Villa romana delle Grotte

The Villa delle Grotte was built in the late first century BC on a podium, partly natural and partly artificial; in the first half of the first century. C. is affected by a restructuring, which starts the second phase of the villa life attributable to the late Augustan and Tiberian. Probably it belonged to the ancient noble family of the Valerii, was only partially investigated by the Archaeological Superintendence of Tuscany in the sixties and much still remains to be discovered. The building, which stretched all over an area of ​​two hectares, was divided on two levels: on the plateau were the residential part, has a front building overlooking the sea, and a large garden facing the hillside; The bottom floor consisted of a double terracing structure that surrounded the villa on three panoramic sides. The entrance was located at a large rectangular garden (hortus), flanked by a covered porch (ambulatio), giving access to residential neighborhoods of the upper floor. the villa's privileged vantage point was the large pool in the center of the residential area, covered by a large duct masonry and surrounded on three sides by a large garden bordered by a colonnaded portico (peristyle). The water collected in the pipe flowed into the terrace below, the sea side, also placed in the garden and ended at the center of a nymph. The decorations in residential environments were very accurate, according to current tastes at that time in the capital: the rooms were covered with colored marble and covered with painted floral motifs plaster, floors made mosaic in black and white or with colored marble tiles , arranged to create geometric patterns. The building was probably abandoned at the end of the first century. C .; floors and structures were damaged over the centuries by the continuous agricultural work, but the more serious destructive intervention was the use of the area for military purposes during the war between France and the Kingdom of Naples to the island's dominance, the late eighteenth century. Since then, despite the damage caused by time and especially by the man, the remains of the villa still stand on the majestic bay of Portoferraio and offering visitors to tell their ancient history