IDNO

T.153352.RPT

Description

View of one of the mosaics at Villa Romana del Casale. It shows a woman, partially covered by a red cloth, leaning against a rock and pointing towards a dead sea creature in the sea at her feet, that has an arrow stuck in it. The top of the mosaic panel features a geometric motif. [IJ 28/02/2023]

Place

S Europe; Italy; Sicily; Enna; Piazza Armerina; Villa Romana del Casale [Sicilia]

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Photographer

Poignant, Axel

Collector / Expedition

Date

1957 - 1958

Collection Name

Poignant Collection

Source

Poignant, Roslyn

Format

Colour Transparency

Primary Documentation

Other Information

T.153308.RPT - T.153754.RPT were located in the drawer file of transparency sheets, numbered C1038/.

T.153334.RPT - T.153352.RPT were located in a transparency sheet, numbered C1038/3.

Bibliographic reference: “Roman exploitation of the countryside is symbolized by the Villa Romana del Casale (in Sicily), the centre of the large estate upon which the rural economy of the Western Empire was based. The villa is one of the most luxurious of its kind. It is especially noteworthy for the richness and quality of the mosaics which decorate almost every room; they are the finest mosaics in situ anywhere in the Roman world.” UNESCO (1997). Villa Romana del Casale. [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/832/] [Isabella Jakobsen, 08/11/2022]

Bibliographic reference: “For the exceptional richness of its architectural and decorative elements, this late Roman structure has become of highly prominent importance within the programme for the safeguarding and valorisation of Sicilian heritage. […]
The Villa, under UNESCO protection since 1997, belonged to a member of the Roman senatorial aristocracy, perhaps a Roman governor (Praefectus Urbi). Some scholars believe however that it was instead built and expanded on direct imperial commission. Due to its beauty and complexity, it can be considered one of the most important examples of a state residence among its contemporaries in the Roman West. The high profile of its patron is eloquently celebrated through an iconographic programme that was stylistically influenced by the art of the African mosaicists who were called to do the work and unfolds in rich compositions decorating an impressive number of rooms, both public and private in nature.
[…]
Over the course of time, the historical evidence found around the site occupied by the late antique villa increased the interest of many scholars, who began exploring its remains starting in the first years of the nineteenth century and then again in the first years of the twentieth century, with the excavations led by Biagio Pace and Paolo Orsi, up to the major excavation campaign carried out in 1950s and early 1960s by Vinicio Gentili, followed by numerous initiatives targeting the consolidation of the mosaics. […]
Since 2006, the site has been the subject of a systematic restoration and conservation programme […].
The intervention concerns around 3000 square meters of mosaic and opus sectile [marble tiling technique] pavement in addition to numerous polychrome wall paintings, as well as the three-dimensional reconfiguration of the spaces. The formal and material methods that were adopted are different than those of the past, in order to better preserve and make use of this residence, considered one of the most prestigious monumental testimonies to antiquity in the Mediterranean.” Councillor’s Office for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity (2012). Archaeological Park of the Villa del Casale: Introductory Guide, pages 2-4. [https://www.villaromanadelcasale.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/guida_042012_ENG.pdf] [Isabella Jakobsen, 08/11/2022]

Bibliographic reference: "The triapsidal triclinium [dining room with three apses]:
Banquets and speeches used to animate this vast room, which was furnished with sofas and tables laid out with food and drink, set against the backdrop of the floor mosaic which celebrates the glories of Hercules. [...]
Threshold of the eastern apse: Hesione and Endymion [...]
In the central area, Hesione (or Andromeda) and Endymion are represented. [...]
On the left, Hesione, a Trojan princess, is tied to a rock, guarded by a fierce sea monster, who will soon eat her. The girl had been condemned to this fate by a divine oracle, in order to expiate the sin of her father Laomedon, who did not give due payment to Apollo or to Poseidon for the construction of the walls of Troy. Hercules offered to save the innocent princess in exchange for the immortal horses of her father, but yet again, Laomedon did not keep his word. Hercules, furious, murdered the king and all his issue, saving only Hesione." Cantamessa, G. (2013) La Villa Romana del Casale di Piazza Armerina. Palermo: Kalós, pages 215-226. [Translated from Italian by Isabella Jakobsen, 01/11/2022]