Villa romana di Casignana
Roman villa of the 1st–4th centuries with baths and more than twenty-five rooms decorated with mosaics, the largest collection of mosaic floors in Roman Calabria.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The villa was discovered by chance in 1963, during works for an aqueduct along the state road SS 106. After excavations in 1965–66, in the 1980s (1981–1989) and from 1998 onwards, it now extends over about fifteen hectares of settlement and investigations are still under way; since 1998 the site has been managed by the Comune di Casignana.
The complex was founded in the 1st century AD and reached its greatest splendour in the 4th century, with a major renovation; it was abandoned in the 5th century, although traces of occupation remain up to the 7th. The thermal complex is divided into western and eastern baths, with a frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium heated by underground furnaces (praefurnia) and a hypocaust. The frigidarium, known as the Sala delle Nereidi (Room of the Nereids), is octagonal with four apsidal sides; further uphill there is a monumental nymphaeum with cisterns.
The villa's main feature is its mosaics: more than twenty-five rooms with geometric and figurative decorations dating to the 3rd–4th centuries, including Nereids on sea monsters, the Sala delle Quattro Stagioni (Room of the Four Seasons), the triumph of Dionysus in the portico, the Sala del Bacco ebbro (Room of the Drunken Bacchus), the Sala di Venere (Room of Venus), opus sectile floors and the large apsidal hall with a cruciform plan. On the other side of the road is the residential sector, with rooms arranged around a wide courtyard.
Highlights
- Sala delle Nereidi (Room of the Nereids) in the frigidarium of the baths
- Sala delle Quattro Stagioni (Room of the Four Seasons)
- Triumph of Dionysus in the portico
- Apsidal hall with a cruciform plan
- Monumental nymphaeum with cisterns
Permanent exhibition
- Villa romana e mosaici – Route through baths, nymphaeum and residential rooms, with more than twenty-five geometric and figurative mosaic floors.
- Operated by
- Comune di Casignana
- Visitors per year
- approx. 3,000
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €5 |
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| Reduced | €3 |
Visits are booked through the “Prenota la tua visita” (Book your visit) page of the official website.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
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Amenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Good to know | Booking recommended through the official website; at weekends access is possible only by booking, for groups of at least 10 people. |
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