Le Terme Nord-occidentali della Villa del Casale di Piazza Armerina: nuove ricerche sulla prima fase costruttiva

Abstract

The Western Baths in the Roman «villa del Casale» at Piazza Armerina were excavated by Gino Vinicio Gentili in 1952-53. When the floor mosaics were torn down to restore them, beneath the room with the mosaic depicting the Circus Maximus, a room heated by suspensurae pertaining to an older phase, assigned by Gentili to the so-called «villa rustica» (farmhouse) which preceded the construction of the late antique villa. In this article we aim to reconsider the evidence that has emerged so far on this discovery, also in reference to the investigations that have been underway at the Villa del Casale for about twenty years.