Marina De Franceschini
"Villa Adriana di Tivoli: architettura e potere"
in Experiencing the Landscape in Antiquity 2, BAR S3107
edited by Armando Cristilli, Fabio de Luca, Gioconda di Luca and Alessia Gonfloni,
published by BAR Publishing (Oxford, 2022), pp. 99-103
Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli is the largest villa of Roman antiquity. The symbols of power were always the same during the millennia: one of them is the architecture of the Roman imperial residences, and Villa Adriana is the most important example.
Power is symbolized by the grandeur of the architecture, the technical innovations such as the ‘umbrella’ domes, the skillful choice of building materials, the network of subterranean tunnels for slaves.
Other symbols of power are the luxury of the decoration, the unlimited availability of water, the thermal buildings, the sheltered paths for strolling in winter, or cool ones in the summer.
The extraordinary and eclectic architecture of Hadrian’s Villa was a symbol of the absolute power of Emperor Hadrian. It was the heir of the architecture of power of the Hellenistic dynasts, and then became the archetype and source of inspiration for the great Renaissance and Baroque palaces and villas.