If the great travelers of the 18th century did not mention the Villa di Casale in Piazza Armerina it is simply because its prodigious set of mosaics has been buried until the 20th century, in fact it has not been visited except for a few decades. Goethe or l'Abée Saint-Non had described in detail the great temples and monuments of southern Italy, and Pierre Houël even painted the visible part of the ruins of the villa in 1780; but it was impossible to imagine at that time the treasure that was hidden there.
The Roman villa of Casale, built in the center of Sicily at the height of the Roman Empire, is the most luxurious of the large private residences known from that time in the 4th century AD: those of Tunisia and Algeria in North Africa, that of Villa de la Noheda next to Cuenca, in Spain, or the Villa de Tellaro, also in Sicily.
The construction began around the year 350. The identity of the owner is not yet known; He belonged to the high-ranking senatorial aristocracy in Sicily. His grand residence had the function of representation, attesting to his rank and power: it was both a form of imperial propaganda and a way of affirming personal ideals and ambitions.
A thick layer of mud covered its remains for many centuries. With the discovery of Herculanum and Pompeii at the beginning of the 18th century, and the wave of excavations throughout the Mezzogiorno at the beginning of the 19th century, a small surface of mosaic was uncovered and identified as belonging to the villa, but only in the 1930s did they begin the real archaeological excavations. The result exceeded all expectations: an area of more than 3,500 m2 of mosaics of exceptional quality.
In 1997 the town became part of the prestigious list of world heritage sites. Along with the compositions of the San Vitale cathedral in Ravenna two centuries older (inscribed on the same UNESCO list), the mosaics of Piazza Armerina are considered the apogee of this art.
Being the first Roman province from I AD, Sicily marked the beginning of Rome's Mediterranean empire. Before, in the 7th century BC, Greeks from various places came and founded magnificent cities. Syracuse presided over this powerful network, a mythical nebula due to its beauty and wealth, which they called Magna Graecia. The Romans installed an effective agrarian economy throughout the island; As a consequence, Sicily - supplying Rome for many centuries - had a privileged position.
On the other hand, just in the 4th century, the empire went through important changes: Emperor Constantine moved the capital to the Bosphorus and converted to Christianity, and then Emperor Theodosius imposed the new religion more severely, persecuting previous beliefs. But the senatorial aristocracy still had enough freedom and took charge of the maintenance of the places of worship that the State no longer supported.
Although in the time of Theodosius a guide was written that recommended decorating the dwellings with iconography derived from the new religion and moving away from the ancient legends of the gods and heroes, in reality these legends continued to inspire potentates and artists who followed the tradition, making display some political astuteness in representations to address possible criticism.
Today, the perception of the town is dominated by the mastery of the craftsmen and artists who have made mosaics of an unprecedented variety. The amazement is produced above all by the narrative mosaics. The art of painting with small cubic pieces of stone – tesserae – had reached an unmatched virtuosity.
The concepts of these stories show a brilliant spirit, an ease in fusing philosophical allusions into a charming story, also associating parody and humor. Diplomatic allusions coexist with daring parables, iconographic traditions are interpreted with mischief; They are stories told with a lot of inventiveness.
The pavement of the Great Hunt corridor is the largest composition at 71 m long. In reality they are scenes of capturing exotic animals – rhinos, lions, elephants, antelopes – and their transport by boat to Rome, to the Circo Massimo. Scenes that illustrate agricultural work, the cursus publicus, various medallions embedded in sophisticated geometric structures, zodiacal figures... One of the most curious spaces that borders the peristyle is the room of female athletes in bikinis who practice sports. With naturalness and grace they participate in a competition, and the winner receives the trophies from her.
The bikini was not invented by Ursula Andress in Agent 007 against Dr. No in 1962. The Romans followed the tradition of women's competitions; and the design of this garment even included a certain variety. Difficult to understand the prohibitions that followed its reinvention in 1946 as a swimsuit…
In the area of private apartments, Greek mythology is much more present. A large medallion with the love games of Eros and Psyche marks the entrance, followed by magnificent compositions based on the works of Hercules and Dionysus, the competitions between Eros and Pan, the triumph of Arion, surrounded by the beautiful daughters of the sea - the Nereids. - representing the five senses... The room dedicated to Orpheus, showing animals bewitched by the sound of his lyre, exalts the role of music in the emancipation of the soul. It is obvious that the domina was sensitive to the idea of salvation.
Ulysses' meeting with the cyclops Polyphemus is a particularly moving scene. Based on Homer's Odyssey, it is a confrontation between the phenomenal gaze of the Cyclops and the penetrating wisdom of Ulysses. The giant Polyphemus will be defeated because he sees too many details and does not have an overview. Like Fuñes the Memorious, by Borges, he cannot forget any detail.
Making the pilgrimage to Piazza Armerina is finding another dimension. In their condition of solitary, remote splendor, these mosaics open the great doors to poetry and meditation.
