Villa Guilia (Ventotene)
Villa Guilia is a ancient Roman villa or palace on the island of Ventotene (ancient name: Pandateria) near Rome.
The huge complex of over 3,000 m2 area included thermae (thermal baths), terraces, gardens, an exedra and aqueducts.
History[edit]
Emperor Augustus had this villa built in the early part of his reign as a summer palace.[1]:12 It became known as Villa Giulia in modern times as it was the place of exile of Augustus’s daughter Julia the Elder in 2 BC, as a reaction to her excessive adultery.[1]:31-32[2] Ventotene, like all the Pontine Islands, were exclusively owned by the Emperor; he could therefore easily keep an eye on her. Augustus had two villae on the island; Julia was probably sent to the one located on the Punta d'Eolo, on the north of the island, with maximum expose to the Sun and all the facilities of an imperial retreat.[3]
Later, in 29 AD, emperor Tiberius banished Augustus' granddaughter Agrippina the Elder,[4] who perished, probably of malnutrition, on October 18, 33 AD. After Agrippina the Elder's son Caligula became emperor in 37 AD, he went to Ventotene to collect her remains and reverently brought them back to Rome. Agrippina the Elder's youngest daughter, Julia Livilla, was exiled here twice: the first time by her brother Caligula for plotting to depose him, and the second time by her uncle, the emperor Claudius, at the instigation of his wife, Messalina, in 41 AD.
Sometime later, Julia Livilla was discreetly starved to death and her remains probably brought back to Rome when her older sister Agrippina the Younger became influential as Claudius' wife. Another distinguished lady of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudia Octavia, who was the first wife of the emperor Nero, was banished to Ventotene in 62 AD and then executed on his orders.[5]
This is also the island to which Flavia Domitilla, the granddaughter of emperor Vespasian, was banished.
Remains[edit]
Remains can still be seen at Punto Eolo at the entrance to the modern port. Over the centuries, the villa has been subject to systematic plundering and senseless excavations. However, despite its current state of dilapidation, skeletal brickwork reveals thermal baths, servants’ quarters, courtyards, water reservoirs and passages to the sea.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 De Rossi, Giovanni Maria (1995). Ventotene e S. Stefano (English transalation). Translated by Wright, Nicole Jane. Rome, Italy: Guido Guidotti Editore. Search this book on
- ↑ Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §P500.16
- ↑ Sarah T. Cohen, "Augustus, Julia and the Development of Exile "Ad Insulam"", The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 58, No. 1 (May, 2008), pp. 206–217.
- ↑ Tacitus. The Annals. . Search this book on
- ↑ Tacitus. The Annals. . Search this book on
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