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All Italy Sperlonga Villa of Tiberius

Villa of Tiberius

The Roman Emperor's lost summer home and grotto full of enormous sculptures sit along the Italian seashore.

Sperlonga, Italy

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The grotto   steveilott/CC BY 2.0
Ruins of Tiberius’ villa   steveilott/CC BY 2.0
The view from the Grotto towards the Villa ruins   mulishwhim / Atlas Obscura User
A view of the grotto   mulishwhim / Atlas Obscura User
Villa di Tiberio ruins in Sperlonga.   Public Domain
The “Scylla group” (cast reconstruction)   8057065@N04/CC BY 2.0
Odysseus and Polyphemus   voyager16 / Atlas Obscura User
Replica Reconstruction of Odysseus and Polyphemus Group   voyager16 / Atlas Obscura User
Inside the Cave at Tiberius’ Villa   voyager16 / Atlas Obscura User
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Fascinating ruins and a huge grotto peer up at Sperlonga, a fantastic Italian beach town reminiscent of Greece with its seaside views and wandering white streets that venture up and down stacked houses and small-town shops.

For years, it was widely believed that the Roman Emperor Tiberius, who reigned from 14 to 37 AD, kept a summer villa along the coast between Rome and Naples. But it wasn't until 1957 that it was discovered so near the town of Sperlonga. 

All that remains of the Villa di Tiberio (Villa of Tiberius) itself are some short walls, but you are free to move about them as you wish. A slow path leads visitors to fish ponds and from there, the grotto, where the emperor is believed to have dined and entertained.

A connected museum now holds the incredible treasures found in the grotto: enormous ancient sculptures by the same artists who made the famous Laocoön found arranged in groups around the inside of the grotto, such as the Blinded Polyphemus and the Scylla Group, and groups depicting scenes from the Odyssey.

All these pieces, along with other smaller works and signs of Roman living, are kept inside a nearby museum, pieced together in their original arrangement as much as possible. A knowledge of Italian to read the informative plaques nearby would be beneficial to the visitor, but not absolutely necessary to enjoy the ancient artwork.

The grotto itself is spacious and can be explored freely, and it's easy to imagine it once held such magnificent statues. Sperlonga was thought to be a place where the legendary Odysseus landed for some time, hence the works from the Odyssey that decorated the place. 

Related Tags

Statues Ancient Grottoes Villas Roman Mythology Art Archaeology Ruins

Know Before You Go

Visiting hours: 8:30 am to 7:30 pm
Closed: January 1, May 1, December 25
Full ticket € 5.00, reduced € 2.50

If you're going on a day trip from Rome, take the train from Termini to Sperlonga. A bus will take you right from the station to the city for € 1.50 one way, but be very mindful of when the last bus leaves.

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mulishwhim

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Meg, voyager16

  • Meg
  • voyager16

Published

October 13, 2017

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  • http://www.polomusealelazio.beniculturali.it/index.php?en/172/the-archaeological-museum-of-sperlonga
Villa of Tiberius
Via Flacca Km
Sperlonga
Italy
41.251081, 13.449815
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