In recent days, the third excavation campaign by the University of Parma at the archaeological site of the Roman villa of Fiumana, located in Predappio in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, has concluded.

The excavations, led by Professor Riccardo Villicich, have uncovered a complex of extraordinary interest, confirming the data obtained in the first two years of excavation.

Until last year, knowledge about the site was focused on an urban-rustic villa from the time of Augustus, of great prestige, as evidenced by the marble furniture discovered in the summer of 2023.

This site likely belonged to a public figure of the high aristocracy of Forum Livi. Over this villa, in the Late Antiquity period, a large complex distributed in pavilions, covering a very extensive area, was superimposed. One of these pavilions, known as the “Stone Clover” due to the originality of its architectural design, was identified and only partially explored during the previous excavation campaign.

General view of the excavations in the Roman village of Fiumana
General view of the excavations in the Roman village of Fiumana. Credit: Università di Parma

This year’s archaeological campaign, which lasted a month and a half, has rewritten the history of the site. It was decided to begin the extensive excavation of the second pavilion of the Late Antiquity villa, identified about 120 meters east of the “Stone Clover”, where in previous years a large thermal complex had been recognized.

The fortunate discovery of a bag with about thirty coins, likely lost by one of the workers who participated in the construction of the thermal pavilion and recovered in the sealed levels of the site, has allowed precise dating of the construction phase of the Late Antiquity villa. The last coins found are dated to the reign of Emperor Valentinian III (425-455 AD). We are, therefore, in the period of the Placidian dynasty and Ravenna as the capital of the Western Roman Empire.

The grandeur of the complex, of which only two buildings have been identified (the residential part of the villa, as well as all the connecting architectures between the various pavilions and peristyles, is still missing), the richness of the materials used for the floor coverings and wall bases (marbles of Asian, Greek, African origin, and some from the imperial quarries of Egypt), as well as the innovative architectural solutions adopted for the two pavilions investigated, suggest that the complex belonged to an elite of the highest level with exceptional economic resources for the time, directly linked to the court of Ravenna.

Detail of the thermal complex of the Roman town of Fiumana
Detail of the thermal complex of the Roman town of Fiumana. Credit: Università di Parma

In the 5th century, approximately 60% of the existing villas on the peninsula were abandoned or transformed, and cases of new constructions are very rare. For this reason, the Late Antiquity villa of Fiumana constitutes a unique case in the national archaeological landscape.

Furthermore, the 2024 archaeological investigations have documented a surprising multiplication of earlier phases, with an interweaving of walls, ponds, and floors corresponding to two older thermal complexes than the 5th-century baths, located beneath them.

One of these complexes corresponds to the villa from the time of Augustus, and the other to a remodeling from the mid-imperial period. But perhaps the most interesting discovery refers to the Republican era. The remains of a foundation composed of large stone blocks in opus quadratum could suggest an ancient occupation of the site related to thermal waters present in the area. The discovery of a long wall, probably belonging to a large pool, and the choice to build three overlapping thermae complexes in the same location, seems to confirm this.

SOURCES

Università di Parma

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