Villa Romana del Tellaro

About

The Villa Romana del Tellaro is a large, elaborate Roman villa dating from the late Roman Empire. It is also known (in English) as the villa of Caddeddi, the name of the locality. It is located south of Noto in the province of Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy.

The remains of the villa were found in 1971 beneath an old farm building dating from the 17th century. Treasure hunters had tried to remove and sell the mosaics illegally but they were intercepted. Eventually, the farmhouse was bought to allow excavations and eventual opening to the public.

The site is near the Tellaro river in a fertile agricultural area.

In 2008, more than 30 years after the start of excavations, it was opened to the public.

The villa is likely to be one of the latifundia, or great private estates, specialising in agriculture destined for export (grain, olive oil, wine) which played a large role in society and in the economy in the Imperial period.

By the 2nd century AD, latifundia had displaced small farms as the agricultural foundation of the Roman Empire.

During the first two centuries of the Empire, however, Sicily had gone through an economic depression due to the production system of the large estates based on slave labour: Urban life had suffered a decline, the countryside was deserted and the rich owners did not reside there, as the lack of suitable villas would seem to indicate. Furthermore, the Roman government neglected the territory, which became a place of exile and a refuge for slaves and brigands.

At the beginning of the 4th century, rural Sicily entered a new period of prosperity with commercial settlements and agricultural villages reaching the apex of their expansion and activity. An obvious sign of transformation was the new title assigned to the governor of the island, from corrector to consularis. In the 4th century therefore, Sicily was not merely the "granary of Rome," but also became a favourite residence for families of the high Roman aristocracy, like the Nichomachi and the Caeionii, who brought with them the luxury and taste of the capital of the empire.

The reasons seem to be twofold: First of all, the renewed importance of the provinces of proconsular Africa and Tripolitania for grain supplies to Italy, while Egyptian production, which had up to then satisfied the needs of Rome, was sent to Constantinople (new imperial capital from 330). Sicily consequently assumed a central role on the new trade routes from Africa. Secondly, the more affluent classes, of equestrian and senatorial rank, began to abandon urban life by retreating to their possessions in the countryside, due to the growing tax burden and the expenses they had to pay for cities. The owners also looked after their own lands, which were no longer cultivated by slaves, but by colonists. Considerable sums of money were spent on enlarging, beautifying and making the villas more comfortable.

The latifundia were often owned by the Roman Senatorial class as they did not pay land taxes. It was the only acceptable source of wealth for senators, though Romans of the elite class would set up their freedmen as estate managers.

There was an earlier villa on the site and some of its walls have been found below the later one on a different alignment.

The villa was built after 350 AD as evidenced by a small hoard of coins dated to latest 348 AD found under a floor.

The villa is likely to be one of the latifundia, or great private estates, specialising in agriculture destined for export (grain, olive oil, wine) which played a large role in society and in the economy in the Imperial period.

By the 2nd century AD, latifundia had displaced small farms as the agricultural foundation of the Roman Empire.

During the first two centuries of the Empire, however, Sicily had gone through an economic depression due to the production system of the large estates based on slave labour: Urban life had suffered a decline, the countryside was deserted and the rich owners did not reside there, as the lack of suitable villas would seem to indicate. Furthermore, the Roman government neglected the territory, which became a place of exile and a refuge for slaves and brigands.

At the beginning of the 4th century, rural Sicily entered a new period of prosperity with commercial settlements and agricultural villages reaching the apex of their expansion and activity. An obvious sign of transformation was the new title assigned to the governor of the island, from corrector to consularis. In the 4th century therefore, Sicily was not merely the "granary of Rome," but also became a favourite residence for families of the high Roman aristocracy, like the Nichomachi and the Caeionii, who brought with them the luxury and taste of the capital of the empire.

The reasons seem to be twofold: First of all, the renewed importance of the provinces of proconsular Africa and Tripolitania for grain supplies to Italy, while Egyptian production, which had up to then satisfied the needs of Rome, was sent to Constantinople (new imperial capital from 330). Sicily consequently assumed a central role on the new trade routes from Africa. Secondly, the more affluent classes, of equestrian and senatorial rank, began to abandon urban life by retreating to their possessions in the countryside, due to the growing tax burden and the expenses they had to pay for cities. The owners also looked after their own lands, which were no longer cultivated by slaves, but by colonists. Considerable sums of money were spent on enlarging, beautifying and making the villas more comfortable.

The latifundia were often owned by the Roman Senatorial class as they did not pay land taxes. It was the only acceptable source of wealth for senators, though Romans of the elite class would set up their freedmen as estate managers.

There was an earlier villa on the site and some of its walls have been found below the later one on a different alignment.

The villa was built after 350 AD as evidenced by a small hoard of coins dated to latest 348 AD found under a floor.