Villa of Domitian

The Villa of Domitian (Villa di Domiziano) is a vast Roman imperial residence on the shore of Lake Sabaudia (Lagoon of Paola) between Sabaudia and San Felice Circeo, Italy. Built on a 45-hectare peninsula within the Circeo National Park, it was one of Emperor Domitian’s favorite retreats, referred to as his villa “at Circeii.” Though largely unexcavated, it remains one of the most important yet little-known Roman villas in Latium.

The site originated as a late-Republican villa, possibly belonging to the Triumvir Lepidus, and was later expanded by Domitian (r. 81–96 AD) into a grand palace where he also conducted state business, as confirmed by inscriptions found in Spain. The poet Martial describes it as a place of luxury and leisure.

The first excavations began in the 18th century, but extensive looting by the Barberini family stripped the site of its marble and artworks, many of which ended up in Roman collections and European museums such as the Apollo Kassel statue. Later excavations by Pio Capponi in 1901 and by La Sapienza University from 2010 onward helped confirm the villa’s layout and imperial identity.

Today, only three main sections are visible: the Exedra Baths, a grand bath complex with marble floors, porticoes, and a gymnasium; the Apsidal Basin Area, which incorporated earlier Republican structures and featured gardens, frescoes, and mosaics; and the Central Zone, which contained agricultural buildings and an advanced water system with large cisterns supplying the estate.

Once richly decorated and ingeniously designed, the Villa of Domitian remains a remarkable, though mostly buried, testament to imperial luxury on the coast of ancient Circeii.

Address
Sabaudia, Italy

Established
1st century BCE