Archaeological Park of the Villa of Domitian

The Archaeological Park of Emperor Domitian's Villa is located on the eastern shore of Lake Sabaudia, within the Circeo National Park.

The villa, which is of considerable size (about 46 hectares), has three visible and well-preserved sectors: the southern one, consisting of a large bathing building with an adjoining spa facility; the central one, occupied by a series of large feeding tanks; and the northern one, consisting of several structures, among which a large rectangular fishpond stands out.

In thespa area are several rooms distributed around a quadriporticus, characterized by a striking floor made up of tesserae of polychrome marble, with shades from pink to yellow, arranged in a herringbone pattern.

Inside the quadriporticus is a large gymnasium, uncovered and originally paved with mosaic. The eastern side is occupied by a latrine, with sixteen white marble seats and an opus sectile floor obtained by juxtaposing precious marble slabs of different shapes and colors.

On the other side of the quadriporticus are located the rooms related to thethermal facility proper: the dressing room, two frigidarium, tepidarium, calidarium, and a laconicum. Also located in this area are storerooms and a maneuvering gallery that allowed the underground passage of slaves employed in the operation and maintenance of the bath complex.

Past a magnificent exedra hall, with large niches that were occupied by statues, is a triclinium, from which, via a walkway now broken by vegetation, one could reach the fishpond area, located in the northern sector.

The imposing rectilinear elevation of the villa on the lakeshore was achieved thanks to a grandiose work of banking, while the water supply was entrusted to a sophisticated water supply system, which made use of an aqueduct fed by the Molella spring, and several reservoirs placed on different levels. Of these, two can be visited: the Echo Cistern, composed of two parallel compartments entirely lined with good hydraulic plaster, and the Cistern of the Ships, so called because it has interesting graffiti depicting boats of the imperial age, including a ship, inside the sails of which are traces of the inscription "Neptunus rex okeani." The inscriptions found here recall those found in Pompeii and are in Vulgar Latin.

The northern core is organized around the rectangular apsidal fishpond covered in white marble, surrounded by a portico on three sides: behind this structure is a corridor divided into two naves by a spine of brick columns, a large cistern, and some residential rooms dating from earlier phases of the villa, between the late Republican and early Imperial ages.

The presence of conspicuous remains emerging from the vegetation has attracted the attention of excavators since late antiquity, the period to which the first spoliation excavations date. In the 18th century, during the papacy Pope Innocent XIII, "earthworks" were conducted that unearthed decorations and important sculptures such as theApollo of Kassel. In the late 18th century, during a further excavation campaign in search of valuable materials, the statue of Faun exhibited in the Vatican Museums was found. In both the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, excavation work was conducted mainly with the intention of accumulating valuable finds for sale and private collecting.

Systematic cleaning and restoration work began in 1977, which was followed by scientific investigations in 1995 and 2002 by the Soprintendenza ai Beni archeologici del Lazio. In recent years important study, research, restoration and accessibility works have been conducted by the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio of the Province of Frosinone and Latina