A major highlight of our visit to Sicily was Villa Romana del Casale, a Roman Villa built in the first quarter of the 4th century and located about 3km outside the town of Piazza Armerina Sicily, southern Italy. It contains the richest, largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world, and has been designated as one of 49 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Italy.
Historians have been unable to identify the owner, save to verify that he was extremely wealthy with the possibility that it was a holiday house for a member of the Imperial family. The villa had forty rooms including a gymnasium, bathhouse, basilica (huge meeting room), extensive dining room and a wide corridor stretching for about 70 metres. The floors in every room were covered in colourful mosaics, most of which have survived more or less intact. Needless to say, yours truly went crazy with the camera.
One large room features a number of Bikini Girls indulging in athletic pursuits. They are wearing a Roman version of that very modern article of clothing. Their bras, however, look more like breast bands, and the girls were pretty well flat-chested.
The long corridor depicts the trials involved in importing exotic animals for the Roman circus, with handlers trying to cope with lions, tigers, elephants, bulls etc. The variety of animals is very impressive. Some of them, including the elephant, are being dragged on board ships by anxious looking workers.
There’s even a suite of rooms at the villa with children’s themes, probably the nursery. You could easily spend all day here but there are many things to do in Sicily.
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| Sicily Map |
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| The intricate mosaics of Villa Romana del Casale depend attentions |
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| The mosaics reveal much about life in the times |
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| Bikini Girls |
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| Bikini Girls |
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| Exotic adventures recorded at Sicily's Villa Romana del Casale in mosaics |
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| Some of Villa Romana del Casale mosaics are worn from use but most survive unscathed |
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| Some mosaics told exotic stories .... |
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| ... while others told tales from everyday life at Villa Romana del Casale |
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