Archaeological Park of the Roman villa of San Vincenzino
The remains of the grandiose villa tell long centuries of history
In the locality of San Vincenzino, near Cecina, stands a Roman building constructed on the model of the urban villa, with rooms open to gardens and porticoed areas.
Construction of the villa began in the second half of the 1st century B.C.; it was equipped with a complex water system consisting of a series of tunnels that filtered water and collected it in an impressive underground cistern, which can be visited today. Between the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D., a bath complex and a summer triclinium (dining hall) adorned with a nymphaeum were built, while in the next century part of the rich residential structures was occupied by oil production facilities.
From the 5th century, the villa was gradually abandoned, dispersing the furnishings found within it. The rooms would later be occupied by a vast necropolis with simple burials in pits, some of them lined with stone slabs, until the 10th century.
Excavations carried out on the archaeological site, which has been known since the 18th century, have made it possible to find the remains of the grand Roman villa of the imperial age and to reconstruct the characteristics of the complex, which had a long life span and whose history was characterized by different phases of construction and subsequent changes in use.
Particularly interesting is a visit to the large underground cistern, which is entirely practicable, while the 19th-century building in the park houses the exhibition "Privata Luxuria", which features a collection of artifacts from the villa that illustrate the aesthetic and luxury-seeking aspects of this wealthy Roman dwelling. Other materials recovered from the excavations, however, are on display at the Archaeological Museum of Cecina, such as the precious alabaster statue depicting the goddess Isis dated to the second-third century A.D.
