TERME VIGLIATORE

Terme Vigliatore is a town of almost 6,000 inhabitants, located in the province of Messina. It became an autonomous city in 1966, until then falling within the administrative territory of Castroreale. It is especially renowned for its thermal baths.

Villa Romana di Terme Vigliatore – San Biagio. This luxury suburban residence, dating from the 1^st century AD, has not been excavated fully. It comprises the actual residential quarters, on the left, and, on the right, a small bath complex reserved for the owners of the villa and their guests. To the left, is a square peristylum, with eight columns down each side (only partially excavated). Opposite is a large tablinum (archive room) with an opus sectile floor made up of black and white stone pieces laid in geometric patterns, surrounded with a marble tile border. To the left are the kitchen, which is next to the tablinum, and the bedrooms.

The private baths (to the right of the site entrance), extended in two different phases, are the most attractive part of the complex. First, there is the semicircular bath, to the left of which is the frigidaium paved with a fine black and white mosaic depicting a boat with two oarsmen and a fisherman (with a line). Around the central panel, are dolphins (at the four corners) and a sword-fish above. The heating system of the various sections of the baths is also clearly visible.