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Villa Magna is a large imperial
ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
villa near the modern town of
Anagni Anagni () is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical and artistic center of the Latin Valley. Geography Overview Anagni still maintains the ...
, in
Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, central
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. The site lies in the
Valle del Sacco Valle Latina (''Latin Valley'') is an Italian geographical and historical region that extends from the south of Rome to Cassino, corresponding to the eastern area of ancient Roman Latium. The valley's principal cities are Frosinone, Cassino, So ...
some 65 km south of Rome, at the foot of the
Monti Lepini The Monti Lepini (Italian: Lepini mountains) are a mountain range which belongs to the Anti-Apennines of the Lazio region of central Italy, between the two provinces of Latina and Rome. The range borders to the north with the Colli Albani, to t ...
, directly under the peak known as Monte Giuliano. The villa was excavated between 2006 and 2010. The location retains the name "Villamagna" attesting to the local memory of the imperial villa and its successive occupation as a monastery and lay community (''casale''), which have obscured the earlier remains. It was recognised as imperial property from the elaborate and exceptional winery described in letters by
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
in 140-5 AD.


History


The Roman Period

The villa is likely to have been constructed over a Republican ''
villa rustica Villa rustica () was the term used by the ancient Romans to denote a farmhouse or villa set in the countryside and with an agricultural section, which applies to the vast majority of Roman villas. In some cases they were at the centre of a large ...
''. It may have become the property of
Pompey the Great Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
in the 60s BC and was taken over as imperial property after his sons' death. The villa was greatly expanded from the 120s AD and was used by
Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...
(r.138-161). The elaborate winery and its use described in the letters of Marcus Aurelius indicate that the villa was used to hold an important regional religious and secular festival celebrating the vintage, the '' vendemmia'' for Latium. The power, wealth and extravagance of the emperor was emphasised in the winery which is an early form of ceremonial winery in imperial villas of the late 2nd to early 3rd century (such as the imperial
Villa of the Quintilii The Villa of the Quintilii (Italian: Villa dei Quintili) is an ancient Roman villa beyond the fifth milestone along the Via Appia Antica just outside the traditional boundaries of Rome, Italy. It was built by the rich and cultured brothers Sextus ...
) which replaced the earlier integration of ceremony and ritual in Republican and Augustan atria. In 207 under
Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...
the road that led to the villa was paved, according to an inscription now in the cathedral of Anagni. Sometime afterwards (Phase II) the winery was modified including a new semi-circular room. Later (Phase III), the winery was levelled and useful materials removed followed by abandonment and roof collapse.


Letter of Marcus Aurelius

At the age of 23, the future emperor
Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...
visited the villa where his adoptive father
Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...
was staying. In letters to his tutor, Fronto, he describes two days spent there at a festival inaugurating the vintage of Latium:


Middle Ages

The earliest document attesting to the monastery dates from the 10th century and describes the foundation of the monastery by three nobles from Anagni. A series of very interesting charters and trials from the eleventh through 13th century speak to a small rural monastery with properties in the area of the original ''fundus'', which despite its meagre size and income managed to become embroiled in regional and papal politics of the central Middle Ages, culminating in the suppression of the monastery in 1297 by Pope
Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani family was of baronial ...
. After the death of the monastery, the village remained at least for a little while, however, as it is referred to as a ''castrum'' in 1301 and 1333, and a ''castrum dirutum'' in 1478. The castrum walls and church are still standing today.


The Site

The remains visible above ground, covering at least 12 hectares, consist of: * three ranges of cisterns fed by an aqueduct which probably led from a spring at the base of the wooded hill * a range of substructures (underlying a 19th-century casale) which were the ''basis villae'' for some part of the ancient villa, and * various traces of substructures on the long ridge running down from the casale towards the road. The most spectacular excavated building is the winery which included a lavishly decorated dining area, baths and the wine production and storage areas with a large '' doliarium'' lying under the pressing floor, where the workers trod the grapes. The doliarium was paved with precious marble, as was the banqueting hall in front of it, where the emperor and his guests would have watched the ceremonial pressing of the grapes. In the same building were found the baths where the emperor and his suite bathed. Excavations brought to light vast quantities of exotic marble, mosaic and fresco which once decorated it. The complex was entered via a monumental staircase and corridor lined with marble with bands of '' pavonazetto'' and with white mosaic flooring. The baths to the south had a different orientation to the winery and seem to be a separate building, but the monumental staircase and corridor connected the two parts and they are both clearly within the overall scheme. The marble panelled veneers of the walls of the staircase and corridor had a low dado of red ''portasanta'' marble above which was a moulding in white ''
luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin * Luna (goddess), the ancient Roman personification of the Moon Luna may also refer to: Places Philippines * Luna, Apayao * Luna, Isabela * Luna, La Union * Luna, San Jose Roma ...
'' marble. The panels included ''portasanta'', giallo antico and porphyry marbles and had collapsed onto the pavement where imprints in the mortar allowed their reconstruction. The only other extensively excavated building is the so-called "barracks", to the north of the complex which includes 31 small rooms with beaten earth floors. Eight infants were found interred inside and the rooms have little decoration, some domestic pottery and some hairpins. The few hearths and storage vessels indicate it may have been for seasonal workers and the lack of contemporary burials indicates no stable labour force. A possible
nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
lies beside the access road, and a possible
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
or ''
vivarium A vivarium (Latin, literally for "place of life"; plural: ''vivaria'' or ''vivariums'') is an area, usually enclosed, for keeping and raising animals or plants for observation or research. Water-based vivaria may have open tops providing they a ...
'' (for wild animal hunts) can be seen to the south from aerial photography.Area H: the ‘vivarium’ (Elizabeth Fentress) http://archaeologydata.brown.edu/villamagna/area-h-the-vivarium/ Of the ''pars urbana'', or residential part, there are some remains of the villa entrance and finds show the luxury enjoyed at the villa.


Notes


External links


The website of the excavation project

the preliminary reports of the site from 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 at FastiOnline

the stratigraphic and finds report, including coins, glass, pottery, statues and human remains.


Sources

*M. Mazzolani, Anagnia (Forma Italiae, Regio I, vol. 6) (Rome, 1969). *E. De Minicis, “Il monastero di Villamagna e il suo territorio nell’alto medioevo", in ''Bollettino dell’Istituto di storia e di arte del Lazio meridionale ''11 (1979–1982), pp. 59–75. *A. Scarpignato, "Villamagna dalla metà del secolo XII e i suoi rapporti con gli abitanti di Sgurgola e Gorga", in ''Bollettino dell’Istituto di storia e di arte del Lazio meridionale ''11 (1979–1982), pp. 77–91. *R. Motta, “Decadenza del monastero di Villamagna dalla fine del XIII secolo", in ''Bollettino dell’Istituto di storia e di arte del Lazio meridionale ''11 (1979–1982), pp. 93–103. *''Monasticon Italiae''. I. Roma e Lazio, ed. F. Caraffa (Cesena, 1981), pp. 122–3, n. 28. *S. Carocci, "Ricerche e fonti sui poteri signorili nel Lazio meridionale nella prima metà del XIII secolo: Villamagna e Civitella", in ''Il sud del Patrimonium Sancti Petri al confine del Regnum nei primi trent’anni del Duecento. Due realtà a confronto, Atti delle giornate di studi, Ferentino 28-29-30 ottobre 1994'' (Rome, 1997), pp. 112–44. *C. D. Flascassovitti, ''Le Pergamene del Monastero di S. Pietro di Villamagna (976-1237)'' (Lecce, 1994). *M. De Meo, "S. Pietro di Villamagna presso Anagni: una villa romana si trasforma in abbazia", ''Quaderni di architettura e restauro'', 2 (Rome, 1998). *G. Giammaria, ed. "Villamagna", ''Monumenti di Anagni ''3 (Anagni, 1999). *E. Fentress, S. Gatti, C. Goodson, S. Hay, A. Kuttner, M. Maiuro, "Excavations at Villa Magna", Fasti Online Documents & Research: 6

*E. Fentress, C. Fenwick, C. Goodson, S. Hay, M. Maiuro, "Excavations at Villa Magna", Fasti Online Documents & Research: 9

*D.Booms, F.Candilio, A. Di Miceli, C. Fenwick, E. Fentress, C. Goodson, M. McNamee, S. Privitera, R. Ricciardi. "Excavations at Villa Magna 2008". FOLD&R: 12

*E. Fentress, C. Goodson, M. Maiuro. 2009. "Excavations at Villa Magna 2009". FOLD&R: 16

*E. Fentress, C. Goodson, M. Maiuro,"Excavations at Villa Magna 2010". FOLD&R: 207

*E. Fenress, C. Goodson, M. Maiuro, M. Andrews, A Dufton ''Villa Magna. An Imperial Estate and its Legacies. Excavations 2006-2010'' Archaeological Monographs of the British School at Rome 23. {{Authority control Houses completed in the 2nd century Magna Monasteries in Lazio Antoninus Pius