Villa of Manlius Vopiscus
About
The poet Statius devoted an entire poem to touring this villa, which spanned both banks of the Aniene and let its owner supposedly listen to the river's roar without it ever disturbing his sleep. Manlius Vopiscus filled it with art and gardens landscaped around the water rather than against it. By 117 CE the villa is a generation old, already famous enough that Statius's poem describing it has circulated for twenty years.
What happened here
A working estate with a comfortable house attached, and the proportions vary with how rich the owner is and how often he visits. The farm side has presses for oil and wine, threshing floors, storage sunk into the ground, stables and quarters for the workforce. The residential side has baths, dining rooms sited for the view, mosaics, and a garden with water in it. A manager runs the place year-round and reports; the owner arrives for the vintage and for the summer. Produce goes to market or to the owner's town house, and the accounts are kept in detail. Some villas are pure retreat with no farm at all, built on a cliff or a lake specifically to be looked at from a boat.
In ancient writing
- Statius, Silvae 1.3
A full poem describing the villa's position spanning the Aniene, its gardens, and its art collection.
Sources
Nearby
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →