Settefinestre
Encyclopedia
Villa Settefinestre lies between Capalbio
and Orbetello
in Tuscany
, Italy
, and is the site of a late Republican Roman
slave-run villa
owned by the senatorial family of the Volusii
, built in the 1st century BC and enlarged in the 1st century AD with a large cryptoportico. The villa was fortified at a later period and the fortress was rebuilt as a villa in the more modern sense in the 15th century. It was excavated during 1976-1981 under the direction of Andrea Carandini
and very thoroughly published. Villa Settefinestre itself was rehabilitated in the 1970s as a luxury holiday rental property, with the ruins, open to the public, picturesquely incorporated in the garden plan.
The villa was in the Ager Cosanus the vicinity of Cosa
, a Latin colonia
founded in 273 BC, reached from Rome
along the Via Aurelia
. Cosa suffered a crisis in the Roman Republican civil wars and became depopulated. In its stead, a group of great villas were assembled in the area, run by slave labor not unlike the latifundia
holdings typical of southern Italy. The villa at Settefinestre was not the peristyle
villa described by Pliny
or to be seen at Herculaneum
, filled with sculpture, mosaic floors and fine paintings. Nor was it in any way like the Imperial villas round the Bay of Naples, of course, though the sea is visible from its site. This was Roman agrobusiness: instead of fine mosaics, a wealth of Roman tools have been recovered here (Settefinestre vol. III). "Settefinestre has been taken as an example of how the advice of Roman agricultural writers like Columella
and Varro
were put into practice. "It is truly remarkable how well this villa, with its extensive repertoire of buildings and forms, instantiates the accounts of the Roman agronomists: the best example of Varro's villa perfecta (I, 194). In detail after detail the advice of Varro and Columella is to be found in practice here" (Purcell, reviewing the published official reports). The commercial product of Roman Villa Settefinestre was wine.
Aside from the villa at Settefinestre, there are remains of comparable contemporary villas at Colonne
and Provincia.
The exemplary archaeological excavations at Settefinestre have been taken as a starting point for the new phase of science-supported field archaeology in Italian work that is providing a more detailed study of the occupation history of the Roman countryside and moves beyond the antiquarian tradition of villa-studies http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-04-25.html.
Capalbio
Capalbio is a comune in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about 150 km south of Florence and about 45 km southeast of Grosseto....
and Orbetello
Orbetello
Orbetello is a town and comune in the province of Grosseto , Italy. It is located c. 35 km south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve.-History:...
in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and is the site of a late Republican Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
slave-run villa
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
owned by the senatorial family of the Volusii
Volusius
Volusius may refer to:* Lucius Volusius Saturninus, * Lucius Volusius Saturninus , suffect consul of 12 AD* Quintus Volusius Saturninus, consul of 56 AD* Lucius Volusius Maecianus, jurist in the 2nd century AD...
, built in the 1st century BC and enlarged in the 1st century AD with a large cryptoportico. The villa was fortified at a later period and the fortress was rebuilt as a villa in the more modern sense in the 15th century. It was excavated during 1976-1981 under the direction of Andrea Carandini
Andrea Carandini
Count Andrea Carandini is an Italian archaeologist specialising in ancient Rome. Among his many excavations is the villa of Settefinestre....
and very thoroughly published. Villa Settefinestre itself was rehabilitated in the 1970s as a luxury holiday rental property, with the ruins, open to the public, picturesquely incorporated in the garden plan.
The villa was in the Ager Cosanus the vicinity of Cosa
Cosa
Cosa was a Latin colonia founded under Roman influence in southwestern Tuscany in 273 BC, perhaps on land confiscated from the Etruscans...
, a Latin colonia
Colonia (Roman)
A Roman colonia was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of Roman city.-History:...
founded in 273 BC, reached from Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
along the Via Aurelia
Via Aurelia
The Via Aurelia was a Roman road in Italy constructed around the year 241 BC. The project was undertaken by C. Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor...
. Cosa suffered a crisis in the Roman Republican civil wars and became depopulated. In its stead, a group of great villas were assembled in the area, run by slave labor not unlike the latifundia
Latifundia
Latifundia are pieces of property covering very large land areas. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates, specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, olive oil, or wine...
holdings typical of southern Italy. The villa at Settefinestre was not the peristyle
Peristyle
In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
villa described by Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
or to be seen at Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...
, filled with sculpture, mosaic floors and fine paintings. Nor was it in any way like the Imperial villas round the Bay of Naples, of course, though the sea is visible from its site. This was Roman agrobusiness: instead of fine mosaics, a wealth of Roman tools have been recovered here (Settefinestre vol. III). "Settefinestre has been taken as an example of how the advice of Roman agricultural writers like Columella
Columella
Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella is the most important writer on agriculture of the Roman empire. Little is known of his life. He was probably born in Gades , possibly of Roman parents. After a career in the army , he took up farming...
and Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro was an ancient Roman scholar and writer. He is sometimes called Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus.-Biography:...
were put into practice. "It is truly remarkable how well this villa, with its extensive repertoire of buildings and forms, instantiates the accounts of the Roman agronomists: the best example of Varro's villa perfecta (I, 194). In detail after detail the advice of Varro and Columella is to be found in practice here" (Purcell, reviewing the published official reports). The commercial product of Roman Villa Settefinestre was wine.
Aside from the villa at Settefinestre, there are remains of comparable contemporary villas at Colonne
Colonne
Colonne is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté in eastern France.-References:*...
and Provincia.
The exemplary archaeological excavations at Settefinestre have been taken as a starting point for the new phase of science-supported field archaeology in Italian work that is providing a more detailed study of the occupation history of the Roman countryside and moves beyond the antiquarian tradition of villa-studies http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2004/2004-04-25.html.