VILLA ROMANA DEL CASALE

5 kilometers southwest of the town of Piazza Armerina, immersed in Sicilian nature, emerge the ruins of the Roman villa of Casale, also known as "Philisophiana". Built in the ^3rd century A.D., the villa is renowned for its 3,500^m2 of mosaics. It has been a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1997, making it a must-see when visiting the region.

History. The name "Philisophiana" appears as early as the ^4th century A.D. in the itinerary of the Roman emperor Antoninus, a sort of road map of Sicily at the time. The Roman villa's worldwide renown is due to its splendid mosaics, which, with their variety of subjects, narratives and colors, form a priceless document covering an area of over 3,500 m². Of undeniable artistic value, they are also a precious testimony to the customs of the Roman era. For a long time, uncertainty surrounded this residential complex. Research now suggests that the villa was built between the late ^3rd and early ^4th centuries AD, at the center of a large latifundium (agricultural estate).

For some, one hypothesis seems to stand out from the others, putting forward the name of Aradius Valerius Popolunius, a pagan of African origin, first Comes ("associate", "companion", therefore part of a magistrate's entourage) at Constantine's imperial court, member of the upper Roman senatorial aristocracy and governor of Sicily between 327 and 331. However, according to Professor Vinicio Gentile, this villa was built on the remains of a century-old rustic villa. The owner was the Roman emperor Maximus Herculus. It was first inhabited by the emperor and his family, then by the Romans until 440, when the barbarians (Ostrogoths, Vandals, Visigoths) invaded Sicily. The villa then passed into the hands of the Byzantines, before falling into the hands of the Arabs. It became known as Casale des Sarrasins. Finally, the Normans took over ownership, holding sway over the island until 1194. Mount Mangone collapsed on the Villa, which remained underground for seven centuries.

Although there are some traces of the existence of such an ancient complex in certain texts, its existence was only revealed in 1881 by the work of architect Pappalardo. A number of excavation campaigns were necessary to lay it almost entirely bare. It's likely that some of the building's rooms and wings have yet to be uncovered.

Visit. The villa is divided into three main interconnected groups: the main entrance and thermal complex; the central core with the peristyle; the basilica and private rooms, the triclinium and the elliptical peristyle. Walkways have been installed to allow the mosaics to be viewed from above.

We start with the well-preserved thermal quarter, which we suspect was intended for guests and foreigners, and was not connected to the rest of the villa. It is a hydraulic marvel.

The anointing room supports the theory that the baths were both public and private: the mosaic shows slaves (named and, in the case of one of them, wearing a kind of conical hat indicating his Syrian origin) in the course of an everyday scene. The mosaic of the man being massaged is particularly beautiful. In the apses, the scenes depict characters in their daily intimacy, contrasting with the official character of the spaces.

The left side of the great peristyle is occupied by a series of rooms with beautiful erotic mosaics belonging to a private apartment. The larger, more monumental apartment on the right is decorated with mosaics that are more theatrical than mythical, depicting, among other things, the myth of Arion, playing the lyre, riding a dolphin and surrounded by other marine characters. The animal heads, surrounded by laurel wreaths, showed the way and facilitated movement within the villa.

In the largest room, the pavement mosaic of the small hunting area, one of the most beautiful in the villa, is preserved, with its plant decorations and hunting scenes (deer netting and falcon hunting). Then, still in the grand peristyle but on the west side, a long apsidal corridor opens up, known as the promenoir de la grande chasse, which features the most impressive mosaic in the complex. It is 60 m long and depicts the capture of wild animals for the amphitheatre games (for information, the animals were shipped to Carthage and unloaded in Ostia, as there were never any wild animals in Sicily).

In the southern part of the great peristyle, various rooms open out, one of which, called the Hall of the Ten Young Girls, invites you to admire the villa's most famous mosaic: ten young girls take part in gymnastic competitions in outfits similar to the bikini as we know it today.

Finally, the triclinium, on the west side of the peristyle, is a vast square room with apses on three sides, and a large mosaic depicting the labors of Hercules.