User /MEP's Art : Love, Peace and stay safe
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The "Grotte di Catullo": The magic of the past in Sirmione
ELISABETTA: Love, Peace and stay safe / 5,277 items
...imagine to be here...
the magic atmosphere of the ancient times,
the soft breeze from the lake,
the blue of the sky,
close your eyes and you will fly in another dimension,
pure magic...
imagine how this great wonderful villa could be during the Roman Age and dream....
AT THE FAR END OF THE PENINSULA OF SIRMIONE, SET IN A BEAUTIFUL SCENIC AREA, ARE THE REMAINS OF A ROMAN VILLA KNOWN AS THE “GROTTOES OF CATULLO”, THE LARGEST PRIVATE DWELLING EVER BUILT IN NORTHERN ITALY.
Grottoes of Catullus is the name given to the ruins of a Roman villa which was built at the beginning of our era at the northernmost end of the peninsula of Sirmione on the southern shore of Lake Garda.
In the Renaissance the term “grotto” or “cavern” was used to designate collapsed buildings, overgrown with vegetation, into which one entered as if they were natural grottoes.
This tradition, which dates back to the 15th and 16th centuries, identified this site as the villa of the Catullo family, the Latin poet who died in 54 B.C.
Verses by Catullo unequivocally prove that he had a home in Sirmione, although it is not certain that he was precisely in this area.
Sirmione was part of the area of the countryside around Verona, and is known in the ancient world for having been a resting stop along the road linking Brescia to Verona.
The first detailed depiction of the remains of the villa is a relief from the early 19th century.
Important excavations were then executed by Girolamo Orti Manara, who published his findings in a work that remains of vital historical importance.
The superintendency for historical buildings initiated excavations in 1939-40, and work on restoration in 1948.
More recent studies have allowed researchers to prove the presence of an earlier construction, seemingly supporting the hypothesis that the architectural work seen today is the result of a single project which established both the orientation and the division of the internal spaces.
The villa is designed on a rectangular profile (m. 167 x 105), with two wings on the short sides, and occupies a total area of ??more than two hectares.
Large foundations were built to address the problem of the sloping rocks in which the building rests, while in other areas large sections of rock have been cut.
The remains visible today are thus on different levels: of the northern sector, for instance, only the grandiose buildings remain, whereas nothing is left of the living quarters.
The Groto of Catullo cover an area of 2 hectares in the province of Brescia, among the olive groves of the extreme edge of the peninsula of Sirmione, on the southern coast of Lake Garda.
These are the remains of a Roman villa on several levels dating back to the first century BC. And the 1st century AD Attributed to Caio Valerio Catullo, exponent of Valeri, the wealthy Veronese family who is believed to possess the abode. The name of Grotte dates back to the 15th century, when the ruins, partially collapsed and covered with vegetation, took on the appearance of caves.
The villa, reminiscent of excavations begun in the nineteenth century and the subsequent research of Girolamo Orti Manara, has a rectangular plan with two advances on the short sides. The noble floor develops around the large garden-peristyle with long terraced corridors overlooking the lake.
Among the ruins are the Criptoportico, the large Cistern about 43 m long, the Thermal Area with the swimming pool and other environments with evocative names such as the Trifora del Paradiso, the Three Pillars Hall, the Horse Cave and the ' Giants hall.
To the right of the entrance to the Park is the Antiquarium, the Museum where many finds are found in the villa and the Garda area, such as floor mosaics and bronze and ceramic objects, with multimedia videos and 3D reconstructions of stilts , Roman villas and castles.
The Museum is divided into several sections illustrating, among other things, the genesis and morphology of Lake Garda and preserves testimonies and photographs of excavations and restorations.
