The “Villa of the Antonines” investigation of a Roman imperial villa
Since 2010, CHAS has been conducting the “Villa degli Antonini” Project in Italy. This project is aimed at exploring a Roman imperial villa complex located on the outskirts of Rome at the 18th mile of the ancient Via Appia, in the modern town of Genzano di Roma. The villa is believed to have been the property of the second century CE imperial family of the Antonines on the basis of ancient literary references and the discovery there in the 18th century of high-quality marble busts (now in Rome’s Capitoline Museums) of these rulers.
The project, directed by Dr. Deborah Chatr Aryamontri, seeks to determine, in detail, the history, extent and architectural design of this group of structures in the context of Roman imperial villas in general. The project’s archaeological investigations so far confirm the elite character of the complex as evidenced by varied wall frescoes, imported marbles for floor and wall decoration, and mosaics both colored and black-and-white.
Our current work at the site is focused on:
- Learning more about the remains of a structure which stands next to the bath complex of the villa and which we identified as an amphitheatre in 2012
- Investigating a group of rooms, identified in 2014, with black-and-white mosaics that may have belonged to residential quarters
- Locating, by combining fieldwork and remote sensing methods, other buildings that formed part of the villa complex
Learn more about the project and its finds, season by season
Get involved
Official Season Recap
Scholarship and Grant Information
- Ralph J Torraco Scholarships (Information and application to be announced)
- Bigel Grant (Anthropology majors at Montclair State University only)
- Inquire at chas@montclair.edu for more scholarship information
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- Check out our Media and Events page for other news and recent events
Make a gift
We are lucky to have a strong community that believes in the discovery and preservation of this site, as well as our ability to provide an excellent student experience. You can be a part of our community too when you make a generous donation that helps fund student participation for the 2018 season!
We would like to thank AristaCare at Cedar Oaks – Health Services for its generous donation in support of the 2014 field season.
Special thanks for their long term support of our project go to our benefactors in Italy:
- Comune di Genzano di Roma
- Diakronica – Icononauta
- Lino Nicoletti (Circolo Ippico Quarto della Mandorla)
- Luciano De Luca- owner of La Fornarina bakery
- Zega Legnami