Villa San Marco

The Villa San Marco derives its name from a chapel built on the site in the second half of the 18th century. .. The original building, dating from the reign of Augustus, comprised a few rooms built round an atrium with four Ionic columns (pictured on the right). .. .. These additions modified the original layout, leaving the entrance and original nucleus lying obliquely to the new axis, to create one of the largest villas in the area (about 11,000 sq.m.). .. .. The photographs (right) show the portico before and after conservation work (see detail above).

.. It was considerably extended during the Claudian period to include a garden with a three-sided portico and a swimming pool, surmounted by a colonnade with tortile columns. ..

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The main entrance to the villa from the street gives onto a small peristyle providing access to the tablinum and the atrium, round which are four cubicula.

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The lower peristyle, containing a 30m long garden and pool, has an alcove at one end decorated with frescoes. At each end of the side porticos are beautifully decorated diaetae where members of the household could take their ease.

This in turn gives access to a small but luxurious private bath suite, the entrance to which is through a small atrium (left) painted with scenes of cupids, renovated in the Claudian era in early fourth style. The complex consists of a caldarium with a large bath, a tepidarium and an outdoor frigidarium.

Villa of the Shepherd The Villa of the Shepherd, or Villa del Pastore, was first excavated in 1754 and subsequently re-buried. The villa derives its name from the small statue of a shepherd discovered during the 18th century excavation (pictured right). The villa covers an even larger area than the Villa San Marco, measuring approximately 19,000 square metres. The most recent excavations in 1967 partially uncovered the villa. After a short examination of the site, however, the building was again re-buried. The ground plan of the villa, as in the case of the Villa San Marco, is not straight forward, being built on two different axes. The term 'villa' may be inappropriate as the exact purpose of the building is still in doubt. It has been suggested that the complex is actually a health spa due to the odd arrangement of rooms and open spaces and the distinct absence of a conventional floorplan. The Villa remains buried, but hopefully in the fullness of time future excavations will be able to establish the exact nature of the building. Villa Arianna Under the direction of Karl Weber, this villa was 'excavated' between 1757 and 1762, by digging a series of holes and tunnels, before it was completely re-buried again. The villa derives its name from a large fresco portraying 'Ariadne abandoned by Theseus' found in the triclinium. Immediately across a lane from another villa, the 'second complex', the Villa Arianna has an unconventional layout, due to its continuous development and the sloping nature of the site. .. Much of the building is still buried, which makes the original floor-plan difficult to interpret. What has been determined, however, is that the villa was composed of basically four main areas:

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an atrium with adjoining rooms dating from the late-Republican period; servants quarters and baths; rooms opening off the summer dining room dating from the age of Nero; a large courtyard which was added on during the Flavian period. There was also a long tunnel leading from the entrance under the residential quarters to the shore. ..

The decoration of the villa indicates not only the high standard of living enjoyed here but also the owner's excellent taste. The smaller everyday rooms feature mainly miniaturised decorations with small flying figures, cupids, mythological characters, landscapes, masks and busts of celebrities depicted in medallions.

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The larger public rooms and halls feature mythological scenes with almost life-size Dionysiac figures, as in the picture of 'Ariadne abandoned by Theseus' mentioned above. .. .. The fine wall paintings, including those of Flora (above left), Diana (above right) and the second style decoration (above) are matched by the splendid flooring, with elegant mosaics offering an extensive repertoire of black and white decorative motifs. ............................................................................... Situated on a hillside overlooking the Bay of Naples, the main rooms of the villa must have had magnificent views of the coastline and the mountains behind.

The 'Second Complex'

This complex, situated across a narrow lane from the Villa Arianna, was first excavated in 1762 by Weber and in 1775 by La Vega. In 1762 it was subsequently re-buried. Recent excavations, started in 1967, re-exposed part of the peristyle together with a series of rooms, one of which, the oecus, was destroyed by a landslide. ..

.. The original building was built around the large peristyle. Like other villas in the area the complex had its own private baths comprising a calidarium with an apse at its northern end projecting into the peristyle and a small rectangular bath set into the floor; on the southern side was a tepidarium with a bath and steps. On the western side of the peristyle was a square fish pond.

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In imperial times the villa was enlarged with the addition of several rooms built on a different axis. Little of the original building's decoration remains, while in the newer section the walls are well preserved, with frescoes in the third style.

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