Overview
The best-preserved mosaics in the world
Villa Romana del Casale is located 3 miles from the town of Piazza Armerina in the Sicilian hinterland, and contains the best-preserved mosaics in the world. It is a luxurious Roman villa from the late imperial period, a country residence built in the 4th century AD and decorated with 3,535 square metres of multicoloured mosaics depicting scenes of hunting, animals, daily life, games, heroes and gods.
The villa was still inhabited in the Arab period and later destroyed by the Normans. It was then buried in a mudslide from Monte Mangone in the 12th century and all traces of it were lost for centuries. It was rediscovered in the 1950s and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997.
The monumental entrance with a horseshoe-shaped courtyard leads to the spa complex. The central body of the villa is built around a fountain and surrounded by 48 rooms with mosaic floors. The banquet hall is the most sumptuous, decorated with a mosaic depicting the Twelve Labours of Hercules. Don’t miss the huge Basilica, the gigantic Corridor with the Great Hunt and the mosaic with the Maidens in Bikinis.
