Ancient Villa Found in Torvaianica
You never know what will you will find when you start digging in the area around Rome. Walk down a street in Rome and you will find roped off areas containing a column dating from ancient Rome.
Workers digging a new sewage system near Rome found the remains of a villa dating to the second-century. The villa belonged to two senators, Titus Flavius Claudius and Titus Flavius Sallustius.
It is expected that the villa in Torvaianica will become a tourist attraction once excavation has been completed. "We're uncovering a vast complex, in which we've found all sorts of vessels and ceramics which have been taken away to be catalogued", Filippo Avilia, the archaeologist in charge of the dig, told the Italian news agency ANSA.
The villa believed to have been used by the senators in the summer had a gymnasium, swimming pools and hot and cold baths. The area of the villa covers about a hectare. Torvaianica is a coastal resort south of Rome. According to the ancient poet Virgil, Trojan hero Aeneas landed at the ancient settlement of Lavinium (near Torvaianica)after fleeing his city, which had been sacked by the Greeks. Legend says the descendants of Aeneas founded the city of Rome. An ancient monument to Aeneas is located near Lavinio, the modern town on the site of Lavinium.
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