The villa in Ronchi of the Legionaries
Only the southeastern limit is known of this Roman-era rustic villa, which has been excavated only partially (covering an area of about 600 sq. m.), as the western part lies within the airport area. The archaeological site was identified in 1987 as a result of aqueduct work and was investigated on several occasions until 2007.
The villa, built around the middle of the 1st century BC, had three main construction phases and was finally destroyed by fire in the 3rd century AD.
The abandoned structures were later covered by the overflow of a watercourse (perhaps a branch of the Isonzo) that then flowed a short distance away. The U-shaped plan of the building was characterized by a series of rooms arranged,at different heights, around a central courtyard: the pars urbana, intended for the residence of the dominus (the owner), was located at a higher elevation. Reception rooms,characterized by floors with polychrome mosaics or black/white geometric patterns, faced outward on a columned portico facing the countryside or perhaps a garden.
Also in this area of the villa, a small room was equipped with a heating system with a suspensurae, brick columns that raised the floor allowing the passage of hot air coming from a nearby boiler.
The pars rustica, where the main production and processing activities of agricultural products took place was located across the courtyard. Here the rooms were smaller in size: some of them were paved with terracotta bricks.
