GROTTE DI CATULLO E MUSEO ARCHEOLOGICO DI SIRMIONE

This impressive archaeological site is not only the most important evidence of the Roman period in the Sirmione area, but is also considered the most magnificent example of a Roman villa found in northern Italy. For some years now, further studies and surveys have been underway that have provided new information on the layout and chronology of the various construction phases: the archaeological complex, only partly brought to light, covered an area of over 20,000 square metres. The large villa, under which structures of an earlier building were found, dates back to the Augustan Age (end of I BC - beginning of I AD). The exact period and reason for the villa's decline is unknown; the reuse at the end of the 3rd century AD of some of the capitals of the porticoes in the so-called Villa di Via Antiche Mura in Sirmione indicates that it had certainly already been abandoned at that time, perhaps following a fire that had damaged its structures. For the construction of the villa, it was necessary to reshape the rocky bank that characterises the tip of the Sirmione peninsula. The presence of unevenness and the desire to construct a building with a sheer drop to the north overlooking the lake made it necessary to create substructures, i.e. imposing foundations organised on two floors. The rooms thus obtained were mostly to be used as service rooms, although some, with spectacular views of the lake, were to be part of the spaces reserved for the owner and his family. Likewise reserved for the dominus was the double critoporticus, partially excavated in the rocky bank, which runs along the entire western side of the villa and provided a room for strolling sheltered from the summer heat, winter cold and rain and wind. The upper floor, used as living quarters, is the least preserved. It developed around a large garden-peristyle of about 4,000 square metres, with the residential areas located to the north and south. Long porticoes with terraces ran on the east, west and north sides where they connected to a belvedere terrace of about 1,400 square metres. The main entrance was located on the southern side and led to the upper level, while two other entrances to the north and west served the middle and lower levels respectively. In the southern sector of the upper level was a bathing area with a large heated pool, built between the end of the 1st and the beginning of the 2nd century AD. To the right of the entrance, it is possible to visit the Museum, which collects evidence of Sirmione's earliest history, from objects found in the submerged pile dwellings along the peninsula's coastline (San Francesco, Maraschina, Porto Galeazzi, Lugana Vecchia) to those unearthed in the numerous excavations from the Roman and medieval periods, among which, in terms of importance, those relating to the grandiose Roman building in Via Antiche Mura, the churches of San Pietro in Mavinas and San Salvatore, as well as the Longobard necropolis on the Cortine hill stand out. Among the materials from the villas of the Grotte di Catullo are splendid fragments of the fresco decoration that, together with the stuccoes and architectural decoration, enriched the residential rooms. In addition to the materials from Sirmione, there are also finds from other settlements around Lake Garda, thus offering visitors a more general overview of the area.