Philosophers' Hall
This Hall is thought to have been a large throne room where the emperor held audiences and met in council with court luminaries. It is a vast rectangular hall with a large apse and was extravagantly decorated with precious marble and the seven niches on the back wall were adorned with statues of philosophers. Hadrian’s villa, built by the emperor (117-138 AD) as summer imperial retreat, is a vast open air museum of some the finest architecture of the Roman world and the Roman Empires largest and richest villa ever built. It is a UNSECO World Heritage Site. [www.stevensklifas.com]
Hadrian's Villa is a vast area of land with many pools, baths, fountains and classical Greek and Roman architecture set in what would have been a mixture of landscaped gardens, wilderness areas and cultivated farmlands. Due to Hadrian's travels, he also commissioned Egyptian style buildings and statues, even naming some of the buildings after Egyptian cities or temples.
The buildings are constructed in travertine, brick, lime, pozzolana, and tufa. The complex contains over 30 buildings, covering at least a square kilometre (250 acres, an area larger than the city of Pompeii), of which much is still unexcavated. Villas were typically sited on hilltops, but with its fountains, pools and gardens, Hadrian's villa required abundant sources of water, which was supplied by aqueducts feeding Rome, including the Aqua Anio Vetus, Aqua Anio Novus, Aqua Marcia, and Aqua Claudia. To avail themselves of those sources, the villa had to be located on land lower than the aqueduct.[Wikipedia]
Philosophers' Hall
This Hall is thought to have been a large throne room where the emperor held audiences and met in council with court luminaries. It is a vast rectangular hall with a large apse and was extravagantly decorated with precious marble and the seven niches on the back wall were adorned with statues of philosophers. Hadrian’s villa, built by the emperor (117-138 AD) as summer imperial retreat, is a vast open air museum of some the finest architecture of the Roman world and the Roman Empires largest and richest villa ever built. It is a UNSECO World Heritage Site. [www.stevensklifas.com]
Hadrian's Villa is a vast area of land with many pools, baths, fountains and classical Greek and Roman architecture set in what would have been a mixture of landscaped gardens, wilderness areas and cultivated farmlands. Due to Hadrian's travels, he also commissioned Egyptian style buildings and statues, even naming some of the buildings after Egyptian cities or temples.
The buildings are constructed in travertine, brick, lime, pozzolana, and tufa. The complex contains over 30 buildings, covering at least a square kilometre (250 acres, an area larger than the city of Pompeii), of which much is still unexcavated. Villas were typically sited on hilltops, but with its fountains, pools and gardens, Hadrian's villa required abundant sources of water, which was supplied by aqueducts feeding Rome, including the Aqua Anio Vetus, Aqua Anio Novus, Aqua Marcia, and Aqua Claudia. To avail themselves of those sources, the villa had to be located on land lower than the aqueduct.[Wikipedia]