A gold aureus coin depicting a wreathed Emperor Domitian; similar to the one on the cover of CLC Book V.

A gold aureus coin depicting a wreathed Emperor Domitian; similar to the one on the cover of CLC Unit 4.

What we know about Glabrio from the ancient sources...

Biography of the father of our fictitious Helvidius Lupus.

Painting of a grand villa on the sea; from Stabia, near Pompeii.
Now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. (Archived site, please be patient if slow to load.)

Another coastal villa. From "Villa San Marco" at Stabia; now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Two more palatial villas.
Original findspot within Pompeii unknown; now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples. (Archived site, please be patient if slow to load.)

A painting depicting a row of coastal villas; still in situ on the south wall of the tablinum of the House of Lucretius Fronto in Pompeii.

The south-east fresco also shows a villa but is more damaged.

A painting of a waterfront villa; still in situ on the north wall of the tablinum of the House of Lucretius Fronto in Pompeii.

Painting of a palatial villa, still in situ on the north wall of the tablinum in the House of Lucretius Fronto in Pompeii.

As shown on the Stage 35 title-page, the mosaic depicts the (main?) villa fronted by a row of vaulted rooms which are probably bath buildings. The roses, fruit trees and game birds surrounding the villa indicate a rural setting.
Reconstructions.

Originally from Tabarka in Tunisia, this mosaic is from the central apse of large room mosaic depicting other country buildings in both the left apse and the right apse (reconstructions); it was excavated in the early 1900's (probably from a private house) and is now on display in the Bardo Museum, Tunis: room view.

As shown on page 8 of CLC Unit 4, this mosaic depicts the (main?) villa fronted by a row of vaulted rooms which are probably bath buildings. The roses, fruit trees and game birds surrounding the villa indicate a rural setting.
Reconstructions.

Originally from Tabarka in Tunisia, this mosaic is from the central apse of large room mosaic depicting other country buildings in both the left apse and the right apse (reconstructions); it was excavated in the early 1900's (probably from a private house) and is now on display in the Bardo Museum, Tunis: room view.

Dating to c.400 AD, this mosaic - the so-called Dominus Julius mosaic - was excavated in the early 1900's from a Roman building in Carthage in North Africa.
It's now in the Bardo Museum, in Tunis, Tunisia.

History of the excavations in the area which revealed many small farms.

Specific information on the Villa Regina, one of the well-preserved rustic country farms at Boscoreale, near Pompeii.

12 wonderful details from the agricultural year. Don't miss scenes of treading grapes, harvesting olives, gathering straw, and ploughing & sowing. From a mosaic in Vienne in France.

Shepherds and farmers with their animals next to a shrine.

From a villa in Rome, 30-20 BC; now in National Museum at the Palazzo Massimo, Rome.

From a villa in Rome, 30-20 BC; now in National Museum at the Palazzo Massimo, Rome

Images of the famous hunt mosaics from the imperial villa at Piazza Armerina in Sicily, including the boar hunt as shown on p.13 of CLC Book V.

Images of the famous hunt mosaics from the imperial villa at Piazza Armerina in Sicily, including the boar hunt as shown on p.5 of CLC Unit 4.

from the Bardo Museum in Tunisia. (Archived site, please be patient if slow to load.)

Showing fishermen on the seashore. From a villa in Rome, 30-20 BC; now in National Museum at the Palazzo Massimo, Rome.

'mosaic 3' on this page, 'fishing boats' and 'fishermen', from Leptis Magna in Libya.

Cupids go fishing; in situ at Piazza Armerina, Sicily. Detail.

from Ostia, near rome. In-situ.

from Cherchell in Algeria; c.250 A.D.

Roman fresco from the Villa of Poppaea at Oplontis near Pompeii.

Roman fresco; now in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme museum in Rome.

Child pulled in a chariot drawn by a goat; from the sarcophagus of M. Cornelius Statius; in the Louvre, Paris.

Famous painting from the Villa Ariadne at Stabiae (modern Castellamare di Stabia) of Flora, the goddess of flowers.
Now in Naples Archaeological Museum.

from Piazza Armerina, Sicily.

from Herculaneum, now in Naples Archaeological Museum.

Glass bowl of figs from the "Villa of Poppaea" at Oplontis, near Pompeii.

from the Villa of Livia in Rome. (scroll down to view image)

from the "Villa of Poppaea" at Oplontis, near Pompeii.

in the National Museum at the Palazzo Massimo, Rome.

The ceiling mosaics, c.350 AD, of Santa Costanza church in Rome depicting the grape harvest, as shown on p.5 of CLC Bk.IV.

The ceiling mosaics, c.350 AD, of Santa Costanza church in Rome depicting the grape harvest.

Famous wall-painting from the House of the Centenary in Pompeii showing Bacchus, god of wine, covered in grapes, with Mount Vesuvius behind.

Detail of grapes being picked from a fantastic mosaic in the museum at Cherchel, Algeria.

some information on ancient wine and archaeology.

Short article on wine production.

Roman painting from the Villa of Poppaea at Oplontis, near Pompeii.

Marble relief from Neumagen near Trier in Germany; as shown on p.15 of CLC Book V.

Detailed aerial photo from Google Earth.

Try matching it with the models and plans linked to below...

Labelled model of the huge, imperial residence at Tivoli, near Rome.

Photo of the model up close with the Nymphaeum in the foreground.

Here's a view of the model looking over the main, central buildings.

From the site's audio tour brochure.

Two and half minute introduction to Hadrian's Villa by the British Museum's director, Neil MacGregor.

Detailed description of the villa, with over 200 photos.

Fairly detailed website with plans, descriptions and images of the buildings.

Beautiful, composite photo of the "Teatro Maritimo" or Maritime Theater, a small circular space of water and colonnades famed for its architectural beauty and complexity.

Take a look at this short, cgi fly-through of the restored Maritme Theater, and this video outlining one possibility of what the complex represented - the centre of the Roman world.

Photos of the villa on the Flickr photo-sharing website. There are some beautiful shots in here.

Model of the poet's seaside villa at Laurentum, 16 miles south of Rome. The model, made by Clifford Pember in the 1940's, is based solely on Pliny's written description of his villa.

Plan of the villa, based upon on the model linked to above. Drawn by Reginald Piggott for the Cambridge Latin Course.

A visit to the ruins of a large Roman villa in Laurentum by the author of the "Roman Mysteries", Caroline Lawrence. Includes her plan of the villa.

In Letter II.17 Pliny proudly and lovingly describes his villa to his friend Gallus.

Introduction to the Roman poet Horace's villa at Licenza outside Rome.
Although looking dated now, the website includes plans, reconstructions and photos of the villa.

Great tour of the villa given by Prof. Bernard Frischer, who led excavations from 1996 to 2003.

Here is Part 2.

CGI reconstruction based on excavations.

Scroll down the Amazon "Look Inside" pop-up to read the Introduction of this book ("Latin Letters" by Cecelia Luschnig). [Note: if you are not in the US, Amazon will try to divert your browser to your national Amazon website — but the book's 'Look Inside' may only be visible on Amazon.com in which case you could try opening the link in a 'private browser window' and/or inputting a US postcode.]

One of the most famous Roman letters is actually a birthday invitation. Written on a wooden tablet in ink, it comes from Vindolanda, a military camp in northern England.
As shown on p.20 of CLC Unit 4 (where the image is mistakenly reversed in the 4th Edition).