A Roman villa overlooking the sea
The Villa delle Grottacce is located at km 58.20 of the Aurelia, along the left carriageway proceeding from Santa Severa towards Santa Marinella. Currently, it is possible to visit only the part of the structures built in the sea of the Roman Villa delle Grottacce, that is, the part dedicated to fish farming. The part of the villa built on the promontory overlooking the sea has been seriously damaged both by erosion from the sea and by atmospheric agents, therefore the Superintendency has prohibited access by delimiting the area with a fence
To admire the majesty and grandeur of this villa built between the 1st century BC and the 4th century AD you have two altenatives. You can go down to the beach via the stairs built in correspondence with the parking lot located further south of the villa and reach the structures at water level from the sea or stay at the height of the parking lot and look carefully among the lush vegetation present on the promontory. In both ways, however, it will be possible to see very little of the structures that must have constituted the residential part of the structure. In fact, up to today, only the ruins of the cistens, the semi-basement portico and the barrel-vaulted rooms that must have constituted the service parts of the villa are clearly visible. From the complexity of these ruins one can only imagine how rich and extensive this villa must have been in ancient times. This hypothesis is supported by the presence in the sea of the structures with the characteristic "theater" shape of the fish pond, that is, the part of the villa intended for fish farming. This type of structure spread in the imperial era among the richest classes of the population and became a true status symbol of wealth and opulence.