Villa of the Quintili
A stroll through the suggestive and impressive ruins of the Villa of the Quintili, surrounded by the Roman countryside, which inspired the travelers of the Grand Tour (XVIIIth century) as well as several paintings and engravings.
The Villa of the Quintili was so huge that in past centuries it was thought to be a city and for this reason called "Old Rome". Only in 1828, after the discovery of lead fistulas with the inscription "Quintilii Condianus et Maximus", it was understood that the Villa once was the property of the Quintili. They were two brothers from a noble family of ancient tradition, who lived in the second half of the second century AD. They were consuls in 151 AD under the Emperor Antoninus Pius, and held important positions in both Greece and Asia under Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. Their wealth and good fortune aroused the greed of the Emperor Commodus, who in 182 AD accused them of conspiring against him and as a result he had them killed. He took all their assets, including the Villa. The Emperor enjoyed staying at the Villa for long periods of time and soon started renovating the existing building and adding new structures, turning the Villa into a real countryside palace.
During the tour we will walk through the ruins of this magnificent suburban Villa, whose access was originally on the Appian Way, "queen of the Roman highways".
We will start by crossing the "fosso dello Statuario", so named because of the discovery of several marble statues now displayed in museums around the world. From this point we will already see the immense Villa's private thermal baths. Then we will enter the reception rooms, decorated with wonderful mosaics and well preserved coloured marble. We will also see the ingenious thermal baths' heating systems, the remains of gardens, reservoirs, the private apartments, a nymphaeum (transformed into a fortress in the Middle Ages), and even a race course. Finally we will walk on the Appian Way and see the legendary Horatii and Curiazi burial mounds, and the "Tenuta di Santa Maria Nova" in the background.
Not to be missed is the Antiquarium, with an exhibition of statues (in particular a large statue of Zeus and a headless statue of Niobe), reliefs, coins, fragments of wall paintings and architectural decorations.
Details
1,5 hours
archaeological area
entrance ticket not included
we suggest comfortable shoes, a hat (in summer)
