Villas of Ancient Rome - IBAM

The Villa of the Vignacce
The villa was situated at 5 th mile of
the ancient Via Latina, at the end of a
side lane that flanked the arches of the
Aqua Marcia aqueduct, now close to
the via Tuscolana, at the Quadraro. It
was built in the first half of the 2 nd
century AD, maybe by a Quinto
Servilio Pudente, a wealthy owner of
brick kilns, even though the surviving
structures show signs of 6 th century
restorations. The main complex stood
on large terracing, 120 metres in
length, along the modern via Lemonia.
Its supporting wall had a continuous
series of counterforts and a niche with
a fountain. The large ruins that rise
from the ground belong to the bath
complex. The most interesting are
those of a large circular hall surrounded
by a series of small chambers of
which about a fourth remains. The
surviving half of the dome is one of
the most ancient examples of the use
of adding amphorae to the masonry to
lighten the weight. Northwest of the
hall there is a rectangular room with
an apse and a cross vault. Further on
are the remains of a vast rectangular
hall with apses, flanked by a corridor
and two rooms on each side, the larger
rooms have cross vaults, the smaller
ones barrel vaults. The southern section
of the villa includes a large cistern,
fed by the nearby aqueduct of the
Aqua Marcia. It had three rooms on
the lower level, four on the upper one
and two rows of semi-circular niches.
Three other water reserves were located
in the western section of the complex.
In the past the villa underwent
unsystematic investigations and
excavations, pilfering and devastation.
It has only recently been reorganized
in part and included in the
“Parco degli Acquedotti”- the Park of
the Aqueducts. The colossal marble
head of Julia Domna is on display in
the “rotunda” of the Vatican Museums,
as well as the statue of the Tyche of
Antioch and of Ganymede carried off
by an eagle, also in the Museo
Chiaromonti, also in the Vatican.
THE SUBURBAN
VILLAS
Villa of the Vignacce:
Ruins
Villa of the Vignacce:
Parco degli Acquedotti
VILLAS
OF ANCIENT
7
ROME