An enigmatic villa by the sea in the oldest known settlement on the Amalfi Coast
Nestled in the heart of the Amalfi Coast, the Villa Romana in Minori is still, after 2,000 years, a place of mystery and discovery.
History of the Villa
Dating back to the beginning of the 1st century AD, the Roman Villa of Minori was built in a bay on the Amalfi Coast, at the point where the Reginna Minor River flows into the sea.
This part of the coast, rich in inlets and natural harbours, was particularly loved and enjoyed by the imperial Roman aristocracy, who built several residences here, as evidenced by the archaeological finds at Vietri sul Mare, Amalfi, Positano and Li Galli.
The first evidence of a Roman villa in Minori dates back to the "Documenti e Atti della Commissione Archeologica della Provincia del Principato Citeriore" (1873-74), in which L. Stabiano wrote about the discovery of "Roman baths".
In 1932, a collapse during the renovation of houses in the area led to the discovery of an underground chamber belonging to the Roman villa. Excavations began in 1934, but some areas only became apparent in 1950, particularly after the flood of 26 October 1954, when the structure was buried again and only later recovered.
In 1956, while a construction site for the Hotel Santa Lucia was underway, new areas of the villa were discovered which were decorated with paintings kept in the museum attached to the villa. The residential structure is only visible on the side closest to the sea, as many parts of the building have been reused as cellars by new housing estates that have risen on the site of the villa.
Restoration of the mosaics that once adorned the triclinium began in the mid-1990s. The villa was built around a "viridarium", Roman gardens with a central pool, surrounded by a group of buildings and triporticus divided into two symmetrical groups by a large central hall.
The triclinium and the baths are also interesting. On the terrace, which corresponds to the upper floor, is the attached antiquarium, which contains paintings and Roman finds from other villas in the area.
The rich paintings in the triporticus and the interiors (Pompeian style III) allow us to date the original layout of the villa to the Julio-Claudian period. In 2012, the "3dSign Studio" reconstructed the potential original appearance of the Villa with a 3D model. Since December 2014, the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities has been managing it through the Polo Museale della Campania, which became the Regional Directorate for Museums in December 2019.
Heritage
Built in the 1960s, the Antiquaria incorporates the remains of a large fish tank, which was part of the summer triclinium, and a room with a floor of terracotta pillars, possibly part of a thermal area. On the walls are seven panels, the lower part of which depicts an aquatic plant with green and yellow leaves, while the upper part depicts classical Roman theatre masks.
One panel shows the god Mercury and a medallion with the head of Medusa in a poor state of preservation.
The display cabinets contain ceramic material found in the various excavation campaigns: everyday items such as jugs, pitchers and plates. Of particular interest are some oil lamps bearing the Constantine monogram, suggesting a continuity of life in the villa during the Christian era.
Ceramic material is, in fact, one of the elements that can date an archaeological site. Historians have been able to establish that life in the villa was not drastically interrupted after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, but continued well after that, until the 7th century.
The Museum also has a wide range of amphorae, which can be divided into two types: the large dolii used for storing food supplies on site, and the pyriform amphorae for providing resources not available in the territory.
Part of the preserved material does not come from the villa of Minori, but represents the result of the excavation campaigns of the other sites of the Amalfi Coast, as well as of several underwater recoveries made between Amalfi and Positano: remains of commercial anchors and amphorae dating from the 6th century BC to the 6th century AD. Originally from Scafati is the lararium, a niche-shaped structure for praying to the family's deities.
From the triporticus, passing through the viridarium, one enters the first rooms of the villa, two chambers which, due to their proximity to the triclinium-ninfeo, must have been used as reception rooms, useful for the preparation of food to be served during the banquet or to meet the various needs of the master of the house.
Roofed with a barrel vault, they differ from a third room, characterised by a vaulted roof: a structure of limestone blocks arranged in concentric rings on a rectangular plan. This type of roofing was necessary in order to obtain the same height in relation to the roofing level of the first two rooms. The vaulted ceiling is not a typical element of Roman architecture, which was more common in the East.
The reception rooms give access to other large rooms. Of great interest is the music room, the first room to be discovered in the excavation campaign of 1932.
This is the largest room in the villa, so called because of the frescoes on the walls depicting plant elements, medallions depicting mythological figures, and decorations showing musical instruments.
Given the size of the room, it is very likely that it was originally intended to entertain the villa's guests through theatrical performances accompanied by musicians. Further on, one passes through narrow, undecorated passages used by servants. Along the way there are small flights of stairs, particularly narrow to allow access to the upper floors. These rooms also give an idea of the functioning of the water supply mechanisms, which were essential for the thermal baths and the water games in the triclinium-ninfeo.
Located behind the thermal baths, the Theatre Hall has painted decorations that can also be traced back to the 3rd Pompeian style.
The Minori area has always been characterised by numerous water springs. As early as the first century AD, the Romans succeeded in developing a complex system of canalisations capable of diverting part of the flow of the Reginna Minor river to create a charming and articulated thermal plant.
Preceded by the apodyterium, the changing room or waiting room, also featuring mosaics and stucco decorations, the result of restoration work in the 3rd century AD, it is the only room to have retained traces of a precious material such as marble. We then enter the thermal area, consisting of the tepidarium, for bathing in lukewarm water, the calidarium, for hot bathing; the frigidarium is missing, which in reality is represented by the pool originally located in the centre of the viridarium. The baths of the Villa follow the classic design of the Roman baths, with a double floor supported by terracotta pillars, which allowed, by means of lighting fires, to heat the room above. All the rooms in the thermal area are covered with barrel and round vaults. The mosaic decoration of the tepidarium includes the depiction of a large vase with high raised handles (kantharos) from which plant motifs emerge.
The whole structure develops symmetrically around the most important room of the Villa: the triclinium - nymphaeum, whose entrance is situated perpendicular to the main entrance. It cannot be considered a real triclinium, because it only has two tricliniar beds, placed opposite each other, resting on masonry structures that can be traced back to the 3rd century AD. In the northern part of the banquet hall there is a staircase, once made of marble, from which there was a small waterfall, which flowed into two small canals from which the diners could wash their hands or perform other bodily functions. The water then drained to the pool through an underground canal system.
