Piazza d'Oro: Golden Court

View of the entrance of Piazza d'Oro with the current picture and the proposed design of the building. Images by: Morselli, Chiara, "Guide with Reconstructions of Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este"

Piazza d'Oro, in the northern edge of the villa, is a vast building with a rectangular open court filled with flower-beds and water basins. On the south side of the Piazza, there was a monumental exedra with niches for statues and fountains while the east side included a series of rooms and the Triclinium (1). On the northern side, the main entrance of the Piazza is comprised of a large octagonal vestibule covered by a beautiful umbrella vault springing from arches (3). Groups of halls covered with vaults can be found on both sides of this central exedra. Presently, the rooms' walls still bear traces of the marble revetment reaching up to the ceiling. We can imagine that all the rooms were paved with opus sectile pavements, as other places in the villa (1).

Remains of the entrance of the Piazza. Image by: Luis Vidal

Traces of the rectangular garden in the Piazza d'Oro. Image by: Luis Vidal

The name of the building comes from the lavish ornaments and the wealth works of art found inside. The Piazza was use as a banqueting area because of its luxury with its peristyle garden which was adorn with fountains and estuaries. One could say that this wing of the Villa was important due to the elevated number of Imperial portraits. A Gladiator's Arena could be seen from the Triclinium of Piazza d'Oro. Again, this building resembles one discovered in the Villa of the Quintili on the Appian way in Rome. It must be stressed that a subterranean road ran underneath the Piazza, linking to the Grande Trapezio, the main subterranean road system spanning for more than 4 kilometers (1).

Map of Piazza D'oro. Image by: Franceschini, Marina De "Brief History of the Villa and of the excavations

Scholars have noted the resemblance between the plan of Piazza d'Oro and that of Hadrian's Stoa in Athens (2). Since the Stoa was a library built by Hadrian in the same period of time (123-125 a.D.) as the Piazza, one can assume that the site was the great library of the villa, suited for a cultured emperor such as Hadrian. This not only accentuates Hadrian's building projects during his reign but the predominance of a define style in the buildings that Hadrian order to build. Other sources suggest that the complex was a pavilion for entertainment with gardens and fountains where banquets and receptions for hundreds of guest were held (3).

Underground passage under the Piazza. Image by: Luis Vidal

FOOTNOTES:

(1) Franceschini, Marina De "Brief History of the Villa and of the excavations", Soprintendenza Archeologica del Lazio, 2005 <http://www.villa-adriana.net/>

(2) Adembri, Benedetta, "Hadrian's Villa", Martellago (Venice): Mondadori Electa S.p.A. , 2005

(3) Morselli, Chiara, "Guide with Reconstructions of Villa Adriana and Villa d'Este", Roma: Vision s.r.l, 1995

More Photos:

Piazza D'Oro pictures of the remains and landscape from the entrance. Image by: Luis Vidal

Side view of the entrance and buildings remaining next to it. Image by: Luis Vidal