Villa Adriana is the extraordinary dwelling-place, desired by the Emperor Hadrian (117-138 A.D.) in the second century A.D., as villa of leisure and pleasure on Tiburtini hills. They were famous since the Republican period for their healthy climate, the water and the beauty of the landscape.

The proximity to Rome (17 miles or 30 km), the presence of quarries from which to extract materials, the presence of water (24 streams and good water systems) needed to supply fountains and Spa complex, persuaded the emperor to place here his villa outside the city.

The beautiful house, a UNESCO World Heritage since 1999, is unique for its size and originality, about 120 hectares, of which a third can be visited at the moment.

According to Roman writers, it was probably the same Emperor Hadrian who designed  units of the house drawing inspiration from places he had visited during his numerous trips around the provinces of the Empire.

Creativity comes from the Emperor-architect,  therefore, this villa was divided along different axes and it includes nymphaes rooms, halls, libraries and a curious and unusual plants of gardens and fountains, of which only some traces of the richly decorations with precious marble, columns, statues and mosaics are still visible.

Tempe Valley, Canopus, Pecile are some of the evocative names given by explorers from the Renaissance period, which began bringing to light some structures that recall locations of the Roman Empire, confirming the cosmopolitan idea that Hadrian had of his government.

The visit of this extensive archaeological complex, probably built in several phases, includes: the Pecile, a grand archade ideal for walking, to the center of which there is a rectangular garden and a fountain, inspired by the famous Stoa Poikile of Athens, the Maritime Theatre, a sort of micro-house with rooms and private baths, surrounded by a water channel,  where the Emperor, when desired to be alone, was isolated by raising the access bridge, the site near the Imperial Palace which is the area of the Gardens and the Piazza d'Oro, so called because of the richness of the ornaments and  mastepieces found, the Canopus, one of the most famous area of the villa, consisting of a long pool of about 120 meter surrounded by a portico, adorned with statues, and completed by a nymphae rooms considered the temple of Serapis.

The complex may imitate the Egyptian town of Canopus near Alexandria, to which it  was possibe to arrive only through a canal derived from the Nile and in which there was a temple of Serapis.

In this archaeological site, it is situated also the complex of buildings including Large and Small Spa, the buildings of Greek and Latin Libraries and functional areas, such as the Hundred Chambers for Emperor guests, service rooms for the servants and the Firemen's Barracks connected, each other, by terraces set on different levels and cryptoporticoes underground.

 

 

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