terraces of the hillside, 42 are paved with mosaics, around 3,500 sq m in all. They were probably made by North African artists. In the 12th century a landslide buried much of the complex, and the mud preserved the floors. The villa has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.

You walk through the rooms on raised walkways. In the Corridor of the Great Hunt, wild animals are captured and shipped for circus games. In the “Room of the Gymnasts”, young women in two-piece sportswear compete at discus, weightlifting and running. In the baths wing, scenes show a massage and drying off after the bath. Who lived here remains unresolved: a senator or an imperial official such as Maximian have both been proposed.

Allow an hour and a half to two hours, and arrive early, before the tour buses. The parking lot by the villa is charged, and opening hours change with the season.