Villa Giulia
Description
Villa Giulia is a large Roman imperial villa on the northern tip of the island of Ventotene (ancient Pandateria), between Campania and Lazio. Built by Emperor Augustus as a summer residence, the complex covered over 3,000 m² and included terraces, gardens, aqueducts, and extensive thermal baths.
The villa is best known as a place of exile for women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Augustus banished his daughter Julia the Elder here in 2 BC. Later exiles included Agrippina the Elder, Julia Livilla, Claudia Octavia (Nero’s first wife), and Flavia Domitilla. Several died on the island.
The villa occupied most of Punta d’Eolo and was part of a wider complex with a port, fishery, and large cisterns for rainwater. The baths are the best-preserved section, featuring calidarium, tepidarium, and frigidarium, as well as an exceptional large heated pool with an advanced metal-based heating system—one of the most sophisticated in the Roman world.
Centuries of looting and erosion damaged much of the site. Archaeological excavations carried out between 1990 and 2005 uncovered major structures, decorations, and the bath complex.
Address
Via Muraglione 1, Ventotene, Italy
Established
1st century BCE
Wikipedia article