Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

San Vitale (Ravenna).

Exteriors

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  Church rear view

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  Church rear view

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  Entrance

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  Church rear view

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  Church view
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  Church view
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  Cloister
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  Ambulatory with stone slabs and baptismal font

Interiors

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  Interiors

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  Interiors

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  Sarcophagus

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  Capital – San Vitale in Ravenna
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  Interiors

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  Interiors

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  Interior with the two ambulatories

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  Interior with matroneum(upper ambulatory reserved for women)

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  Choir with intrados of the arch

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  Bishop’s throne

Cupola

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  Cupola

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  Cupola (as seen from the choir)

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  Cupola

Mosaics

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  At the adjunct National Museum – mosaic closeup

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  Abraham entertaining three angels; sacrifice of Isaac

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  Abraham entertains three angels (detail)

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  Court of Emperor Justinian with (right) archbishop Maximian and (left) court officials and Praetorian Guards

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  Court of Emperor Justinian

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  detail

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  Justinian
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  Maximian
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  Belisarius
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  Giuliano Argentario
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  Court of Empress Theodora

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  Court of the Empress Theodora

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  detail

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  detail
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  Empress Theodora
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  detail
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  Choir mosaics
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  Cupola of the choir : Christ offers the martyr crown to San Vitale, while an angel offers a model of the church to bishop Ecclesius

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  An angel offers a model of the church to bishop Ecclesius

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  Cupola of the choir; Lamb of God with four angels

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  Lamb of God
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  floor mosaic with a duck

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  floor mosaic with peacock’s fan

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  Sacrifice of Abel and Melchizedek (lunette above the triforium); Isaiah (in the spandrel)

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  capitals

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  Intrados of the choir arch (with apostles)

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  Intrados (with Paul, Christ and Peter)

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  Intrados (with apostles and St. Protasius)

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  Intrados of an arch

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  Detail

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  San Vitale

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  Sacrifice of Abraham

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  Sacrifices of Abel and Melchizedek

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  Emperor Maximilian and his suite

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  Empress Theodora and his entourage

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  Empress Theodora, detail

Drawings

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  Map

• San Vitale (Ravenna)

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

Außenansicht von Norden

Die Kirche San Vitale in Ravenna, vermutlich 537 begonnen und 547 dem heiligen Vitalis geweiht, zählt zu den bedeutendsten Kirchenbauten der spätantik–frühbyzantinischen Zeit. In ihr verbinden sich Architekturformen aus dem Oströmischen Reich mit für das damalige Italien typischen Bautechniken. Sie entstand in einer Zeit des Umbruchs, als der oströmische Kaiser Justinian I. Krieg gegen das ostgotische Königreich in Italien führte. Berühmt ist die als Zentralbau errichtete Kirche vor allem für ihre Mosaikausstattung im Innern, insbesondere die Porträts von Justinian und seiner Frau Theodora im unteren Apsisgewände. Mit den anderen frühen Kirchenbauten in Ravenna gehört San Vitale seit 1996 zum UNESCO-Welterbe. 1960 erhielt sie durch Papst Johannes XXIII. den Ehrentitel Basilica minor.

Baugeschichte

Giacobbe Giusti, San Vitale (Ravenna)

Eingangsportal

An der Stelle der heutigen Kirche befand sich im 5. Jahrhundert n. Chr. bereits ein kleiner kreuzförmiger Bau, wie Grabungen aus dem Jahr 1911 nachgewiesen haben. Ob dieser bereits der Verehrung des Heiligen Vitalis diente, lässt sich nicht nachweisen. Nach Keller gilt der Narthex des heutigen Gebäudes als Ort des Martyriums des Heiligen.^[1]

Der ravennatische Chronist Agnellusberichtet im 9. Jahrhundert, dass der katholische Bischof Ecclesius, der sein Amt von 521 bis 532 innehatte, der Begründer des heute zu sehenden Baus gewesen sei. Dies wird bestätigt, durch ein Mosaik in der Apsis der Kirche, welches Ecclesius als Stifter des Baus präsentiert. Zum damaligen Zeitpunkt war Ravenna noch Hauptstadt des ostgotischen Königreiches, dessen germanische Elite sich zum arianischen Christentum bekannte. Die Bevölkerung Ravennas war dementsprechend in eine arianische und eine katholische Gemeinde gespalten, an deren Spitze jeweils ein eigener Bischof stand. Agnellus berichtet weiterhin, dass ein Bankier namens Julianus Argentarius den Bau finanziert habe. Auch hierfür lassen sich Nachweise im Kircheninneren finden, wo mehrmals das Monogramm des Julianus auftaucht. Sein Name fällt auch im Zusammenhang mit der Finanzierung anderer Kirchen in Ravenna, wie z. B. Sant’Apollinare in Classe. Die Rolle von Ecclesius’ Nachfolger Ursicinus (534-536) beim Bau von San Vitale ist unbekannt. Die eigentlichen Bauarbeiten wurden wahrscheinlich erst unter dem nächsten Bischof, Victor (537/38-544/45), begonnen. Es ist sein Monogramm, welches die Kämpferblöcke im Kircheninneren tragen. In die Zeit seines Episkopats fiel auch das Ende der ostgotischen Herrschaft über Ravenna, als die Stadt 540 durch byzantinische Truppen unter Befehl des Feldherrn Belisareingenommen wurde. Die Weihung der Kirche fand laut Agnellus schließlich im Jahr 547 unter Bischof Maximian (546-556) statt. Sein Porträt findet sich auf einem Mosaik im unteren Apsisgewände.

Im 10. Jahrhundert gelangte San Vitale in den Besitz einer Benediktinergemeinde. Während des Mittelalters wurden einige Veränderungen am Bau vorgenommen. So wurden beispielsweise in die Decken des Umgangs und der Empore Kreuzgratgewölbeeingefügt. Um deren Schub abzufangen wurden am Außenbau mehrere Strebepfeiler angefügt. Im 16. Jahrhundert erhielt die Kirche ein neues Eingangsportal im Osten.

Architektur

Grundriss

Blick zur originalen Apsis und späterer Deckenbemalung

San Vitale wurde als zweischaliger Nischenzentralbau mit eingestelltem Stützenkranz entworfen. Den Kern des Gebäudes bildet ein oktogonaler, überkuppelter Zentralraum. Den Haupteingang dazu stellte ursprünglich der im Südwesten angeschlossene Narthex dar. Dieser ist aus der Achse des Gebäudes nach Südosten hin verschoben, so dass er nur an einer Kante an das Oktogon anstößt. Von den beiden Apsiden, mit denen der Narthex ursprünglich abschloss, ist heute nur noch die nördliche erhalten. Den Übergang zwischen Narthex und Oktogon bilden zwei Zwickelräume, die von je einem Treppenturm (ø: 5,40 m).^[2] flankiert werden, über welche man die Emporen erreicht.

Der Kern des Zentralraums wird durch acht Pfeiler, welche die Kuppel tragen, ebenfalls als Oktogon definiert. Den Raum zwischen den Pfeilern füllen durch zweisäulige Arkaden gegliederte, halbrunde Nischen, welche sich auch in den Emporen fortsetzen. Die Kuppel, mit einem Durchmesser von 15,70 m^[3], ruht auf einem achteckigen, durchfensterten Tambour, wurde in der für Italien typischen Leichtbauweise aus Ringen von Tonröhren, den sogenannten tubi fittili, errichtet^[4] und nach außen mit Pyramidendach überdeckt. Die Dekoration der Kuppel stammt aus dem späten 18. Jahrhundert. Dieser zentrale Raumteil ist von einem etwas niedrigeren, doppelgeschossigen Umgang umgeben.

Der Altarraum ist durch Arkaden aus dem Umgang herausgetrennt und von einem Kreuzgratgewölbe überdeckt. An ihn schließt sich im Nordosten die polygonal ummantelte Apsis an. Diese wird flankiert von zwei Kapellen mit kreisrundem Grundriss. Im Altarraum und in der Apsis befinden sich auch die spätantiken Mosaiken, für die San Vitale bekannt ist.

Die gesamte Kirche ist aus massivem Ziegelwerk gemauert. Die langen, schmalen Ziegel, die dabei verwendet wurden, gleichen denen der anderen Bauten des Julianus Argentarius und sind leicht von den Ziegeln zu unterscheiden, die beispielsweise bei Bauten der Galla Placidia oder des Theoderich Verwendung fanden.

Mosaiken

Mosaik: Abraham bewirtet die drei Engel; Opferung Isaaks

Bekannt ist San Vitale, wie viele der spätantiken Monumente Ravennas, für seine reiche Mosaikausstattung. Diese teilt sich in Wand- und Bodenmosaiken auf. Letztere breiteten sich ursprünglich als verschiedenartige ornamentale und florale Muster über den gesamten Kirchenraum aus und sind eher in matten Erdtönen gehalten. Während sie im Umgang noch größtenteils erhalten sind, wurden sie im zentralen Kuppelraum mittlerweile weitgehend durch einen jüngeren Opus sectile-Boden ersetzt.

Einen deutlich anderen Eindruck machen die ebenfalls noch in der Entstehungszeit der Kirche gefertigten Wand- und Deckenmosaiken. Sie überziehen nahezu den gesamten Altar- und Apsisbereich und beeindrucken durch ihre kräftigen Farben, wobei Blau, Grün und Gold als Hintergrundfarben dominieren. Verglichen mit Mosaiken der klassischen Antike sind die Darstellungen aus relativ großen Tesseraezusammengesetzt, wobei das Inkarnat feiner modelliert wurde als der Hintergrund. Auch dies beruht auf der in der Spätantike aufgekommenen Darstellungskonvention, nach der der Inhalt Vorrang vor der Form hat. Der überwältigende Eindruck der Mosaiken beruht vor allem auf ihrer Farbenpracht. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Darstellungen, die über die Jahrhunderte häufig an Farbintensität verloren, bestehen die Mosaiken aus farbechten (Halbedel-)Steinen. Bei den goldenen Tesserae wurde echtes Blattgold verwendet, das zwischen zwei Lagen Glas eingebettet wurde.

Bereits der Eingangsbereich zum Altarraum, die Laibung des Triumphbogens ist vollständig mit Mosaiken überzogen. Sie zeigen Bildnismedaillons von Christus, seinen zwölf Aposteln und der Heiligen Gervasius und Protasius, die ursprünglich auch in einer der beiden Seitenkapellen der Kirche verehrt wurden und als Söhne der Heiligen Vitalis galten. Die meisten figürlichen Darstellungen auf den Mosaiken des Altarraums beziehen sich auf das Alte Testament. Die beiden Lunetten oberhalb der Säulenstellungen nördlich und südlich des Altars zeigen im Norden Abraham beim Bewirten der drei Pilger sowie bei der Opferung seines Sohnes Isaak und im Norden Abel und Melchisedek bei der Darbringung von Opfern für Gott. Beide Mosaiken beziehen sich deutlich auf die Eucharistie, die unterhalb von ihnen am Altar der Kirche gefeiert wurde. Oberhalb der Lunetten befinden sich neben je einem paar Engel Darstellungen aus dem Leben Mose sowie der Propheten Jeremia und Jesaja. Darüber schließen sich neben den Fensteröffnungen in die Emporen Ganzkörperporträts der vier Evangelisten mit ihren jeweiligen Symboltieren an. Die oberste Zone ist von floralen Mustern überzogen, während die Decke ein von vier Engeln getragenes Medaillon mit dem Lamm Gottes zeigt. Die Apsisstirnwand trägt neben einem weiteren Paar Engel Darstellungen der himmlischen Städte Jerusalem und Betlehem.

Apsis: Christus reicht San Vitale die Märtyrerkrone; ein Engel gibt Bischof Ecclesius ein Modell der Kirche

Die Apsis wird dominiert durch den in der Apsiskalotte auf einer Himmelskugel thronenden, bartlosen Christus. Die Darstellung auf der “Himmelskugel”, mit der das gesamte Weltall gemeint ist, ist eine künstlerische Umsetzung des Ehrennamens “Kosmokrator” (Weltenherrscher). Ihm werden von zwei Engeln der Titelheilige Vitalis, dem Christus eine Märtyrerkrone überreicht, und der als Stifter der Kirche dargestellte Bischof Ecclesius zugeführt.

Die berühmtesten Mosaiken von San Vitale dürften allerdings die im Apsisgewände befindlichen Porträts von Justinian und Theodora in Begleitung ihres Hofstaates sein. Justinian im Norden steht im Zentrum seines Mosaikfeldes und trägt eine Patene (Hostienschale) in Richtung des in der Apsiskalotte dargestellten Christus. Er ist durch seine aufwändige Tracht deutlich von den umgebenden Personen abgehoben und als Kaiser gekennzeichnet: er trägt ein dreireihiges edelsteinbesetztes Diadem und ein purpurnes Paludamentum mit einer goldbesetzten Tabula, einem rechteckigen Stück Stoff, das hohe Würdenträger am spätrömischen Hof auszeichnete und in ähnlicher Form auch bei anderen Personen der beiden Mosaiken zu erkennen ist. Beachtenswert ist auch die prunkvolle Scheibenfibel (Orbiculus) mit Pendilien und Trifolium (dreiteiliges Schmuckstück). Ein weiteres Zeichen seiner kaiserlichen Würde ist der Nimbus, der seinen Kopf umgibt. Dem Kaiser folgen einige Würdenträger und seine Leibgarde. Justinian voran geht der Bischof Ravennas, der durch eine Inschrift als Maximian benannt ist, sowie zwei weitere Geistliche. Maximian trägt eine Alba (weiße Tunika, bzw. Dalmatik), darüber eine Planeta und ein Pallium als erzbischöfliches Abzeichen. Alle Männer tragen spezielle Calcei, Sandalen mit Kappen an Zehen und Ferse, die nur von der Oberschicht getragen wurden. Der Fachbegriff für die roten kaiserlichen Sandalen ist Calcei mullei.^[5]

Im südlichen Mosaikfeld ist Theodora aus dem Zentrum etwas nach Osten verschoben. Sie ist durch ihre Tracht, sowie durch ihren Nimbus und die sie hinterfangende Nische deutlich als Kaiserin gekennzeichnet. Sie trägt eine Dalmatik unter einem purpurnen Umhang, eine Haubenkrone mit langen Pendilien und einen Juwelenkragen. In ihren Händen trägt sie den eucharistischen Weinkelch (Calix). Ihr voran gehen zwei Würdenträger, die denen des gegenüberliegenden Mosaiks ähneln, während ihr eine Gruppe Hofdamen folgt. Außer dem Kaiserpaar und dem Bischof lässt sich keine der dargestellten Personen mit absoluter Sicherheit identifizieren, auch wenn in der Forschung immer wieder Zuschreibungen einiger Figuren beispielsweise als Belisar^[6] oder als Mutter Iustinians^[7] auftauchen. Die Bedeutung dieser Mosaiken beruht u.a. darauf, dass sie eine der wenigen eindeutig zuschreibbaren Darstellungen des Kaiserpaares darstellen. Besonders die Gesichtszüge scheinen individuellen Charakter zu besitzen, wobei die spätantike Tendenz zum Abstrahieren durchaus noch gut zu erkennen ist. Was die Körpergröße angeht, so ist davon auszugehen, dass sie eher den gesellschaftlichen Rang der Personen abbildet, wie seit der Spätantike allgemein üblich. Darüber hinaus bieten die beiden Mosaiken wertvolle Informationen über die frühbyzantinische Hoftracht.

Es kann als gesichert gelten, dass die Mosaiken der Apsis noch aus der Zeit Bischof Victors (537/38-544/45) stammen. Die Darstellungen des Kaiserpaars können aufgrund der damaligen politischen Situation erst nach der Eroberung Ravennas durch die Byzantiner im Jahr 540 entstanden sein. Victors Nachfolger Maximian ließ die Mosaikausstattung des Altarbereichs vollenden und sein eigenes Porträt anstelle dessen seines Vorgängers in das Mosaikfeld mit dem Bildnis des Kaisers einfügen. Auch das Bildnis des zwischen bzw. hinter Justinian und dem Bischof stehenden Beamten entstand erst in dieser Zeit.^[8]

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  Kaiser Justinian und Bischof Maximian mit Gefolge
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  Kaiserin Theodora mit ihrem Gefolge
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  Kaiserin Theodora (Detail)
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  Kaiser Justinian (Detail)
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  Hofdame (Detail)
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  Abel und Melchisedek
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  Abraham und die Opferung Isaaks

Fresken

Während die Ausgestaltung des Altar- und Apsisbereichs noch auf die Entstehungszeit San Vitales zurückgeht, entstand der heute zu sehende Bildschmuck des zentralen Kuppelraums erst in der Neuzeit. Gegen Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts beauftragten die Benediktiner-Mönche den Künstler Serafino Barozzi mit der Ausschmückung der ihnen anvertrauten Kirche. Diesem schloss sich bald darauf Jacopo Guarana an. Vollendet wurde das Werk von Ubaldo Gandolfo, der bereits zuvor mit Barozzi zusammengearbeitet hatte. Bei den Fresken handelt es sich um zeittypische illusionistische Malerei. Im Kuppelscheitel werden der Heilige Vitalis und der Heilige Benedikt im Himmel gezeigt.

Orgel

Die Orgel wurde 1967 von der Orgelbaufirma Mascioni erbaut. Das Instrument hat 53 Register auf drei Manualen und Pedal. Davon sind 15 Register Transmissionen, und 13 Register Extensionen.

I SchwellpositivC– Principale 8′ Bordone 8′ Salicionale 8′ Ottava 4′ Flauto 4′ Eolina 4′ Flauto in XII 2 2⁄3′ Flautino 2′ Decimino 1 3⁄5′ Piccolo 1′ Oboe 8′ Regale 8′ Voce Celeste 8′ Tremulant

II Hauptwerk C– Principale 16′ Principale 8′ Flauto traverso 8′ Dulciana 8′ Flauto Camino 4′ Ottava 4′ Decimaquinta 2′ Ripieno Grave II 1 1⁄3′ Ripieno Acuto IV Tromba Corno 8′

III SchwellwerkC– Bordone 16′ Principale 8′ Bordone Amabile 8′ Viola di Gamba 8′ Salicionale 8′ Principalino 4′ Flauto 4′ Nazardo 2 2⁄3′ Silvestre 2′ Ottavina 2′ Larigot 1 1⁄3′ Decimino 1 3⁄5′ Pienino III Oboe 8′ Regale 8′ Voce Celeste 8′ Coro Viole III Tremulant

Pedalwerk C– Basso Acustico 32′ Contrabbasso 16′ Principale 16′ Subbasso 16′ Bordone 16′ Basso 8′ Bordone 8′ Dolce 8′ Quinta 5 1⁄3′ Ottava 4′ Flauto 4′ Fagotto 8′ Trombina 4′

• Koppeln: I/II, III/I, III/II, I/P, II/P, III/P; Superoktavkoppeln (II/II, III/II, III/III, I/P, II/P, II/P) und Suboktavkoppel III/II.

Einordnung

Oktogon des Aachener Doms

Der Bau, der architektonisch am nächsten mit San Vitale verwandt ist, ist die von Justinian I. vor 536 in Konstantinopel errichtete Sergios und Bakchos Kirche. Auch hier bildet ein überkuppelter oktogonalerZentralraum den Mittelpunkt des Gebäudes. Zwischen den Pfeilern wechseln sich allerdings anders als in Ravenna halbrunde und rechteckige Nischen ab. Der Umgang ist wie in San Vitale ebenfalls oktogonal und, für Konstantinopel typisch, mit einer Empore versehen. Diese Innenraumgliederung wirkt sich hier allerdings nicht auf den Außenbau aus, der eine quadratische Grundform hat. Insgesamt steht San Vitale sehr stark – stärker als jede andere ravennatische Kirche – in der konstantinopolitanischen Bautradition. Möglicherweise brachte Bischof Ecclesius die Pläne für den Bau der Kirche mit nach Ravenna, nachdem er 525 gemeinsam mit Papst Johannes I. im Auftrag des ostgotischen Königs Theoderich in die oströmische Hauptstadt gereist war.

Für die westeuropäische Architektur erhielt San Vitale wiederum selbst Vorbildcharakter. Die um 800 von Karl dem Großen erbaute Aachener Pfalzkapelle weist starke Bezüge zu dem ravennatischen Bau auf. Der Frankenherrscher hatte durch seine Eroberung des Langobardenreiches auch Ravenna unter seine Kontrolle gebracht. Der Überlieferung zufolge ließ er Baumaterial, wie z. B. Säulen, von dort nach Aachen schaffen. Karl versuchte wohl seinem eigenen, erst kürzlich errungenen Kaisertum durch solche Rückbezüge auf spätrömisch-byzantinische Traditionen, Legitimität zu verleihen.

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  (idealisierter) Grundriss der Sergius und Bacchus Kirche
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  Grundriss von San Vitale
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  Grundriss der Aachener Pfalzkapelle

Siehe auch

• Byzantinische Architektur
• Liste römischer Kuppeln
• Liste antiker Wendeltreppen

Literatur

• Irina Andreescu-Treadgold, Warren Treadgold: Procopius and the Imperial Panels of S. Vitale. In: The Art Bulletin. Bd. 79, Nr. 4, 1997, S. 708–723, doi:10.1080/00043079.1997.10786808.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Deichmann: Ravenna. Hauptstadt des spätantiken Abendlandes. Band 1: Geschichte und Monumente.Steiner, Wiesbaden 1969, S. 226–256.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Deichmann: Ravenna. Hauptstadt des spätantiken Abendlandes. Band 2: Kommentar. Teil 2. Steiner, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-515-02005-5, S. 47–206.
• Gianfranco Malafarina (Hrsg.): La Basilica di San Vitale a Ravenna(= Mirabilia Italiae. Guide. 6). Panini, Modena 2006, ISBN 88-8290-909-3 (italienisch und englisch mit zahlreichen Abbildungen).
• Otto G. von Simson: Sacred Fortress. Byzantine Art and Statecraft in Ravenna. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 1987, ISBN 0-691-04038-9, S. 23–39.
• Jutta Dresken-Weiland: Die frühchristlichen Mosaiken von Ravenna – Bild und Bedeutung, Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-7954-3024-5

Weblinks

Commons: San Vitale (Ravenna) – Album mit Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Vitale

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Pyrgi Tablets

Giacobbe Giusti, Pyrgi Tablets

Le tre lamine d’oro del VI secolo a.C., con la stessa iscrizione riportata in etrusco. in fenicio e in punico(Roma, Museo di Villa Giulia). Queste lamine sono state rinvenute a Pyrgi (oggi Santa Severa, in provincia di Roma), porto antico di Cere.

 Giacobbe Giusti, Pyrgi Tablets

The tablets

The Pyrgi Tablets, found in a 1964 excavation of a sanctuary of ancient Pyrgi on the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy(today the town of Santa Severa), are three golden leaves that record a dedication made around 500 BC by Thefarie Velianas, king of Caere, to the Phoenician goddess ʻAshtaret. Pyrgi was the port of the southern Etruscantown of Caere. Two of the tablets are inscribed in the Etruscan language, the third in Phoenician.^[1]

These writings are important in providing both a bilingual text that allows researchers to use knowledge of Phoenician to interpret Etruscan, and evidence of Phoenician or Punic influence in the Western Mediterranean. They may relate to Polybius‘s report (Hist. 3,22) of an ancient and almost unintelligible treaty between the Romans and the Carthaginians, which he dated to the consulships of L. Iunius Brutus and L. Tarquinius Collatinus (509 BC).

The tablets are now held at the National Etruscan Museum, Villa Giulia, Rome.

Phoenician text

l-rbt l-ʻštrt,

To lady Ashtarot,

ʼšr qdš ʼz, ʼš pʻl, w-ʼš ytn tbryʼ wlnš mlk ʻl kyšryʼ. ( kyšry= KAYSERI)

This is the holy place, which was made, and which was given by Tiberius Velianas who reigns over the Caerites.

b-yrḥ zbḥ šmš, b-mtnʼ b-bt, wbn tw.

During the month of the sacrifice to the Sun, as a gift in the temple, he built an aedicula.

k-ʻštrt ʼrš b-dy l-mlky šnt šlš, b-yrḥ krr, b-ym qbr ʼlm

For Ashtarot raised him with Her hand to reign for three years from the month of Churvar, from the day of the burial of the divinity [onward].

w-šnt lmʼš ʼlm b-bty šnt km h kkb m ʼl.

And the years of the statue of the divinity in the temple [shall be] as many years as the stars above.^[2]

The Phoenician text has long been known to be in a Semitic, more specifically Canaanite language (very closely related to Hebrew, and also relatively close to Aramaic and Ugaritic); hence there was no need for it to be “deciphered.” And while the inscription can certainly be read, certain passages are philologically uncertain on account of perceived complications of syntax and the vocabulary employed in the inscription, and as such they have become the source of debate among both Semiticists and Classicists.^[3]

Supplementary to the Pyrgi Tablets are inscriptions on vessels found in the sanctuary at Pyrgi:

unial: div) patera, or plate V TLE 877

unial:(div) patera, or plate V REE 40 n54

• ]starte/s/  ?] cve[r (]starte/ / in REE) (div?)

fragment vasis, or vessel IV REE 56 n31

mi :”s’uris : cava’th’as,(div)patera, or plate V REE 64 n36.

]xcava’th’as 2]a emini[(div) Greek kylix, V REE 56 n24^[4]

Phoenician vocabulary

ʼlm, divinity [Semitic *ʼil- “god”]

ʼrš, to raise

ʼš, which, who, that [rel.pron]

ʼšr, place

ʼz, this [ ha-dha? ]

ʻl, over, above [Semitic *ʻal-]

ʻštrt, Astarte [Semitic *ʻaṯtar-]

b-, in, at, with, on [Semitic *bi-]

bt, house, temple [Semitic *bayt-]

kkb, star [Semitic *kabkab-] [hakkawkabīm/hakkawkabūm = the-stars]

k-, for, since [Semitic *ki-]

km, like, as [ka-ma]

krr, Churvar [calendar month] [cf. Etruscan Χurvar]

kyšryʼ, Caerites [a people]

l-, to, for [Semitic *la-]

lmʼš, statue

mlk, to rule, to reign [Semitic *mlk]

mtnʼ, gift [Semitic *ntn ‘to give’]

pʻl, to make, to do [Semitic *pʻl]

qbr, burial

qdš, holy

rbt, lady [cf. Akkadian rābu “grand, large”] [rabbu, female: rabbatu ]

šlš, three [Semitic *ṯalāṯ-]

šmš, sun [Semitic *šamš-^[5]]

šnt, year [šanot “years” – from: šanāt]

tw, aedicula [taw]

w-, and [Semitic *wa-]

bn, to build [ bny ] [wayyiben = [and] he built]

yd, hand

ym, day [Semitic *yawm-]

yrḥ, month [Semitic *warḥu-] [Canaanite: yarhu]

ytn, to give [Semitic *[y]-ntn] [ya-ntin[u]] he-gives / hebrew: yittēn

zbḥ, sacrifice

Etruscan text

First plate:

ita tmia icac he

ramašva vatieχe

unial astres θemia

sa meχ θuta Θefa

riei velianas sal

cluvenias turu

ce munis tas θuvas

tameresca ilacve

tul erase nac ci avi

l χurvar, tešiameit

ale ilacve alšase

nac atranes zilac

al, sel eita la acnašv

ers itanim heram

ve avil eniaca pulum χva.

This temple and these statues are dedicated to Uni-Astre, built by the clanspeople.

Tiberius Velianas the pleasing aedicula has given.

munistas θuvas tameresca ilacve tulerase.

That burial of his own by these priests with idols was encircled.

nac ci avil χurvar, tešiameitale, ilacve alšase.

For three years [in the month of] Churvar, with Her burnt offerings, with idols [it was] buried.

nac atranes zilacal, seleitala acnašvers.

During the reign of the chief, in Her hand [he] would be brought forth (ie: Uni-Astre gave him authority to rule).

itanim heram ve, avile niaca pulum χva.

And with these Hermes idols, the year(s) shall endure as the stars.

Second plate:

nac θe farie vel

iiunas θ amuce

cleva etu nal masan tiur, unias

šelace v

acal tmial a

vil χ val amuce pulum χva snuiaφ.

.

When Tiberius Velianas had built the statue of the sanctuary [in] the month of Masan, Uni was pleased.

vacal tmial avilχval amuce pulumχva snuiaφ.

The votives of the temple yearly have been as numerous as the stars.

Etruscan vocabulary

*acna(s), to bring forth (⟨acnaš-ver-s⟩ ‘[he] would be brought forth’)

[perhaps -⟨u⟩, passive + -⟨er⟩-, purposive, common in the LLZ, had combined to form a passive optative in -⟨ver⟩- ‘would be’]

Note ⟨huśur maχ acnanas, arce.⟩ “Having brought forth (ie: given birth to) five children, [she] raised [them]” (TLE 887)

*alš, to bury (⟨alš-as-e⟩ ‘buried’)

*am, to be (⟨am-uc-e⟩ ‘has been, had been’)

⟨an zilaθ amce mecl Rasnal.⟩ “He had been a chief of the Etruscan people.” (ET Ta 7.59)

astre, Phoenician goddess of fertility, associated with Uni (⟨astre-s⟩ ‘of Astre’) [Phoenician ⟨’štrt⟩ ← *’aṯtarṯ]

*atran, reign, rulership

avil, year (⟨avilχva-l⟩ ‘of the years, yearly’)

ca, this (⟨ca⟩ ‘this’, ⟨ica-c⟩ ‘and this’)

ci, three

*cluvenia, aedicula (⟨cluvenia-s⟩ ‘of the aedicula’)

xurvar, month [Phoenician ⟨krr⟩ *kurar]

*en, to last, endure (⟨en-iac-a⟩ ‘shall endure’)

⟨śacnicleri cilθl, śpureri, meθlumeric, enaś.⟩ “By way of these sacred objects of the sanctuary, by the city and by the people, [it] endures” (LLZ, col 9, lines 12-13)

*etan, sanctuary (⟨etan-al⟩ ‘of the sanctuary’)

*heram(aš), Hermes idol (⟨heramv-e⟩ ‘with the Hermes idols’, ⟨heramašva⟩ ‘Hermes idols’)

*ila, idol (*ilacva ‘idols’, ⟨ilacv-e⟩ ‘with idols’)

meχ, people

muni, burial, plot of land (⟨muni-s⟩ ‘of the burial’)

nac, when, during, while

*pulum, star (⟨pulum-χva⟩ ‘stars’, ⟨pulun-za⟩ ‘little star’)

⟨fulumχva⟩ (Cippus perusinus, lateral, lines 29-30)

⟨…pulunza ipal sacnina tinia tei aθemeiś caś…⟩ “…the little star for which the sacred Tinia of the sky…” (CIE 6310)

sal, pleasing

*sel, hand (⟨sel-ei⟩ ‘with the hand’)

*snuia, many (⟨snuia-φ⟩ “as many”)

⟨śnuiu-φ⟩ “as many” (LLZ, col 6, lines 1,2,4)

*šel, to please (⟨šel-ac-e⟩ ‘has pleased’) [cf. ⟨sal⟩]

ta, that (⟨ita⟩ ‘that’, ⟨⟩ ‘and with that’, ⟨ta-s⟩ ‘of that’, ⟨tala⟩ ‘her’, ⟨tal-e⟩ ‘with her’)

tešiam, burnt offerings (⟨tešiam-ei⟩ ‘with burnt offerings’)

⟨Śucic firin tesim.⟩ “And incense was burned as a burnt offering” (LLZ, col 7, lines 9-10)

tmia, temple (⟨tmia-l⟩ ‘of the temple’)

*tuler, to encircle (⟨tuler-as-e⟩ ‘encircled’) [cf. ⟨tul⟩ ‘border, boundary’]

tur, to give (⟨tur-uc-e⟩ ‘has given’)

*θem, to build (⟨θem-iasa⟩ ‘built’, ⟨θam-uc-e⟩ ‘has built’)

θefariei, Tiberius [Roman male name]

θuta, clan, nation (compare Celto-Germanic cognates *Tuatha, *Theod, *Diot). Compare Icelandic: þjóð (nom), þjóð (acc), þjóðu (dat), þjóðar (gen).

θuva, oneself, (⟨θuva-s⟩ ‘one’s own’) [cf. ⟨θu⟩ ‘one, single’]

⟨θuker akil tuś thuveś.⟩ “Thuker completed his own tomb.” (TLE 672)

uni, Etruscan mother goddess of fertility (⟨uni-al⟩ ‘of Uni’) [cf. Latin Iūno]

vacal, votive offering

⟨celi suθ vacl θesnin⟩ “Upon the earth of the tomb a votive offering was dedicated.” (LLZ, col 5, lines 15-16)

*vat, to dedicate (⟨vat-ieχ-e⟩ ‘to be dedicated’)

velianas, Velianas [family name].

zilaχ, chief (⟨zilac-al⟩ ‘of the chief’)

⟨svalasi, zilaχnuce.⟩ “[While] living, [he] had been chief.” (TLE 173)

⟨zilaχnce avil xi.⟩ “[He] had been chief eleven years.” (REE 40, n75)

Notes

1. Jump up^ The specific dialect has been called “Mediterranean Phoenician” by Philip C. Schmitz, “The Phoenician Text from the Etruscan Sanctuary at Pyrgi” Journal of the American Oriental Society 115.4 (October – December 1995), pp. 559-575. Full bibliography of Pyrgi and the tablets
2. Jump up^ Transcription from Hildegard Temporini, Joseph Vogt, Wolfgang Haase. 1972. Aufsteig und Niedergang der Römischen Welt, vol. 2, part 25. P.201. Also, along with the original Phoenician letters, in Haarmann, Harald. 1996. Early Civilization and Literacy in Europe: An Inquiry into Cultural Continuity in the Mediterranean World. P.355
3. Jump up^ For the most recent analysis of the inscription and summary of the various scholarly interpretations, see Schmitz, P. 1995 “The Phoenician Text from the Etruscan Sanctuary at Pyrgi.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 15:559-575.
4. Jump up^ Source for the Pyrgi inscriptions :“Archived copy”. Archived from the original on 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
5. Jump up^ The Patterning of Root Morphemes in Semitic. 1990. In: On language: selected writings of Joseph H. Greenberg. Ed. Keith M. Denning and Suzanne Kemmer. P.379

References

• Massimo Pittau (1996): “Gli Etruschi e Cartagine: i documenti epigrafici“. L’Africa romana: atti dell’11. Convegno di studio, 15-18 dicembre 1994, Cartagine, Tunisia. Sassari, Editrice Il torchietto. V. 3, p. 1657-1674.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrgi_Tablets

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, Römische Villa bei Lullingstone

Giacobbe Giusti, Römische Villa bei Lullingstone

Giacobbe Giusti, Römische Villa bei Lullingstone

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Römische Villa bei Lullingstone

 Giacobbe Giusti, Römische Villa bei Lullingstone

Die heutigen Reste der Villa

Bei Lullingstone(östlich von London in Kent) konnten die Reste einer reich ausgestatteten römischen Villaausgegraben werden. Vor allem die Fragmente von Wandmalereienmit christlichen Motiven erregten überregionales Interesse.

Lage

Die Villa von Lullingstone liegt in einem kleinen Tal, nahe bei dem Fluss Darent. Sie liegt an einem Abhang und ist besonders gut erhalten, da im Laufe der Jahrhunderte Erde vom oberen Teil des Abhanges nach unten rutschte und dabei auch die Ruinen der Villa bedeckte und damit auch schützte.

Geschichte des Baues

Plan der Villa um 125 n. Chr.

Reste einer Wandmalerei: Nymphen

Modell der Villa

Plan der Villa um 400 n. Chr.

Erste Siedlungsreste stammen aus der Zeit vor der römischen Eroberung Britanniens. Es fanden sich Scherben und Münzen, die um 1 bis 43 n. Chr. datieren. Gebäudereste sind aus dieser Zeit bisher nicht festgestellt worden.

Ein erster Bau aus Stein wurde hier um 100 n. Chr. errichtet. Dieser Bau ist architektonisch nur schwer zu fassen, da er durch spätere Umbauten verunklärt ist. Es war aber sicherlich eine einfache Portikusvilla mit Eckrisaliten. Das Gebäude bestand im unteren Teil aus vermauerten Feuersteinen. Der Aufbau war vielleicht ein Fachwerkbau. Zu diesem Bau gehörte auch ein Keller, der aus zwei Räumen bestand, der bis zum Ende der Villa in Betrieb blieb. Hinter der Villa (im Westen) wurde ein Küchengebäude errichtet.

Das Gebäude wurde zwischen 150 und 180 erweitert. Es wurden auf der Südseite ein Bad hinzugefügt. Der Keller hatte in der ersten Bauphase zwei Zugänge, wobei in der zweiten Bauphase eine dieser Türen zugemauert wurde. Die nun entstandene Nische erhielt eine Bemalung mit der Darstellung von drei Nymphen. Auch die restlichen Wände wurden bemalt, doch ist davon nur wenig erhalten. Die Umgestaltung deutet an, dass der Keller in einen Kultraum umgestaltet wurde. Der damalige Besitzer scheint recht wohlhabend gewesen zu sein, jedenfalls war er Eigentümer von zwei marmornen Büsten, eine Seltenheit in der britannischen Provinz. Sie fanden sich bei den Ausgrabungen im Keller. Im zweiten Jahrhundert wurde auch ein runder Bau etwas nördlich der Villa errichtet. Die Funktion ist unbekannt, doch wird vermutet, dass es sich um eine kleine Kapelle handelte.

Im Dritten Jahrhundert erlebte das ganze römische Reich eine Zeit wirtschaftlichen Niederganges. Die Villa scheint vernachlässigt worden zu sein, doch wurde sie nicht aufgegeben, wie noch die Ausgräber vermuteten. Münzen und Scherben deuten eine Siedlungskontinuität an. Am Beginn des vierten Jahrhunderts wurde ein Mausoleumwestlich der Villa erbaut. Es bestand aus einem zentralen Raum, um den sich ein Umgang befand. Der Bau ähnelt somit einem römischen-gallischen Umgangstempel. In einer Grube im zentralen Raum lagen zwei Bleisärge, in denen sich die Skelette von einem Mann und einer Frau befanden. Es fanden sich zahlreiche Beigaben, darunter ein Bronzegefäß, vier Glasflaschen, zwei Messer und zwei Löffel. Bemerkenswert ist ein Spielbrett mit 30 Spielsteinen aus Glas, die auf einem der Särge lagen.

Neben der Villa wurde in etwa zur gleichen Zeit ein Getreidespeicher errichtet. Er war 24,4 × 10,7 m groß und gehört damit zu den größten in Britannien. Der Bau hatte einen erhöhten Fußboden, damit Luft darunter zirkulieren konnte.

Um 350 erhielt das Speisezimmer der Villa eine Apsis und wurde mit einem Mosaik ausgestattet. Um 360/370 scheinen die Besitzer zum Christentum konvertiert zu sein. Ein Raum wurde zu einer christlichen Kapelle umgestaltet und erhielt Wandmalereien mit christlichen Motiven. Diese zeigen den Villenbesitzer und seine Familie in Bethaltung, sowie das christliche Chi-Rho. Kurz nach 400 brannte die Villa nieder und wurde nie wieder aufgebaut.

Die Wandmalereien

Giacobbe Giusti, Römische Villa bei Lullingstone

Wandmalerei auf der Westwand mit christlichen Adoranten

Die Villa hat ihre herausragende Bedeutung vor allem durch den Fund der Wandmalereien des vierten Jahrhunderts. Vereinzelte Malereifragmente stammen schon aus dem zweiten Jahrhundert. Im Bad fand sich ein Fragment, dass einen Fisch zeigt. Das Fragment fand sich im Frigidarium, das demnach vielleicht mit einer Seelandschaft, wie sie in Bädern beliebt waren, dekoriert gewesen. Andere noch an der Wand haftende Fragmente zeigen eine einfache Felderdekoration.^[1] Aus dem zweiten Jahrhundert stammt auch die Nische im Keller mit der Darstellung von drei Wassernymphen.^[2]

Die Malereien des vierten Jahrhunderts fanden sich im Keller verstürzt und schmückten einst zwei Räume einer Hauskapelle, deren Dekoration in groben Zügen rekonstruiert werden kann. Die best erhaltene Wand ist die Westwand. Der Sockel stellt wohl eine Marmorimitation dar. Darüber finden sich sechs Säulen zwischen denen wiederum einzelne Figuren auf weißen Grund stehen. Die Säulen sind von Farbbändern gerahmt. Die Figuren scheinen zu schweben und haben ihre Arme ausgebreitet. Nur eine Figur hebt ihre rechte Hand zum Gruß. Die zweite Figur von links ist die best erhaltene und ist darüber hinaus durch einen Vorhang, der hinter ihr erhalten ist, hervorgehoben. Bis auf die vorletzte Figur scheinen alle Männer darzustellen.

Die Ostwand ist schlechter erhalten und deren Rekonstruktion bereitet Schwierigkeiten. Die Sockelzone wird wiederum von Marmorimitationen eingenommen. Darüber befindet sich ein Feld mit sechs Säulen. In der Mitte befindet sich ein Kreis mit dem christlichen Chi-Rho. Zwischen den Säulen scheinen Personen dargestellt zu sein, die auf das Zentralfeld zugehen. Die Rekonstruktion der dritten Zone bleibt schließlich reine Spekulation, hier könnten sich eventuell Säulen aber auch Ornamentbänder befunden haben. Beide Dekorationselemente fanden sich, doch können keiner Wand mit Sicherheit zugeordnet werden.

Die Nordwand zeigt die Sockelzone mit Marmorimitationen und darüber zahlreiche Säulen, in deren Mitte sich offensichtlich eine figürliche Szene befand. Im Oberfeld gab es die Darstellung einer Landschaft mit Gebäuden.

In der Südwand befand sich die Tür des Raumes. Rechts von ihr befand sich über der Sockelzone wiederum ein Feld mit einer von Säulen gerahmten Mittelszene. Im Oberfeld befand sich ein Chi-Rho.

Der Vorraum war einfacher gestaltet, nur an einer Wand befand sich ein Chi-Ro, in einem Kreis und von einem geometrischen Muster gerahmt.

Die Malereien sind von besonderer Bedeutung, da es nur wenige Zeugnisse christlicher Wandmalerei aus dem vierten Jahrhundert gibt. In Britannien sind sie bisher einmalig. Der Stil ist einfach bis unbeholfen. Es gibt kaum Andeutungen von Licht und Schatten oder Perspektive.

• 

  Reste einer Wandmalerei: Fisch aus dem Bad

• 

  Wandmalerei mit dem christlichen Chi-Rho, Südwand

Das Mosaik

Giacobbe Giusti, Römische Villa bei Lullingstone

Speiseraum mit Mosaik

Das Mosaik im Speisesaal der Villa zeigt zwei Szenen. In der eigentlichen Apsis ist die Entführung der Europa durch Jupiter als Stier dargestellt. Europa, halbnackt, sitzt auf dem Stier. Die Szene wird von zwei Eroten flankiert. Der hintere zieht am Schwanz des Stieres und versucht offensichtlich die Entführung zu verhindern. Über der Szene befindet sich eine lateinische Inschrift, die übersetzt lautet:

Wenn die eifersüchtige Juno den schwimmenden Stier gesehen hätte, dann wäre sie mit größerer Gerechtigkeit auf ihrer Seite wiederhergestellt in den Häusern des Aeolus

Dieser Spruch ist eine Anspielung aus das erste Buch der Aeneis, in dem Juno, die Gattin des Jupiter, den Windgott Aeolus überredet, einen Sturm zu entfachen, um Aenas auf seiner Reise nach Italien zu besiegen. Diese Szene belegt deutlich das hohe Bildungsniveau des Villeninhabers.

Die zweite Szene des Mosaik zeigt Bellerophon wie er auf Pegasusreitet und die Chimära mit einem Speer tötet. Dieses Bild wird von vier runden Medaillons gerahmt in denen sich wiederum Darstellungen in Büstenform der vier Jahreszeiten befinden.

Funde

Giacobbe Giusti, Römische Villa bei Lullingstone

Marmorbüste

Marmorbüste

In der Villa fand sich eine Reihe bemerkenswerter Objekte. An erster Stelle sind zwei Marmorbüsten zu nennen, die sich im Keller fanden. Sie können stilistisch in das zweite Jahrhundert datiert werden und sind Arbeiten aus dem östlichen Mittelmeerraum. In der früheren Forschung wurde oftmals angenommen, dass es sich hier um Vater und Sohn handelt, die nacheinander Besitzer der Villa waren. Die besser erhaltene zeigt einen bärtigen Mann, in einem militärischen Gewand mit einer runden Fiebel.^[3] Eine neuere Theorie besagt jedoch, dass hier der spätere Kaiser Pertinax und dessen Vater Publius Helvius Successusdargestellt sind.^[4] Pertinax war Statthalter von Britannien, bevor er zum Kaiser erhoben wurde. Demnach ist die Lullingstonevilla der Landsitz des Statthalters gewesen.

Ein weiterer Fund ist eine Gemme, die geflügelte Victoria mit einem Schild und vor einem Brustpanzer, der Teil einer Trophäe ist, zeigt. Die Gemme gehört zu den besten, die jemals in Britannien gefunden wurden. Sie besteht aus Karneol. Es wurde argumentiert, dass es sich um das Amstsiegel von Pertinax handelte als er als Statthalter in Britannien amtierte. ^[5]

Ausgrabungen

Die Villa wurde 1939 entdeckt, obwohl es schon seit dem späten achtzehnten Jahrhundert Vermutungen gab, dass es hier Reste eines römischen Gebäudes gibt. Ausgrabungen fanden seit 1949 statt und dauerten 12 Jahre. Die Villa ist heute für Besucher hergerichtet.

Anmerkungen

1. Hochspringen↑ Liversidge, in: Meates: The Roman villa at Lullingstone, S. 5, Tafel 1, fig. 1 auf S. 6
2. Hochspringen↑ Liversidge, in: Meates: The Roman villa at Lullingstone, Tafeln IV–V
3. Hochspringen↑ Neal: Lullingstone, Roman Villa., 22
4. Hochspringen↑ T. Ganschow/M. Steinhart: The Roman portraits from the villa of Lullingstone: Pertinax and his father, P Helvius Successus.In: Otium: Festschrift für Volker Michael Strocka. Remshalden 2005, S. 47–53.
5. Hochspringen↑ Martin Henig: The Victory-Gem from Lullingstone Roman Villa, in: Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 160 (2007), 1-7

Literatur

• Geoffrey Wells Meates: The Roman villa at Lullingstone, Kent. Vol. 1, The site. Kent Archaeological Society, London 1979, ISBN 0-85033-341-5.
• Geoffrey Wells Meates: The Roman villa at Lullingstone, Kent. Vol. 2, The wall paintings and finds. Kent Archaeological Society, London 1987, ISBN 0-906746-09-4.
• David S. Neal: Lullingstone, Roman Villa. London 1998, ISBN 1-85074-356-8.

Weblinks

 Römische Villa bei Lullingstone – Sammlung von Bildern, Videos und Audiodateien

• HISTORY OF LULLINGSTONE ROMAN VILLA on English Heritage

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%B6mische_Villa_bei_Lullingstone

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Vestibolo Di Polifemo room

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali)

A mosaic from the Big Game Hunt
Shown within Italy
Location	Piazza Armerina, Province of Enna, Sicily, Italy
Type	Roman villa
Area	8.92 ha (22.0 acres)
History
Founded	First quarter of the 4th century AD
Abandoned	12th century AD
Periods	Late Antiquity to High Middle Ages
Cultures	Roman
Site notes
Archaeologists	Paolo Orsi, Giuseppe Cultrera, Gino Vinicio Gentili, Andrea Carandini
Ownership	Public
Website	www.villaromanadelcasale.it
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Villa Romana del Casale
Type	Cultural
Criteria	i, ii, iii
Designated	1997 (21st session)
Reference no.	832
Region	Europe and North America

The Villa Romana del Casale (Sicilian: Villa Rumana dû Casali) is a large and elaborate Roman villa or palace located about 3 km from the town of Piazza Armerina, Sicily. Excavations have revealed one of the richest, largest and varied collections of Roman mosaics in the world,^[1] for which the site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.^[2] The villa and artwork contained within date to the early 4th century AD.

The over 3000 sq. metres of mosaic and opus sectilepavement are also almost unique in their excellent state of preservation due to the landslide and floods which covered the remains.

Although less well-known, an extraordinary collection of frescoes covered not only the interior rooms but also the exterior walls.

History

Plan of the villa

The visible remains of the villa were constructed in the first quarter of the 4th century AD on the remains of an older villa rustica, which are the pars dominica, or master’s residence, of a large latifundium or agricultural estate.^[3]

Three successive construction phases have been identified; the first phase involved the quadrangular peristyle and the facing rooms. The private bath complex was then added on a north-west axis. In a third phase the villa took on a public character: the baths were given a new entrance and a large latrine, and a grand monumental entrance was built, off-axis to the peristyle but aligned with the new baths entrance and in a formal arrangement with the elliptical (or ovoid) arcade and the grand tri-apsidal hall. This hall was used for entertainment and relaxation for special guests and replaced the two state halls of the peristyle (the “hall of the small hunt” and the “diaeta of Orpheus”). The basilica was expanded and decorated with beautiful and exotic marbles.

The complex remained inhabited for at least 150 years and a village grew around it, named Platia(derived from the word palatium (palace).

Peristyle

In the 5th and 6th centuries, the villa was fortified for defensive purposes by thickening the perimeter walls and by closing of the arcades of the aqueduct to the baths. The villa was damaged and perhaps destroyed during the domination of the Vandalsand the Visigoths. The outbuildings remained in use, at least in part, during the Byzantine and Arab periods. The settlement was destroyed in 1160-1 during the reign of William I. The site was abandoned in the 12th century AD after a landslide covered the villa. Survivors moved to the current location of Piazza Armerina.

The villa was almost entirely forgotten, although some of the tallest parts of the remains were always above ground. The area was cultivated for crops. Early in the 19th century, pieces of mosaics and some columns were found. The first official archaeological excavations were carried out later in that century.^[4]

The first professional excavations were made by Paolo Orsi in 1929, followed by the work of Giuseppe Cultrera in 1935-39. Major excavations took place in the period 1950-60 led by Gino Vinicio Gentili, after which a cover was built over the mosaics. In the 1970s Andrea Carandini carried out excavations at the site and work has continued to the present day by the University of Rome, La Sapienza. In 2004 the large mediaeval settlement of the 10-12th centuries was found. Since then further sumptuous rooms of the villa have also been revealed.

The latifundium and the villa

Ambulatory of the Big Game Hunt

See also: Sicilia (Roman province)

In late antiquity the Romans partitioned most of the Sicilian hinterland into huge agricultural estates called “latifundia”. The villa’s latifundium is cited in the Itinerarium Antonini and is known as the Filosofiana. The villa’s pars rustica, or agricultural section, has been discovered to the west of the entrance area, as shown by a room divided in three parts by pillars for storage of agricultural products. The size of the villa and the amount and quality of its artwork indicate that it was the pars dominica of such a latifundium.

The owner’s identity has long been discussed and many different hypotheses have been formulated. The owner was probably a member of senatorial class if not of the imperial family itself, i.e. the absolute upper class of the Roman Empire. The most probable owner is of the Constantinian period, Lucius Aradius Valerius Proculus, governor of Sicily between 327 and 331 and consul in 340. The games he organised in Rome in 320 as praetor were so glorious that their fame lasted for a long time, and perhaps the depictions on some mosaics (the “Great Hunt” in corridor 25 and the “Games of the circus” in the baths) recall this event.

The villa was so large as to include multiple reception and state rooms which reflects the need to satisfy a number of different functions and to include spaces for the management of the estate as well as of the villa. This transformed the villa into a city in miniature. The villa would likely have been the permanent or semi-permanent residence of the owner; it would have been where the owner, in his role as patron, received his local clients.

The villa was a single-story building, centred on the peristyle, around which almost all the main public and private rooms were organised. The monumental entrance is via the atrium from the west. Thermal baths are located to the northwest; service rooms and probably guest rooms to the north; private apartments and a huge basilica to the east; and rooms of unknown purpose to the south. Somewhat detached, and appearing almost as an afterthought, is the separate area to the south containing the elliptical peristyle, service rooms, and a huge triclinium (formal dining room).

Palaestra – Two apses room

The overall plan of the villa was dictated by several factors: older constructions on the site, the slight slope on which it was built, and the path of the sun and prevailing winds. The higher ground to the east is occupied by the Great Basilica, the private apartments, and the Corridor of the Great Hunt; the middle ground by the Peristyle, guest rooms, the entrance area, the Elliptical Peristyle, and the triclinium; while the lower ground to the west is dedicated to the thermal baths.

The whole complex is somewhat unusual, as it is organised along three major axes; the primary axis is the (slightly bent) line that passes from the atrium, tablinum, peristyle and the great basilica (coinciding with the path visitors would follow). The thermal baths and the elliptical peristyle with the triclinium are centred on separate axes.

Little is known about the earlier villa, but it appears to have been a large country residence probably built around the beginning of the second century.

Recent excavations have found a second bath complex close to the storerooms at the entrance dating to the late antique phase and showing rare wall mosaics belonging to a basin or a fountain.

Monumental Entrance

Polygonal court mosaic

Access to the villa was through a three-arched gateway, decorated with fountains and military paintings, and closely resembling a triumphal arch. This gave onto the horseshoe courtyard surrounded by marble columns with Ionic capitals with a square fountain at the centre. On the west side of the courtyard was a latrine, and also separate access was given to the baths and to the rest of the villa.

The peristyle garden and the southern rooms

Diaeta of Orpheus

The elegant peristyle garden is decorated with a three-basin fountain, in the centre of which decoration featuring fish swimming among the waves can be seen. Rooms 33 and 34 were dedicated to service functions and have mosaics with geometric motifs while room 34 also features a mosaic installed above the original floor showing female athletic competitions giving it the name “the room of the palestriti”.

Also on the south side is the so-called diaeta of Orpheus, an apsidal room adorned with a remarkable mosaic featuring Orpheus playing the lyre beneath a tree and taming every kind of animal with his music. This room was probably used as a summer dining room or, considering its floor subject, for the enjoyment of music.

Basilica with marble panels

The Basilica

This grand apsidal hall was an audience hall and the most formal room in the villa, accessed through a grand monumental entrance divided by two columns of pink Egyptian granite. An exceptionally elaborate polychrome opus sectile floor consisting of marbles coming from all over the Mediterranean lies at the entrance and is the richest decoration in the villa; it also covered the walls. This type of marble, rather than mosaic, constituted the material of greatest prestige in the Roman world.

The excavations showed that the apse vault was decorated with glass mosaics.

Opus sectile floor – Basilica

Triclinium and elliptical peristyle

On the south side of the villa is an elliptical peristyle, the Xystus, with a semi-circular nymphaeum on the west side. In the open courtyard were fountains spurting from the mosaic pavement.

The Xystus forms a spectacular introduction to the luxurious tri-apsidal triclinium, the great hall that opens to the east. This contains a magnificent set of mosaics dominated in the centre by the enemies encountered by Hercules during his twelve labours. In the north apse is his apotheosis crowned by Jupiter, while to the east are the Giants with serpentine limbs and in their death throes, having been struck by Hercules’ arrows. In the south apse is the myth of Lycurgus who tried to kill the nymph Ambrosia, but was encircled by grapevines and attacked by a crowd of Maenads.

Mosaics

Bikini girls

The “bikini girls” mosaic, showing girls playing sports. To the left, a girl in a toga offers a crown and victor’s palmfrond to “the winner”

In 1959-60, Gentili excavated a mosaic on the floor of the room dubbed the “Chamber of the Ten Maidens” (Sala delle Dieci Ragazze in Italian). Informally called “the bikini girls”, the maidens appear in a mosaic artwork which scholars named Coronation of the Winner. The young women perform sports including weight-lifting, discus throwing, running and ball-games. A girl in a toga offers a crown and victor’s palm frond to “the winner”.^[5]

The Little Hunt

Another well-preserved mosaic shows a hunt, with hunters using dogs and capturing a variety of game.

The Little Hunt mosaic

Gallery

• 

  Great Hunt mosaic

• 

  The “skier”, a youth in motion (not skiing)

• 

  A big cat attacks a hunter on the Great Hunt mosaic

• 

  A ship on the Great Hunt mosaic

• 

  A hunter on the Great Hunt mosaic

• 

  Hunters on the Great Hunt mosaic

• 

  The Giants mosaic

• 

  Young boys hunting a rabbit, Child Hunters Mosaic

• 

  Polyphemus receiving a cup of wine from Ulysses. Anteroom (37) of the north apartment.

• 

  Bikini girls mosaic

• 

  Fresco – Semicircular atrium

References

1. Jump up^ R. J. A. Wilson: Piazza Armerina. In: Akiyama, Terakazu (Ed.): The Dictionary of Art. Vol. 24: Pandolfini to Pitti. Oxford 1998, ISBN 0-19-517068-7.
2. Jump up^ “World heritage site”. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
3. Jump up^ http://www.villaromanadelcasale.it/en/la-villa-romana-del-casale2/la-villa/la-villa-tardoantica/
4. Jump up^ http://www.villaromanadelcasale.it/en/la-villa-romana-del-casale2/la-villa/la-storia-degli-scavi-della-villa-tardoantica/
5. Jump up^ Villa Romana del Casale, Val di Noto

Sources

• Petra C. Baum-vom Felde, Die geometrischen Mosaiken der Villa bei Piazza Armerina, Hamburg 2003, ISBN 3-8300-0940-2
• Brigit Carnabuci: Sizilien – Kunstreiseführer, DuMont Buchverlag, Köln 1998, ISBN 3-7701-4385-X
• Luciano Catullo and Gail Mitchell, 2000. The Ancient Roman Villa of Casale at Piazza Armerina: Past and Present
• R. J. A. Wilson: Piazza Armerina, Granada Verlag: London 1983, ISBN 0-246-11396-0.
• A. Carandini – A. Ricci – M. de Vos, Filosofiana, The villa of Piazza Armerina. The image of a Roman aristocrat at the time of Constantine, Palermo: 1982.
• S. Settis, “Per l’interpretazione di Piazza Armerina”, in Mélanges de l’École française de Rome, Antiquité 87, 1975, 2, pp. 873–994.

Further reading

• Weitzmann, Kurt, ed., Age of spirituality: late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century, no. 105, 1979, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, ISBN 9780870991790; full text available online from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Romana_del_Casale

https://giacobbegiusti9.wordpress.com/category/villa-romaine-du-casale/

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Giacobbe Giusti, Sant’Angelo in Formis, abbey

Façade of the abbey.

Sant’Angelo in Formis is an abbey in the municipality of Capua, southern Italy. The church, dedicated to St Michael Archangel, lies on the western slopes of Monte Tifata.

It was once referred to as ad arcum Dianae (“near the Arch of Diana“), as it lies on the remains of a Roman temple to that goddess.

The church was built in the eleventh century by Desiderius, the abbot of Monte Cassino, who also rebuilt that abbey. At Monte Cassino the decoration was carried out by Byzantine (Greek) artists hired from Constantinople and the decoration of Sant’Angelo displays a mingling of the Byzantine (Eastern) and Latin (Western) traditions.^[1] The frescos were painted by Greek artists and by Italian pupils trained in their methods. Examples of the mingling of styles cited in Hall include:

1. The “lunette over the entrance with a half-length figure of St. Michael and above him an orant Virgin in a medallion supported by flying angels, with an inscription in Greek on the lintel at the foot. The treatment is wholly Byzantine except for the Latin motif of a crown on the Virgin’s head”.^[2]

2. The evangelists around the enthroned Christ in the Apse are in the form of the four symbolic creatures of the Latin tradition, rather than being shown as figures (often seating at writing desks) in the Greek manner.^[2]

3. Subjects from the Old Testament and New Testament line the walls of the nave. The content of individual scenes and the grouping of figures is described by Hall as being “typically Byzantine”, but the whole forms an historical narrative series on the Western model, evidently just as in the basilicas of early Christian Rome.^[2]

References

1. Jump up^ Hall, James. A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art. London, 1983. pp107 & 134
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Hall, James (1983). A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art. London: John Murray. p. 134. ISBN 0-7195-3971-4.

External links

• Sant’Angelo in Formis and the Ancient Capua

 

v t e Archaeological sites in Campania
Province of Avellino	Aeclanum Compsa
Province of Benevento	Benevento Arch of Trajan Roman Theatre Caudium Ligures Baebiani Saticula
Province of Caserta	Allifae Ausona Calatia Cales Santa Maria Capua Vetere Arch of Hadrian (Capua) Casilinum Sant’Angelo in Formis Sinuessa Trebula Balliensis Vescia
Province of Naples	Atella Baiae Cumae Grotta di Cocceio Herculaneum Villa of the Papyri Liternum Miseno Piscina Mirabilis Naples Aqua Augusta Bourbon Tunnel Catacombs of San Gaudioso Catacombs of San Gennaro Crypta Neapolitana Virgil’s tomb Macellum of Naples Oplontis Villa Poppaea Palazzo a Mare Pompeii Pozzuoli Flavian Amphitheater (Pozzuoli) Lucrinus Lacus Lake Avernus Macellum of Pozzuoli Portus Julius Stabiae Suessula Castello Barbarossa Villa Jovis Villa Boscoreale
Province of Salerno	Monte Pruno Paestum Heraion at the mouth of the Sele Temple of Athena Second Temple of Hera Tomb of the Diver Pertosa Caves Velia Villa Romana of Minori

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sant%27Angelo_in_Formis

Giacobbe Giusti, Fresques de Basilique Sant’Angelo in Formis

http://iconaimmaginedio.blogspot.it/2013/07/abbazia-di-s-michele-arcangelo_8859.html

http://iconaimmaginedio.blogspot.it/2013/10/capua-ce-abbazia-di-santangelo-in.html

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, SANDRO BOTTICELLI and PIERO di COSIMO: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

imGiacobbe Giusti, SANDRO BOTTICELLI: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

Giacobbe Giusti, SANDRO BOTTICELLI: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

Giacobbe Giusti, SANDRO BOTTICELLI: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

Giacobbe Giusti, SANDRO BOTTICELLI: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

Giacobbe Giusti, SANDRO BOTTICELLI: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

Giacobbe Giusti, Piero di Cosimo: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

Giacobbe Giusti, Piero di Cosimo: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

Giacobbe Giusti, SANDRO BOTTICELLI and PIERO di COSIMO: SIMONETTA VESPUCCI

Portrait of a woman, said to be of Simonetta Vespucci (c. 1490) by Piero di Cosimo
Born	1453[1] Genoa or Portovenere, Liguria, Italy
Died	26 April 1476(1476-04-26) (aged 22–23)[1] Florence, Italy
Spouse(s)	Marco Vespucci
Parent(s)	Gaspare Cattaneo Della Volta and Cattocchia Spinola

Simonetta Vespucci (née Cattaneo; 1453 – 26 April 1476^[1]), nicknamed la bella Simonetta, was an Italian noblewoman from Genoa, the wife of Marco Vespucci of Florence and the cousin-in-law of Amerigo Vespucci. According to her legend, before her death at 22 she was famous as the greatest beauty of her age in North Italy, and the model for many paintings (many not showing similar features at all) by Botticelli and other Florentine painters. Many art historians are infuriated by these attributions, which the Victorian critic John Ruskin is blamed for giving some respectability.^[2]

Biography

Early life and marriage

She was born as Simonetta Cattaneo circa 1453 in a part of the Republic of Genoa that is now in the Italian region of Liguria. A more precise location for her birthplace is unknown: possibly the city of Genoa,^[3] or perhaps either Portovenere or Fezzano.^[4] The Florentine poet Politian wrote that her home was “in that stern Ligurian district up above the seacoast, where angry Neptune beats against the rocks … There, like Venus, she was born among the waves.”^[5] Her father was a Genoese nobleman named Gaspare Cattaneo della Volta (a much-older relative of a sixteenth-century Doge of Genoa named Leonardo Cattaneo della Volta) and her mother was Gaspare’s wife, Cattocchia Spinola (another source names her parents slightly differently as Gaspare Cattaneo and Chateroccia di Marco Spinola.^[6]

At age fifteen or sixteen she married Marco Vespucci, son of Piero, who was a distant cousin of the explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci. They met in April 1469; she was with her parents at the church of San Torpete when she met Marco; the doge Piero il Fregoso and much of the Genoese nobility were present.

Marco had been sent to Genoa by his father, Piero, to study at the Banco di San Giorgio. Marco was accepted by Simonetta’s father, and he was very much in love with her, so the marriage was logical. Her parents also knew the marriage would be advantageous because Marco’s family was well connected in Florence, especially to the Medici family.

Florence

Simonetta and Marco were married in Florence. According to her legend, Simonetta was instantly popular at the Florentine court. The Medici brothers, Lorenzo and Giuliano took an instant liking toward her. Lorenzo permitted the Vespucci wedding to be held at the palazzo in Via Larga, and held the wedding reception at their lavish Villa di Careggi. Simonetta, upon arriving in Florence, was discovered by Sandro Botticelli and other prominent painters through the Vespucci family. Before long she had supposedly attracted the brothers Lorenzo and Giuliano of the ruling Medici family. Lorenzo was occupied with affairs of state, but his younger brother was free to pursue her.

At La Giostra (a jousting tournament) in 1475, held at the Piazza Santa Croce, Giuliano entered the lists bearing a banner on which was a picture of Simonetta as a helmeted Pallas Athene painted by Botticelli, beneath which was the French inscription La Sans Pareille, meaning “The unparalleled one”.^[7] It is clear that Simonetta had a reputation as an exceptional beauty in Florence,^[8] but the whole display should be considered within the conventions of courtly love; Simonetta was a married woman,^[9] a member of a powerful family allied to the Medici,^[10] and any actual affair would have been a huge political risk.

Giuliano won the tournament,^[11] and Simonetta was nominated “The Queen of Beauty” at that event. It is unknown, and unlikely, that they actually became lovers.

Death

Simonetta Vespucci died just one year later, presumably from tuberculosis,^[12] on the night of 26–27 April 1476. She was twenty-two at the time of her death. She was carried through the city in an open coffin for all to admire her beauty, and there seems to have been some kind of posthumous popular cult in Florence.^[13] Her husband remarried soon afterward, and Giuliano de Medici was assassinated in the Pazzi conspiracy in 1478, two years to the day after her death.

Botticelli finished painting The Birth of Venus around 1486, some ten years later. Some have claimed that Venus, in this painting, closely resembles Simonetta.^[14] This claim, however, is dismissed as a “romantic myth” by Ernst Gombrich,^[15] and “romantic nonsense” by historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto:

The vulgar assumption, for instance, that she was Botticelli’s model for all his famous beauties seems to be based on no better grounds than the feeling that the most beautiful woman of the day ought to have modelled for the most sensitive painter.^[16]

Some, including Ruskin, suggest that Botticelli also had fallen in love with her, a view supported by his request to be buried in the Church of Ognissanti – the parish church of the Vespucci – in Florence. His wish was carried out when he died some 34 years later, in 1510. However this had been Botticelli’s parish church since he was baptized there, and he was buried with his family. The church contained works by him.

There are some connections between Simonetta and Botticelli. He painted the standard carried by Giuliano at the joust in 1475, which carried an image of Pallas Athene that was very probably modelled on her; so he does seem to have painted her once at least, though the image is now lost.^[17] Botticelli’s main Medici patron, Giuliano’s younger cousin Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, married Simonetta’s niece Semiramide in 1482, and it is often thought that his Primavera was painted as a wedding gift on this occasion.^[18]

Possible depictions

• 

  Portrait of a Woman by the workshop of Sandro Botticelli, early-mid 1480s

   

• 

  Portrait of a Woman by the workshop of Sandro Botticelli, mid-1480s^[19]

   

• 

  Flora in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus

   

• 

  Detail of one of the Three Graces in Primavera by Botticelli

   

• 

  Detail of the Venus figure in Primavera by Sandro Botticelli, circa 1482

   

• 

  Detail of the Venus figure in The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, circa 1484-1486

   

• 

  A Satyr mourning over a Nymph by Piero di Cosimo, circa 1495

Regarding each Portrait of a Woman pictured above that is credited to the workshop of Sandro Botticelli, Ronald Lightbown claims they were creations of Botticelli’s workshop that were likely neither drawn nor painted exclusively by Botticelli himself. Regarding these same two paintings he also claims “[Botticell’s work]shop…executed portraits of ninfe, or fair ladies…all probably fancy portraits of ideal beauties, rather than real ladies.”^[20]

She may be depicted in the painting by Piero di Cosimo titled Portrait of a woman, said to be of Simonetta Vespucci that portrays a woman as Cleopatra with an asp around her neck and is alternatively titled by some individuals Portrait of Simonetta Vespucci. Yet how closely this resembles the living woman is uncertain, partly because if this is indeed a rendering of her form and spirit it is a posthumous portrait created about fourteen years after her death. Worth noting as well is the fact that Piero di Cosimo was only fourteen years old in the year of Vespucci’s death. The museum that currently houses this painting questions the very identity of its subject by titling it “Portrait of a woman, said to be of Simonetta Vespucci”, and stating that the inscription of her name at the bottom of the painting may have been added at a later date.^[21]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonetta_Vespucci

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

 

 

 

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Ceiling mosaic Garden of Eden.

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

The Good Shepherd.

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a Roman building in Ravenna, Italy. It was listed with seven other structures in Ravenna in the World Heritage List in 1996.^[1] The UNESCO experts describe it as “the earliest and best preserved of all mosaic monuments, and at the same time one of the most artistically perfect”.

History

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Giacobbe Giusti, Interior view, showing the southern lunette.

Ceiling

The building was formerly the oratory of the Church of the Holy Cross and now contains three sarcophagi. The largest sarcophagus was thought to contain the remains of Galla Placidia (died 450), daughter of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Her embalmed body was reportedly deposited there in a sitting position, clothed with the imperial mantle. In 1577, however, the contents of the sarcophagus were accidentally burned. The sarcophagus to the right is attributed to Galla’s son, Emperor Valentinian III, or to her brother, Emperor Honorius. The one on the left is attributed to her husband, Emperor Constantius III.

The building is not currently used as a mausoleum. It is unknown what the building was intended for when it was built. The most common story is that the structure was built by Galla Placidia, who was a well-known patron of the arts, to be used as a mausoleum for her and her family. There seems to be no evidence to prove or disprove Galla’s connection to the building. The mausoleum was once connected to the narthex of Santa Croce, the church for the imperial palace, built in 417 but now in ruins. Santa Croce was one of the first buildings commissioned by Galla. The floor has been raised by five feet since the fifth century in order to remain above the rising water along the upper Adriatic coast.

Giacobbe Giusti, Architecture and interior art

Ceiling mosaic Garden of Eden.

Mosaics cover the walls of the vault, the lunettes and the cupola. The iconographic themes developed in the decorations represent the victory of eternal life over death. The mausoleum is laid out in a cruciform floor plan, with a central dome on pendentives and barrel vaults over the four transepts. The exterior of the dome is enclosed in a square tower that rises above the gabled lateral wings. The brick surface is set with narrow mortar joints and decorated with blind arcades.

The interior of the mausoleum is covered with rich Byzantine mosaics, and light enters through alabaster window panels. The inside contains two famous mosaic lunettes, and the rest of the interior is filled with mosaics of Christian and Apocalyptic symbols. The central bay’s upper walls are decorated with four pairs of apostles, including St. Peter and St. Paul, acclaiming a giant gold cross in the center of the dome against a blue sky of stars. Symbols of the four evangelists float among the clouds. The other four apostles appear in the barrel vaults of the transepts.

The lunette over the north entrance shows a mosaic of Christ as the Good Shepherd tending his flocks. He holds an imperial staff joined to the Christian cross, symbolizing the combined earthly and heavenly domains. The lunette over the south wall is thought to depict St. Lawrence standing next to a flaming gridiron. On the opposite side of the gridiron a bookcase is shown with four books, each inscribed with the name of an evangelist.

The art historian Gillian Mackie argues that this panel represents the Spanish St. Vincent of Saragossa rather than the Italian St. Lawrence.^[2] Mackie cites Galla’s connection to Spain; in addition, St. Vincent was martyred by drowning at sea, and Galla and her children had been delivered from shipwreck. The panel seems to be an illustration of the poem about St. Vincent in Prudentius’s fifth century Passio Sancti Vincent Martyris. In the poem St. Vincent is ordered to disclose his sacred books to be burned. This explains the cupboard containing the Gospels, which has no satisfactory explanation in the story of St. Lawrence.

Giacobbe Giusti, Good Shepherd Mosaic

The Good Shepherd.

The Lunette of Christ as Good Shepherd over the north entrance is representative of Christian art at this time period in late antiquity. Christ is being depicted as more regal than prior depictions of him as good shepherd. Rather than carrying a lamb over his shoulder, Jesus sits amongst his flock, haloed and robed in gold and purple. The mosaic represents a transition period between the naturalistic depictions of the classical period in art history and the stylized representations of the medieval period. The forms still have three-dimensional bulk, but the shading such as in the folds of the robes is less refined than in the past, and figures are not very grounded. Elements of realism have been sacrificed for a focus on the spiritual elements

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Galla_.com

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

 

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Saracen arches and Byzantine mosaics complement each other within the Palatine Chapel

The Palatine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Palatina), is the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily situated on the first floor at the center of the Palazzo Reale in Palermo, southern Italy.

Also referred to as a Palace church or Palace chapel,^[1] it was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132 to be built upon an older chapel (now the crypt) constructed around 1080. It took eight years to build, receiving a royal charter the same year, with the mosaics being only partially finished by 1143.^[1] The sanctuary, dedicated to Saint Peter, is reminiscent of a domed basilica. It has three apses, as is usual in Byzantine architecture, with six pointed arches (three on each side of the central nave) resting on recycled classical columns.

Mosaics

mosaic in the Palatine Chapel

The mosaics of the Palatine Chapel are of unparalleled elegance as concerns elongated proportions and streaming draperies of figures. They are also noted for subtle modulations of colour and luminance. The oldest are probably those covering the ceiling, the drum, and the dome. The shimmering mosaics of the transept, presumably dating from the 1140s and attributed to Byzantine artists, with an illustrated scene, along the north wall, of St. John in the desert and a landscape of Agnus Dei.^[2] Below this are five saints, the Greek fathers of the church, St. Gregory of Nissa, St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom and St. Nicholas.^[2] The three central figures, St. Gregory, St. Basil, St. John Chrysostom, allude to the Orthodox cult known as the Three Hierarchs, which originated fifty years earlier.^[2] Every composition is set within an ornamental frame, not dissimilar to that used in contemporaneous mosaic icons.

Giacobbe Giusti, CAPPELLA PALATINA

Roger II of Sicily depicted on the muqarnas ceiling in an Arabic style.

The rest of the mosaics, dated to the 1160s or the 1170s, is executed in a cruder manner and feature Latin (rather than Greek) inscriptions. Probably a work of local craftsmen, these pieces are more narrative and illustrative than transcendental. A few mosaics have a secular character and represent oriental flora and fauna. This may be the only substantial passage of secular Byzantine mosaic extant today.

Chapel

Cappella Palatina in Palermo Sicily

Muqarnas, a common element in Arabic architecture

The chapel combines harmoniously a variety of styles: the Norman architecture and door decor, the Arabic arches and script adorning the roof, the Byzantine dome and mosaics. For instance, clusters of four eight-pointed stars, typical for Muslim design, are arranged on the ceiling so as to form a Christian cross.

Other remarkable features of the chapel include the muqarnas ceiling, which is spectacular. The hundreds of facets were painted, notably with many purely ornamental vegetal and zoomorphic designs but also with scenes of daily life and many subjects that have not yet been explained. Stylistically influenced by Iraqi ‘Abbasid art, these paintings are innovative in their more spatially aware representation of personages and of animals.

The chapel has been considered a union of a Byzantine church sanctuary and a Western basilica nave.^[3] The sanctuary, is of an “Eastern” artistic nature, while the nave reflects “Western” influences.^[3]

Nave

The nave, constructed under Roger II, did not contain any Christian images.^[4] These were added later by Roger II’s successors, William I and William II.^[4] The nave’s ceiling consists of Greek, Latin and inscriptions.^[3]

The frame for the royal throne sets against the west wall of the nave.^[5] There are six steps leading up to where the throne would be, along with two heraldic lions in two roundels upon the spandrels over the throne frame gabel.^[5]

Sanctuary

Mosaic of Christ Pantocrator

As an expression of Norman culture, St. Dionysius and St. Martin are represented in the sanctuary.^[6] Mosaics are of Byzantine culture in their composition and subjects.^[7] The apex of the dome consists of the Pantokrator, with rows of angels, prophets, evangelists and saints.^[7] The Byzantine motif ends abruptly with scenes from Christ’s life along the south wall of the southern transept arm, while the north wall consists of warrior saints.^[7]

Analysis

Slobodan Ćurčić considers the Palatine Cappella a reflection of Middle Byzantine art.^[5] Illustrating architectural and artistic genius to juxtapose Sicily’s “melting pot” culture.^[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappella_Palatina#CITEREF.C4.86ur.C4.8Di.C4.871987

La chiesa ipogea

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, “Garden of Eden” mosaic in mausoleum of Galla Placidia

Ceiling mosaic Garden of Eden.

 

Giacobbe Giusti, “Garden of Eden” mosaic in mausoleum of Galla Placidia

The Good Shepherd.

Giacobbe Giusti, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Location	Ravenna, Italy
Criteria	Cultural: (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)
Reference	788-001
Inscription	1996 (20th Session)
Website	www.ravennamosaici.it
Location of Mausoleum of Galla Placidia

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a Roman building in Ravenna, Italy. It was listed with seven other structures in Ravenna in the World Heritage List in 1996.^[1] The UNESCO experts describe it as “the earliest and best preserved of all mosaic monuments, and at the same time one of the most artistically perfect”.

History

Interior view, showing the southern lunette.

Ceiling

The building was formerly the oratory of the Church of the Holy Cross and now contains three sarcophagi. The largest sarcophagus was thought to contain the remains of Galla Placidia (died 450), daughter of the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Her embalmed body was reportedly deposited there in a sitting position, clothed with the imperial mantle. In 1577, however, the contents of the sarcophagus were accidentally burned. The sarcophagus to the right is attributed to Galla’s son, Emperor Valentinian III, or to her brother, Emperor Honorius. The one on the left is attributed to her husband, Emperor Constantius III.

The building is not currently used as a mausoleum. It is unknown what the building was intended for when it was built. The most common story is that the structure was built by Galla Placidia, who was a well-known patron of the arts, to be used as a mausoleum for her and her family. There seems to be no evidence to prove or disprove Galla’s connection to the building. The mausoleum was once connected to the narthex of Santa Croce, the church for the imperial palace, built in 417 but now in ruins. Santa Croce was one of the first buildings commissioned by Galla. The floor has been raised by five feet since the fifth century in order to remain above the rising water along the upper Adriatic coast.

Architecture and interior art

Ceiling mosaic Garden of Eden.

Mosaics cover the walls of the vault, the lunettes and the cupola. The iconographic themes developed in the decorations represent the victory of eternal life over death. The mausoleum is laid out in a cruciform floor plan, with a central dome on pendentives and barrel vaults over the four transepts. The exterior of the dome is enclosed in a square tower that rises above the gabled lateral wings. The brick surface is set with narrow mortar joints and decorated with blind arcades.

The interior of the mausoleum is covered with rich Byzantine mosaics, and light enters through alabaster window panels. The inside contains two famous mosaic lunettes, and the rest of the interior is filled with mosaics of Christian and Apocalyptic symbols. The central bay’s upper walls are decorated with four pairs of apostles, including St. Peter and St. Paul, acclaiming a giant gold cross in the center of the dome against a blue sky of stars. Symbols of the four evangelists float among the clouds. The other four apostles appear in the barrel vaults of the transepts.

The lunette over the north entrance shows a mosaic of Christ as the Good Shepherd tending his flocks. He holds an imperial staff joined to the Christian cross, symbolizing the combined earthly and heavenly domains. The lunette over the south wall is thought to depict St. Lawrence standing next to a flaming gridiron. On the opposite side of the gridiron a bookcase is shown with four books, each inscribed with the name of an evangelist.

The art historian Gillian Mackie argues that this panel represents the Spanish St. Vincent of Saragossa rather than the Italian St. Lawrence.^[2] Mackie cites Galla’s connection to Spain; in addition, St. Vincent was martyred by drowning at sea, and Galla and her children had been delivered from shipwreck. The panel seems to be an illustration of the poem about St. Vincent in Prudentius’s fifth century Passio Sancti Vincent Martyris. In the poem St. Vincent is ordered to disclose his sacred books to be burned. This explains the cupboard containing the Gospels, which has no satisfactory explanation in the story of St. Lawrence.

Good Shepherd Mosaic

The Good Shepherd.

The Lunette of Christ as Good Shepherd over the north entrance is representative of Christian art at this time period in late antiquity. Christ is being depicted as more regal than prior depictions of him as good shepherd. Rather than carrying a lamb over his shoulder, Jesus sits amongst his flock, haloed and robed in gold and purple. The mosaic represents a transition period between the naturalistic depictions of the classical period in art history and the stylized representations of the medieval period. The forms still have three-dimensional bulk, but the shading such as in the folds of the robes is less refined than in the past, and figures are not very grounded. Elements of realism have been sacrificed for a focus on the spiritual elements

Musical associations

External video

The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Smarthistory[3]

The mausoleum is reputed to have inspired American songwriter Cole Porter to compose “Night and Day” while on a 1920s visit.^[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Galla_Placidia?uselang=fr

http://www.giacobbegiusti.com

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa of the Papyri

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa of the Papyri

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa of the Papyri

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa of the Papyri

 

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa of the Papyri

Giacobbe Giusti, Villa of the Papyri

The Villa of the Papyri (Italian: Villa dei Papiri, also known as Villa dei Pisoni), is named after its unique library of papyri (or scrolls), but is also one of the most luxurious houses in all of Herculaneum and in the Roman world.^[1] Its luxury is shown by its exquisite architecture and by the very large number of outstanding works of art discovered, including frescoes, bronzes and marble sculpture^[2] which constitute the largest collection of Greek and Roman sculptures ever discovered in a single context.^[3]

It is located in the current commune of Ercolano, southern Italy. It was situated on the ancient coastline below the volcano Vesuvius with nothing to obstruct the view of the sea. It was perhaps owned by Julius Caesar‘s father-in-law, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus.^[4]

Plan of Herculaneum and the location of the Villa

In AD 79, the eruption of Vesuvius covered all of Herculaneum with some 30 m of volcanic ash. Herculaneum was first excavated in the years between 1750 and 1765 by Karl Weber by means of underground tunnels. The villa’s name derives from the discovery of its library, the only surviving library from the Graeco-Roman world that exists in its entirety.^[5] It contained over 1,800 papyrus scrolls, now carbonised by the heat of the eruption, the “Herculaneum papyri“.

Most of the villa is still underground, but parts have been cleared of volcanic deposits. Many of the finds are displayed in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.

The Getty Villa is a reproduction of the Villa of the Papyri.

Layout

Ground Plan showing location of tunnels(brown)

Drunken Satyr, villa dei papiri

Aeschines, villa dei papiri, museo archeologico, Napoli

Sited a few hundred metres from the nearest house in Herculaneum, the villa’s front stretched for more than 250 m along the coastline of the Gulf of Naples. It was surrounded by a garden closed off by porticoes, but with an ample stretch of gardens, vineyards and woods down to a small harbour.

It has recently been ascertained that the height of the main floor in antiquity was no less than 16 metres above sea level, and the villa had four architectural levels underneath the main floor, arranged in terrasses overlooking the sea.^[6]

The villa’s layout is faithful to, but enlarges upon, the architectural scheme of suburban villas in the country around Pompeii. The atrium functioned as an entrance hall and a means of communication with the various parts of the house. The entrance opened with a columned portico on the sea side.

The first peristyle had 10 columns on each side and a swimming pool in the centre. In this enclosure were found the bronze herma of Doryphorus, a replica of Polykleitos‘ athlete, and the herma of an Amazon made by Apollonios son of Archias of Athens.^[7] The large second peristyle could be reached by passing through a large tablinum in which, under a propylaeum, was the archaic statue of Athena Promachos. A collection of bronze busts were in the interior of the tablinum. These included the head of Scipio Africanus.^[1]

Dancers, da villa dei papiri, peristilio quadrato

The living and reception quarters were grouped around the porticoes and terraces, giving occupants ample sunlight and a view of the countryside and sea. In the living quarters, bath installations were brought to light, and the library of rolled and carbonised papyri placed inside wooden capsae, some of them on ordinary wooden shelves and around the walls and some on the two sides of a set of shelves in the middle of the room.^[1]

The grounds included a large area of covered and uncovered gardens for walks in the shade or in the warmth of the sun. The gardens included a gallery of busts, hermae and small marble and bronze statues. These were laid out between columns amid the open part of the garden and on the edges of the large swimming bath.^[1]

Resting Hermes

Ptolemy Apion

fresco, Villa dei Papiri

Works of Art

The luxury of the villa is evidenced not only by the many works of art, but especially by the large number of rare bronze statues found there, all masterpieces. The villa housed a collection of at least 80 sculptures of magnificent quality,^[8] many now conserved in the Naples National Archaeological Museum.^[1] Among them is the bronze Seated Hermes, found at the villa in 1758. Around the bowl of the atrium impluvium were 11 bronze fountain statues depicting Satyrs pouring water from a pitcher and Amorini pouring water from the mouth of a dolphin. Other statues and busts were found in the corners around the atrium walls.^[1]

Five statues of life-sized bronze dancing women wearing the Doric peplos sculpted in different positions and with inlaid eyes are adapted Roman copies of originals from the fifth century BC. They are also hydrophorai drawing water from a fountain.

Epicureanism and the library

For more details on this topic, see Herculaneum papyri.

The owner of the house, perhaps Calpurnius Piso, established a library of a mainly philosophical character. It is believed that the library might have been collected and selected by Piso’s family friend and client, the Epicurean Philodemus of Gàdara – although his conclusion is not certain^[4][9] Followers of Epicurus studied the teachings of this moral and natural philosopher. This philosophy taught that man is mortal, that the cosmos is the result of accident, that there is no providential god, and that the criteria of a good life are pleasure and temperance. Philodemus’ connections with Piso brought him an opportunity to influence the young students of Greek literature and philosophy who gathered around him at Herculaneum and Naples. Much of his work was discovered in about a thousand papyrus rolls in the philosophical library recovered at Herculaneum. Although his prose work is detailed in the strung-out, non-periodic style typical of Hellenistic Greek prose before the revival of the Attic style after Cicero, Philodemus surpassed the average literary standard to which most epicureans aspired. Philodemus succeeded in influencing the most learned and distinguished Romans of his age. None of his prose work was known until the rolls of papyri were discovered among the ruins of the Villa of the Papyri.^[4]

Papyrus recovered from Villa of the Papyri.^[1]

At the time of the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79, the valuable library was packed in cases ready to be moved to safety when it was overtaken by pyroclastic flow; the eruption eventually deposited some 20–25 m of volcanic ash over the site, charring the scrolls but preserving them— the only surviving library of Antiquity— as the ash hardened to form tuff.^[1]

Excavation

The Bourbon excavations were halted in 1765 due to complaints from the residents living above. The exact location of the villa was then lost for two centuries.^[10] In the 1980s work on re-discovering the villa began by studying 18th century documentation on entrances to the tunnels and in 1986 the breakthrough was made through an ancient well. The backfill from some of the tunnels was cleared to allow re-exploration of the villa when it was found that the parts of the villa that survived the Bourbon robbers were still remarkable in quantity and quality.

Excavation to expose part of the villa was done in the 1990s and revealed two previously undiscovered lower floors to the villa^[11] with frescoes in situ. These were found along the southwest-facing terrace of about 4 metres height. The first row of rooms lying below the arcade was eveidenced by a series of rectangular openings along the façade.

Limited excavations recommenced at the site in 2007 to preserve the remains when beautifully carved parts of wood and ivory furniture were discovered. Since then limited public access became available.

As of 2012, there are still 2,800 m² left to be excavated of the villa. The remainder of the site has not been excavated because the Italian government is preferring conservation to excavation, and protecting what has already been uncovered.^[12] David Woodley Packard, who has funded conservation work at Herculaneum through his Packard Humanities Institute, has said that he is likely to be able to fund excavation of the Villa of the Papyri when the authorities agree to it; but no work will be permitted on the site until the completion of a feasibility report, which has been in preparation for some years. The first part of the report emerged in 2008 but included no timetable or cost projections, since the decision for further excavation is a political one.^[13] Politics involve excavation under inhabited areas in addition to unspecified but reported^[14] references to mafia involvement.

Using multi-spectral imaging, a technique developed in the early 1990s, it is possible to read the burned papyri. With multi-spectral imaging, many pictures of the illegible papyri are taken using different filters in the infrared or in the ultraviolet range, finely tuned to capture certain wavelengths of light. Thus, the optimum spectral portion can be found for distinguishing ink from paper on the blackened papyrus surface.

Non-destructive CT scans will, it is hoped, provide breakthroughs in reading the fragile unopened scrolls without destroying them in the process. Encouraging results along this line of research have been obtained, which use Phase-contrast X-ray imaging. ^{[15] [16] [17] [18]} According to authors, “this pioneering research opens up new prospects not only for the many papyri still unopened, but also for others that have not yet been discovered, perhaps including a second library of Latin papyri at a lower, as yet unexcavated level of the Villa.”^[19]

J. Paul Getty Museum

Bronze bust of Scipio Africanus, mid 1st century BC, found in the Villa of the Papyri

The original “Getty Villa“, part of the J. Paul Getty Museum complex at Pacific Palisades, California is a free replication of the Villa of the Papyri, as it was published in Le Antichità di Ercolano. This museum building was constructed in the early 1970s by the architectural firm of Langdon and Wilson. Architectural consultant Norman Neuerburg and Getty’s curator of antiquities Jiří Frel worked closely with J. Paul Getty to develop the interior and exterior details. Since the Villa of the Papyri was buried by the eruption and much of it remains unexcavated, Neuerburg based many of the villa’s architectural and landscaping details on elements from other ancient Roman houses in the towns of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae.^[20]

With the move of the Museum to the Getty Center, the “Getty Villa” as it is now called, was renovated; it reopened on January 28, 2006.

In modern literature

Several scenes in Robert Harris‘ bestselling novel Pompeii are set in the Villa of the Papyri, just before the eruption engulfed it. The villa is mentioned as belonging to Roman aristocrat Pedius Cascus and his wife Rectina. (Pliny the Younger mentions Rectina, whom he calls the wife of Tascius, in Letter 16 of book VI of his Letters.) At the start of the eruption Rectina prepares to have the library evacuated and sends urgent word to her old friend, Pliny the Elder, who commands the Roman Navy at Misenum on the other side of the Bay of Naples. Pliny immediately sets out in a warship, and gets in sight of the villa, but the eruption prevents him from landing and taking off Rectina and her library — which is thus left for modern archaeologists to find.

Sculpture from the Villa

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   Villa of the Papyri

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_of_the_Papyri

  http://www.giacobbegiusti.com