powered by FreeFind	Hadrian's villa 361 pictures     Hadrian's Villa When Publius Elis Hadrian assumed power on the 2nd of August, 117 AD, the Roman Empire was at its maximum extent and power. Hadrian was a highly-cultured man. He appreciated all forms of art, but had a special passion for architecture, which he indulged even when travelling, as he was accompanied by an army of smiths, masons. jointers and carpenters. He understood the strongest cultural and civil needs of his time, and brought together the refinements of Greek culture and the traditional governing skills which the Romans had developed over the centuries. This combination was embodied in the Villa he built. The charming mix of ruins and natural landscape makes it a powerful romantic attraction, and the deeply innovative nature of Hadrian's architecture is self-evident in each building. As indicated by the dates printed on the bricks of the buildings, this extraordinary complex was constructed between the years 118 and 134 A.D. at the foot of Tibur - today's Tivoli - a town founded in the 9th century BC on the border of the calcareous terrace stretching from the Tiburtini Hills toward the Roman countryside. It is difficult to imagine the scope of the original Villa; only one fifth of the three-hundred hectares that originally occupied the site are visible today. The Poecile Today the entrance to the Villa is through an opening in the wall (about 9 meters high) which was once completed by porticoes on both sides and marked a great rectangular space (232 x 97 meters). The original lake at the center has been restored. It could be that this was the Poecile, from the name of the Painted Portico in Athens which Hadrian had greatly admired, though other theories suggest that it may have been a hippodrome. It's easy to provide open views of the Roman countryside (the best vantage point is to the right of the entrance) as well as a choice of paths: roofed colonnades ran on either side of the existing wall, allowing one to walk in the sun or in the shade at any hour of the day, and enjoy warmth or coolness, depending on the season. Building with Three Exedras Standing outside the exit on the longest side of the Poecile is one of Hadrian's most extraordinary projects. Because the purpose of this structure is unknown, it's simply referred to as Edificio con tre esedre (Building with three exedras) - an excellent example of Hadrian's architectural innovations. This clover-shaped building features curved walls around a central plan. The Small Thermae Three splendid baths were available to the guests and the personnel of the Villa. Probably reserved for women, the Small Thermae were rendered no less harmonious by their size. They show imaginative innovations such as a singular sala ottogonale (octagonal room), or the external wall on the northern side, which, with its light and shade effects was considered a source of inspiration for one of the major exponents of Baroque architecture, Francesco Borromini. The typical structure of Roman baths included a frigidarium (cold water bath) and a calidarium (hot water bath). The octagonal room, with a 10/5 meter dome, served as the tepidarium, which was filled with warm water (see below for a more accurate description of these facilities). In addition there was a large pool with two apses flanked by marble steps and small rooms, used not only for workouts, massages and gymnastics, but also for lectures and relaxation. The Great Thermae Separated from the Small Thermae by a courtyard, the Great Thermae are stunning in their solemn grandiosity. Apparently, they were used by men and offered the many services available in bath complexes. Though difficult to recognize at first glance, the structure corresponds to the standard plan of Roman baths. The large rectangular space in the back was the palestra (open-air gym), where the workout began with some exercises; adjacent was an enclosed chamber called sphaeristerium for games with a ball. The nearby rectangular space in the center served as dressing room and led to the calidarium, or hot bath in three pools, on the right. Back toward the Small Thermae was the tepidarium, or tepid bath, followed by the laconicum, a large round hall with an apse for taking hot-air saunas (there were no hydraulic mechanisms); continuing toward the rear, separated by some service areas, was a hall with apses for the frigidarium: the cold water pools which were the final part of the laborious hygiene rituals of the baths, an essential part of the daily life of the ancient Romans. Finally, some interesting ruins of the hydraulic and thermal network are still visible. The surprisingly efficient and particularly ingenious heating system produced humid heat, with steam from the great boilers, and also dry heat from air columns directly heated by wood-burning ovens. The hot air and vapor circulated in special double chambers ("sospensurae") under the floor and by means of narrow canals which ran inside the walls, To the right down the lane, at the same height of the thermal complex, stand the scarce remains of a building of uncertain use, called the Vestibolo (vestibule). The Canopus The great supply of water was one of the leading factors that ultimately convinced Hadrian to select this site for his Villa. Water plays the chief role in the Canopus, the most celebrated part of the complex. Reflections of some of the ruins of Hadrian's architectural fantasies shimmer in water in the long basin (119 m. x 18 m.) set in the small buttressed valley. The name Canopus - the only certain one among all the structures in the Villa - recalls an Egyptian settlement near modern Abukir, a town not far from Alexandria, celebrated in antiquity for its magnificence. But for Hadrian, the site remained sadly linked to the memory of his beloved Antinoos, who drowned himself there. Some of the sculpted portraits of this beautiful, effeminate youth were found in the Canopus. The latter shows its architectural high point in the semicircular nymphaeum, whose back wall appears animated by a central niche flanked by smaller niches, above which rises a segmented cupola. This theme is repeated in different dimensions elsewhere in the architecture of the Villa. Recent excavations have identified it as a grand tricilinium (dining room), used for parties and solemn banquets in summertime. Accordingly, the name Serapeum or Temple of Serapis, a careless attribution based on the building's resemblance to a temple dedicated to Serapis, is no longer acceptable. Castings of four caryatids (female statues with capitals above their heads used in the place of columns), which were themselves excellent copies of the famous originals on the Erechtheion in Athens, were placed along one of the sides of the canal along with two silenuss (the originals are in the nearby museum). The Three Peristyles of the Imperial Palace This area is the very heart of the Villa: between the Poecile and the Thermae is Hadrian's residence, which is organized in three sections, each with a roofed portico or peristyle. Only one fifth of the ruins are visible and all of the reconstructions attempted so far are subject to reinterpretation as new excavations are carried out. The first and best-known peristyle is the Piazza d'oro, celebrated for the prominence of its stunning architectural design. It is a large, nearly square-shaped (51 x 60 m.) atrium on the northeastern end of the Villa, with a double portico which, on the open side, is supported by sixty alternating granite and cipollino marble columns. Stuccoed half-columns made of bricks once stood on the opposite side against the back wall of the portico. On the southeastern side was the octagonal Imperial Room, formed by alternating cinvex and concave walls. This led to the adjoining rooms, once decorated with exquisite marble friezes only partially visible today. Nothing remained of the bold dome that rested on the convex walls. The Villa of the Island - The Maritime Theatre A few steps from the west side of the Library Courtyard is the most unique and, along with the Canopus, best-known structure of Hadrian's Villa. Here, too, water plays the chief role: a moat encircles a tiny island, upon which is a little villa formed by a series of differently designed rooms, all arranged around a small courtyard with porticoes and a fountain with convex sides. The moat is surrounded with a corridor-like portico with forty Ionic columns placed on a low wall. Access to the island was via two wooden draw-bridges (now there's a brick bridge instead) which extended only from the island and slid on mechanical wheels which left visible tracks on the bottom of the moat, Some of the ruins in the peripheral areas can provide visitors interested in a longer walk with a more in-depth understanding of the essence of the Villa, based on the fusing together of architecture and nature. Back to Italy Index