Piazza Armerina

The late Roman villa of Casale near Piazza Armerina (central Sicily), which is generally considered to have been the palace of the emperor Maximian (r.285-305 and 306-308) and his wife Eutropia, consists, essentially, of three parts:

• The Pars Publica, where the owner of the house would receive his guests. It consists of a hall for audiences (aula regia or basilica), a garden (peristyle), and a polygonal court, where a wall painting of military standards helps to identify the owner as one of the tetrarchs. There were several rooms for guests (hospitalia) and slaves (pars servilis). Between the garden and the hall was a long corridor with one of the largest mosaics from the ancient world.

• 

  The Pars Privata, the private appartments of the owner, which included a magnificent dining room (triclinium) with mosaics with mythological scenes, two music rooms, several other appartments, and an oval court.
• The Thermae, the baths.

The palace of Maximian is famous for its late-antique mosaics, which were made by several workshops that are easily to recognize, even within a single room (e.g., the Great Hall between the Aula Regia and the Peristyle). Together, the mosaics cover some 3,500 square meters. The villa was in use until the twelfth century and is today recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Public Rooms

Piazza Armerina, Polygonal Court, Wall painting of military standards	Piazza Armerina, Aula Regia	Piazza Armerina, Peristyle, North, Bear	Piazza Armerina, Peristyle
Piazza Armerina, Peristyle, Corinthian capital	Piazza Armerina, Guest Room, Dancer	Piazza Armerina, Guest Room, Fishing erotes	Piazza Armerina, Guest Room, Mosaic of a hunt
Piazza Armerina, Slaves' Room, Bikini girl	Piazza Armerina, Guest Room, Mosaic of a hunt	Mosaic from Piazza Armerina, believed to represent Eutropia	Piazza Armerina, Guest Room, Four Seasons Mosaic, detail: Fish
Piazza Armerina, Great Hall, General view	Piazza Armerina, Great Hall, Landlord?	Piazza Armerina, Great Hall, Man with an ostrich	Piazza Armerina, Great Hall, Ship

Private Rooms

Piazza Armerina, Vestibule, Odysseus

Piazza Armerina, Music Room, Phoenix

Piazza Armerina, Triclinium, Amazon

Piazza Armerina, Triclinium, Giants

Baths

Piazza Armerina, Aqueduct

Piazza Armerina, Baths, Ovens

Piazza Armerina, Baths, Frigidarium

Piazza Armerina, Palaestra, Chariot