Villa Romana del Casale, A Roman Hunting Villa

Model of the Villa



Floor of one of the main rooms

Famous bikini clad women athletes on the floor of the Gymnasium

The best preserved floor shows a hunting scene the length of a football field.

Villa Romana del Casale

After Enna, we tip-toed down through the clouds and headed for nearby Piazza Armerina where a 3rd Century Roman hunting villa was built by Diocletian’s co-emperor Marcus Aurelius Maximianus. Buried in mud in the 12th century, its incredible mosaic floors had been preserved. Only part of the villa is open to the public at present, with the rest still being excavated and slated to open in 2011.

Made of tiny ¼” tiles, the floors depict scenes from the everyday life of the rich and famous of 200AD. It's amazing to see that even in those days, the girls wore two piece sports attire.