As Alex said, today we met at our classroom then loaded into our bus to visit Hadrian’s Villa, near Tivoli, Italy. Hadrian was a Roman emperor from 117 to 138 A.D. Hadrian did not like Rome, so he built his own Villa, which better resembles a personal city for himself, outside of Rome. This Villa took many years to construct, but Hadrian was only able to live and enjoy the Villa’s beauty for 4 years before he passed. The Villa consisted of two libraries, one Greek, one Latin; bathes for him, visitors, and the workers; a pond; a building to host soldiers; and more.

Above is a model of the Hadrian’s Villa. The Villa stretches 250 acres, that’s a lot for one Emperor.

 

The Wall outside Hadrian’s Villa.

Intact piece of a fresco on the ceiling.

 

Hadrian even had a personal island so he could seclude himself when he wanted. There was a small moat around the island with no bridge to cross. If he wanted to be there the workers had to bring a temporary bridge for Hadrian to cross. There were fish in the moat, so that was the highlight of everyone’s day, as well as cracking the ice in the frozen over pond.

The site of Hadrian’s Villa was a beautiful place to visit and a good way to see some of the Roman building techniques. Specifically the way brick was used, compared to the way Greeks used marble. Today was a great last class adventure for everyone before we head home on Wednesday.

Ciao!

Emma Sullivan