Roman villa called Villa Romana di Patti is located on the north coast of Sicily. The vast remains of the building that have survived prove that it was a luxurious villa with a latifundium.
The discovery was made in 1973 during construction works for the A20 motorway. At that time, the northern part of the villa was inadvertently destroyed.
The original building was built in the 2nd-3rd century CE; however, at the beginning of the 4th century, the villa was demolished and replaced with a more sumptuous structure. In 365, there was a strong earthquake that destroyed the building and until the fall of Rome, the place was no longer inhabited.
The villa had an impressive peristyle surrounded by sumptuous chambers. Beautiful mosaics have survived to this day. Archaeological work is still ongoing as many parts of the villa have not been excavated from the ground; at the moment, however, scientists are confident about the layout of the building.
