This month's masterpiece from Hadrian's Villa is a series of heavily restored mosaic panels depicting bucolic scenes with animals. The first panel depicts a rocky landscape with a flock of goats peacefully grazing by a stream. A bronze statue dressed in a long tunic is standing on a rock. It holds a bunch of grapes… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Three mosaic panels with bucolic scenes
On a recent trip to Southern Spain, I travelled along the Roman Baetica Route and visited many of the archaeological sites and museums that Andalusia has to offer. Among the plethora of ancient treasures to be found in the region, I was particularly impressed by the incredible mosaics I came across. The Roman Baetica Route… Continue reading A guide to the mosaics along the Roman Baetica Route (Spain)
This month's masterpieces from Hadrian's Villa are the black-and-white mosaics with geometric and floral motifs from the Hospitalia (guesthouse). The Hospitalia (guesthouse) was a two-storey building. It contained ten T-shaped bedrooms (cubiculae) on the first floor, on each side of a long and wide central hallway, at the southern end of which was a hall.… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Black-and-white mosaics with geometric and floral motifs
Two weeks ago I returned to Madrid to visit the new Archaeological Museum. Spain's National Archaeological Museum reopened to the public six months ago after a massive six-year revamp that aimed at offering a state-of-the-art space for its collection of ancient artefacts. A total of 13,000 objects are on display in 40 rooms in a… Continue reading Roman mosaics from the National Archaeological Museum of Spain, Madrid
This month's masterpiece from Hadrian's Villa is a mosaic depicting a group of doves drinking from an ornate bowl, known as the Capitoline Doves. The mosaic is made of thousands of tiny tesserae in a dazzling range of colours called opus vermiculatum, by far the most sophisticated mosaic technique. It depicts four doves on the… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Mosaic of the Doves
Among the most impressive Roman remains that can be seen today in Portugal are the large, prosperous farms and luxurious villas built in the countryside by the elite. The villas were splendidly decorated with mosaics, frescoes, and sculptures. Some of the mosaics, still in situ or exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Lisbon, are often very… Continue reading Roman mosaics from Lusitania (Portugal)
This week marks the start of a new set of posts called "Art and sculptures from Hadrian's Villa". Hadrian was the greatest patron of the arts. His imperial villa at Tibur was adorned with the very best of what the Roman empire had to offer in terms of works of art and building materials. Hundreds… Continue reading Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Mosaic, Pair of centaurs fighting wild cats
Underfloor heating, winemaking, aqueducts and road networks, the Romans brought many things with them when they arrived and settled in the Moselle valley over 2,000 years ago. Luxurious installations are to be found in the remains of the rural farmsteads. Some of them were almost palace-like in their dimensions and were decorated with splendid mosaics.… Continue reading The Gladiator Mosaic at Nennig, Germany
Last November, I visited the Römerhalle at Bad Kreuznach, Germany. It is a museum that displays finds from a late 2nd century Roman villa as well as other Roman finds from the district of Bad Kreuznach. Around 58 BC, the Rhineland-Palatinate region became part of the Roman Empire, with a Roman vicus named Cruciniacum, forming a supply station… Continue reading The Gladiator Mosaic at Bad Kreuznach, Germany
