Roman Villafrom Valdonega

There Roman Villa of Valdonega represents a magnificent example of suburban villa, the best known of the various complexes that were to populate the slopes of the hills surrounding the city of Verona, close to the Adige river. 

The excavations carried out in 1957 for the construction of an apartment building brought to light the remains of a building dating back to the 1st century AD and of which one is preserved L-shaped portico (of which the bases of the columns remain), a large living room, two other rooms and acavity still visible in situ. The building measures approximately 17 x 11 m, excluding the porch space. In terms of decorations and layout, the building features models of the most luxurious private buildings in central and southern Italy. 

The predominant element of the system is the large colonnaded room on three sides; the fourth side, facing south, presents the main entrance flanked by two large windows. 

Considering the planimetric measurements and the organization of the space, this environment is interpreted as oecus corinthius, that is, a hall intended for banquets and parties, with functions similar to those of the tricliniums, but larger and more sumptuous. The Veronese example - to date the only one known in northern Italy - presents the characteristics cited by Vitruvius in his book on architecture (VI, 3, 8) and found in other Pompeian examples, i.e. internal colonnade on three sides, width of slightly greater than half the length and coverage most likely consisting of a barrel vault in the central part and a flat ceiling above the narrow space between the columns and the walls. 

The flooring it is made of geometric pattern mosaic with black and white tiles. Between the columns they open polychrome squares, in which the geometric motif is replaced by plant and animal scenes, with different varieties of birds represented among racemes and leaves. On the walls there remain traces of fresco paintings among which the delicate representation of a cage with a bird emerges. 

Among the capitals that surmounted the columns, the typology with acanthus leaves surmounted by two dolphins drinking from a fountain stands out for its value and rarity. kantharos, a cup with high handles. 

The room shows two other openings, one near the south-east corner which leads to the outside and which was subsequently walled up, and the other near the north-east corner which allows access to an adjoining room. This second room is divided into two parts by a threshold: the internal portion paved in cocciopesto and without wall decorations was probably a service room, while the part decorated by mosaic and frescoes had the function of a processing corridor for access to theoecus, to the portico and to the room further north. 

This last room, accessible only from the small hallway, has a large window opening towards the portico and, on the opposite side, a high masonry plinth with a stone shelf that can be interpreted as a food counter. The walls are richly decorated with frescoes with depictions of birds (duck, owl, rooster, etc.) separated by vegetal elements, in the lower register, and mythological figures alternating with decorative motifs, in the upper register. 

The portico that delimited the building on two sides (south and east) ends towards the north-east with three steps. This finding led us to suppose the existence of an upper floor perhaps hosting open spaces or other rooms in the building; this second level was probably laid partly above the ground floor structures and partly on the slope of the hill through one or more terraces connected by steps. 

The structure is closed by an empty space to the west of the western wall of the building, a space that served as a cavity to preserve the internal walls from water and humidity coming from the outside.