Saturday, January 18, 2014

The Digital Hadrian's Villa

More cool online stuff.  Hadrian's Villa is near Tivoli about 20 miles east of Rome, in the foothills of the Apennines.  Built at the direction of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138 AD) it is astounding in its ambition and scale and represents the Roman Empire at the height of its power, wealth and stability.   The villa covers more than 200 acres and contains more than 30 building complexes.  You can take a tour by clicking here or watch the introductory video below.The tranquility that a visitor of the second century would have observed was also somewhat misleading.  Archaelogists have recently begun to explore more than two miles of underground tunnels used by slaves, animals and transport vehicles in order to supply and maintain the villa.  Working conditions would have been less than ideal as you can see from these two articles.
Hadrian's Villa tunnel, Tivoli, Italy

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