At its most powerful, one in four people across the world lived under the Roman Empire. While commoners crammed into multi-storey insulae (tenement blocks), members of the imperial elite kept a domus (large house) in the city for business and a villa out of town for pleasure, rest and agriculture. These sprawling country estates could be the height of luxury and excess – think ornate gardens, private baths and magnificent banqueting halls. Here, we take a look at some of the finest Roman residences that survive today.
Click through this gallery to see amazingly well-preserved Roman villas in Europe, North Africa and the Near East...
Also known as Villa Adriana, this decadent retreat was built by the emperor Hadrian between AD 125 and 134. Spanning over 120 hectares of residential and recreational spaces, bathing suites, sculpture gardens, pools and pavilions, as well as the Imperial Palace, it is perhaps the best-preserved Roman villa complex in the world. Built to represent 'an ideal city', the villa incorporated architectural styles from across the empire – particularly from Egypt and Greece. Hadrian loved the now-UNESCO-inscribed site so much that he made it his official residence in AD 128.
One of several villas in England's Cotswolds, Chedworth was rediscovered in 1864 and would have been in its opulent prime around AD 360. Its former owners are thought to have made their fortunes in farming, as images of Bacchus – god of wine, fertility and agriculture – appear often in the tiled floor of the triclinium (dining room). In 2020, archaeologists at Chedworth unearthed Britain’s first known 5th-century mosaic. The find changed our understanding of the decline of Roman Britain, as it was previously thought that all Roman towns and villas had been abandoned by the end of the 4th century.
Located near the Greek border, in what was once the ancient region of Thrace, Villa Armira is what the Romans would have called a villa rustica – a farmhouse or bucolic bolthole, distinct from the villa urbana which would lie in the vicinity of a city. Before its destruction during a war with the Goths in AD 378, Armira was a grand two-storey home inhabited by Thracian nobles, with 22 rooms adorned with marble and mosaics, a sauna, and a pool surrounded by pillars and frescoes. Its ruins were chanced upon in 1964 by construction workers.
When Mount Vesuvius went boom in AD 79, it wasn’t just Pompeii smothered under the ash. Nearby Oplontis, now absorbed by the modern town of Torre Annunziata, was dealt the same fate, burying the already ailing Villa Poppaea until the 1960s. Now partially excavated, some historians believe this to be the holiday home of Emperor Nero’s second wife, Poppaea Sabina. The complex was built to provide 'otium', a Latin term for a style of leisure combining relaxation, contemplation, study and entertainment. At the time of the eruption, the villa was undergoing restoration work after sustaining severe earthquake damage.
Only unearthed in 1998, the Villa of the Birds is one of the newest finds at Alexandria’s Kom el-Dikka site, also home to Egypt’s last remaining Roman amphitheatre. One of the empire's great cultural, philosophical and artistic centres, the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great, though it wasn’t until the reign of Emperor Hadrian (AD 117-138) that the Villa of the Birds was built. These intricate floor mosaics, created from glass fragments fused together, depict peacocks, pigeons, parrots and quails.
Nestled on the shores of Lake Echternach, the Reimervilla is one of the most significant Roman-era structures found north of the Alps. Built in the aftermath of Rome’s conquest of Gaul (a Celtic region loosely covering modern-day France), this plush pad would have had all the era's most up-to-date amenities, from thermal baths (thermae) to heated mosaic floors. Today it’s a maze of well-preserved walls, with a pond and a reconstructed Roman garden containing more than 70 varieties of medicinal plants, fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices.
Just off the coast of Istria lies the island of Brijuni, where a national park of the same name hides an ancient relic. Here, the remains of an exquisite Roman villa rustica meet the cornflower-blue waters of Verige Bay. Its construction began in the 1st century BC, and some parts remained in use until the 6th century AD. A summer residence replete with romantic peristyles, thermae and fish ponds, the villa also housed temples to the sea god Neptune and Venus, goddess of love.
Astonishing for both its scale and its survival, Lullingstone Roman Villa evolved over several centuries from around AD 100. The oldest part of the complex is a so-called 'winged-corridor house', a common style of Roman dwelling found across Britain. The villa then enjoyed a major extension in the latter half of the 2nd century, suggesting that its owner was doing well for himself. Some historians have identified him as Publius Helvius Pertinax, a senator, governor of Britain and future emperor (though he was murdered 87 days into his reign). In the villa’s cellar are the remnants of a cult room, probably dedicated to a water deity or nymph.
Translating as 'House of the Moon', Villa Selene lay buried beneath the sands of the Libyan coast for nearly 2,000 years before it reemerged in 1974. Built strategically close to the ancient cities of Leptis Magna and Tripoli, it’s likely the mansion belonged to an incredibly wealthy family, who would have idled in the Mediterranean-facing rooms and gardens. The villa’s lower walls, along with many mosaics and frescoes, have survived almost completely intact, giving a clear indication of the interior layout.
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On the outskirts of Rabat, the Domus Romana is what remains of a Roman townhouse belonging to an unknown aristocrat. Partially destroyed in the Middle Ages during Malta’s Arab period, the ruins were accidentally unearthed in 1881. A purpose-built archaeological museum (a first for the country) was then constructed around them to protect the 1st century BC mosaic flooring. For many years other Roman artefacts found around Malta were brought here – including a set of statues depicting Emperor Claudius and his family.
Looking a little provincial compared to some of the other properties on this list, Villa Regina was part of a wider community of farmsteads scattered on the lower slopes of Vesuvius. With the volcanic soil providing the perfect fertile terroir for viticulture, it’s thought that this medium-sized villa rustica was used exclusively for wine-making. Built in the 1st century BC before being buried by the notorious eruption, the partly reconstructed Villa Regina now sits 26 feet (8m) below ground level. Its roof and some decorative features were restored in 2019.
Lauded as one of Britain’s largest Roman homes, Great Witcombe dates back to around the mid-3rd century. Among its lavish amenities are the remains of two bathhouses that together take up almost the entire west wing. It’s thought the property’s affluent owner may have been involved in politics in the nearby market town of Gloucester, which the Romans called Glevum. The villa’s location would have provided them with the best of both worlds – the tranquillity of a rural setting within Glevum’s commuter belt.
Once entombed under the ash and volcanic debris that silenced Pompeii in AD 79, the Villa of the Mysteries reemerged during excavations of the lost city in 1909 – in almost impeccable condition. It is best known for the fascinating fresco gracing one of its reception rooms (pictured), believed to have been painted around 80-70 BC. Wrapping three of the hall’s walls in a continuous scene, it portrays the initiation of a young woman into a Greco-Roman mystery cult, linked to Bacchus (known as Dionysus in Greek mythology) and his appetite for excess.
Also discovered at the edge of Pompeii was the House of Menander, a high-status townhouse named for the portrait of Athenian playwright Menander adorning its portico. The estate is a dramatic mix of Greek and Roman influences – scenes from Homer’s poems cover the atrium, while Corinthian columns surround the manicured peristyle garden. A seal found in the servants' quarters suggests the house belonged to Quintus Poppaeus Sabinus, a relative of Empress Poppaea Sabina. It’s clear that Quintus took pride in his lineage, with an ancestral shrine erected in the summer triclinium to remind guests of his social status.
A farmer was just going about his business in 1968 when his tractor turned over the remains of an ancient wall. Stunned, he excavated the site himself over the course of 12 years, steadily revealing a huge Roman mansion complex built back in the 4th century. Recognised as one of the most important sites in Roman Spain, La Olmeda contains 35 rooms divided between the main house and the bathing suite, and in 26 of them beautiful mosaic paving has been preserved in situ. The villa has been protected by its own museum since 1984.
Lying in a quiet pocket of the Midlands, Piddington Roman Villa started off as a modest property with only five rooms around AD 90. But over the following decades it grew into a trendy wing-corridor house, with two thermae and twice as many rooms. Archaeological evidence suggests that the villa was undergoing additional work when it was suddenly abandoned at the end of the 3rd century. This coincided with Britain temporarily breaking away from the empire, possibly explaining the residents' abrupt departure.
Set along the Appian Way, the ancient road leading to Rome, Villa dei Quintili is the largest Roman residence in the capital's suburbs and is incredibly well-preserved. It was constructed in the 2nd century and owned by the Quintili brothers, both consuls under the rule of Marcus Aurelius. The siblings were later killed by the emperor Commodus for plotting against him, allowing him to seize the villa for himself and ultimately his successors. Today, the original thermal baths are clearly discernible, comprising a caldarium (hot room) and frigidarium (cold room) with large windows and colourful marble walls.
The ruins of Carthage, once the Mediterranean’s premier port and most cosmopolitan city, stand as a monument to the merciless might of Rome. Destroyed by the Roman Republic in the 2nd century BC, Carthage's inhabitants were either killed or sold into slavery, while the Romans built a new city on its bones. One of the buildings they erected was the Villa of the Aviary, which was reconstructed in the 1960s. The house features a columned portico, a courtyard with mosaics of nesting birds and a terrace boasting views out over the Gulf of Tunis.
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This imposing tower was the crowning glory of a 1st-century-AD villa rustica belonging to Lucius Caecilius, a rich merchant who had it built on the road linking Augusta Emerita (Merida in Spain) to Bracara Augusta (Braga in Portugal). Until excavations in the 1990s confirmed its true origins, it was thought the tower might have once been a temple, a praetorium (the centre of a Roman camp), a small fort, or even the legendary 100-cell prison where Saint Cornelius was held. The upper floor was added in the Middle Ages.
According to UNESCO, Villa Romana del Casale was the centre of the large estate on which the rural economy of the Western Roman Empire depended. An earlier villa was flattened by an earthquake, so this vast and luxurious mansion took its place in the early 4th century. Possibly built on the orders of Emperor Maximian, the residence was among the most sumptuous of its kind even then, renowned for the marvellous mosaics that decorate almost every room. It was buried by a landslide during the Middle Ages, a blanket of mud keeping it safe from the elements until its excavation in the 1950s.
Roman Villa Nennig was unearthed by an unsuspecting farmer in 1852, who found a scattering of tesserae (Roman mosaic tiles) while digging. Hidden in Germany’s Upper Moselle Valley for several centuries, the villa urbana’s now uncovered mosaic floor is said to be one of the largest and finest north of the Alps. Dated to the 3rd century, it illustrates scenes of gladiators, hunters and musicians. Around 10 minutes by car from Nennig is Roman Villa Borg, perhaps the most complete Roman villa reconstruction ever attempted.
Overlooked by the limestone cliffs of Lumbier Gorge, Villa Romana de Liedena would have provided some lucky Roman with the most incredible rural retreat. Drawn here by the climate and soil similar to that in Italy, the Romans settled in this verdant valley after travelling up Spain’s longest river, the Ebro. This villa, inhabited in two phases during the 2nd and 4th centuries, was a spectacular sprawling estate covering around a hectare. Its residents would have lived off the land, growing cereals, grapes and olives while rearing their own livestock.
Home to some of the best-preserved Roman mosaics in Britain, Bignor was rediscovered in 1811 after a man struck the water basin of its summer dining room with his plough. Owned by an unknown but very wealthy family, the villa was at the height of its grandeur in the 4th century, and consisted of 65 rooms huddled around a central courtyard in its final state. Beneath Bignor’s remarkable mosaic floor are the remains of a hypocaust – a central heating system pioneered by the Romans that would have warmed the mosaic tiles underfoot.
Just down the coast from Pompeii, the ancient port of Stabiae (now Castellammare di Stabia) was another victim of Vesuvius in AD 79. Until then it had been a popular summer resort for Rome’s elite, who would flock here to escape the city’s oppressive heat. Villa San Marco is the largest known holiday villa in Campania and – like Villa Poppaea – was still recovering from earthquake damage when the volcano blew its top. Stunning frescoes and mosaics speckle almost every surface, while a modern staircase leads visitors below current street level to the once-submerged villa’s entrance.
It might not be as beautiful or impressive as some surviving Roman villas, but this ruin is unique in that it’s the only Roman villa in Greater London open to visitors. Now situated next to a train station car park in Orpington, the villa lay at the heart of a 500-acre farming estate at a time when the capital (known to the Romans as Londinium) and its suburbs were rolling fields rather than concrete jungles. Crofton was inhabited roughly between AD 140 and 400.
Jovis was the biggest and most decadent of 12 villas commissioned by Emperor Tiberius on the island of Capri. As he grew increasingly more reclusive and isolated, Villa Jovis became his sanctuary and alleged pleasure palace, from which he ruled the empire for the last decade of his life and supposedly indulged in all manner of debauchery. Completed in AD 27, the complex included lavish imperial quarters and serene thermae, all wrapped in expansive gardens and lush woodland away from prying eyes. It was even served by its own canal system to harvest rainwater.
Zeugma, originally founded as a Greek settlement at an ancient crossing point on the Euphrates River, was incorporated into the Roman Empire in the 1st century BC. It became an important commercial, spiritual and military base, blossoming into a cosmopolitan metropolis. Its urban villas, despite enduring the Sasanian sacking of Zeugma in AD 253, largely stayed intact. Two of the best-preserved buildings here today are the hillside villas of Dionysus and Danae, with their room layouts, frescoes and mosaic pavements still visible.
One of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most important archaeological monuments to have survived from late antiquity, the ruined villa rustica of Mogorjelo dates back to the 4th century. Prior to its construction, the plot was occupied by a Roman garrison and fortified farm, but these were destroyed in a 3rd-century blaze. The later villa, excavated over the turn of the 20th century, went on to help supply and defend the Roman city of Narona (now the village of Vid across the border in Croatia) before being ravaged by the Visigoths around AD 401.
Consisting of 36 rooms and three atriums (open-air courtyards), Casa Romana was constructed on top of an older Hellenistic villa from around the 1st century AD. The Roman manor house, built between the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries, was excavated over the course of several years after a fearsome earthquake levelled the island of Kos in 1933. The surviving structure was then used to rebuild the villa, which today offers a glimpse into what life would have been like for the affluent official that once called it home.
Rising from Lake Garda’s southern shoreline like a mystical mermaid castle, Grotte di Catullo is the largest domestic Roman villa to have survived in northern Italy. Its name is deceptive on two levels: 'Grotte' goes back to the 15th century, when travellers mistook the villa ruins for caves (or grottoes), while 'Catullo' is a reference to the Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus (84-54 BC), once believed to have lived here. However, Catullus died long before the villa was completed in the 2nd century AD.
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