Hotels near Villa Romana del Casale

Villa Romana del Casale outside Piazza Armerina holds the most extensive set of Roman mosaics anywhere in the world - around 3,500 square metres covering 50 rooms, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The villa was a 4th-century country residence of an unusually wealthy Roman, possibly a member of the Tetrarchy, and was preserved for centuries by a 12th-century landslide that buried it in mud.

The so-called Great Hunt corridor (Ambulacro della Grande Caccia) is a 60 m mosaic showing North African animals being captured for the Roman games. The famously well-preserved Sala delle Dieci Ragazze depicts ten women in what look unmistakably like modern bikinis, exercising and competing in athletic events. The site is fully covered by elevated walkways that protect the mosaics and let you see the geometry from above. Entry costs 12 EUR; allow 90 minutes inside, plus another two hours of driving from Catania or Palermo round-trip - it sits inland in Enna province with no fast train link.

Pro Tip: Take the SAIS bus from Catania to Piazza Armerina (1h45m, 11 EUR) and then a local taxi to the villa (5 km, around 10 EUR each way) - the public navetta minibus is unreliable. Go on a weekday to avoid the coach groups; the mosaics also photograph far better in the cooler morning light from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM.