The Roman villa in Le Grotte

The monumental complex of Le Grotte dominates the stretch of sea between Populonia and Portoferraio, and stands opposite the Roman building known as La Linguella, on the other side of the bay. The first archaeological excavations on the hill (1960-1972) were carried out by Giorgio Monaco, an Inspector at the Superintendency of Antiquities for Etruria.

The building, constructed using the opus reticulatum technique, followed architectural plans for a complex made up of “block” units, arranged on two artificial terraces, all emerging from the surrounding territory. For many years it was interpreted as a luxurious maritime villa designed for the purposes of otium (private relaxation) for an important member of the senatorial elite. However, today the complex tells a different story, thanks to research conducted between 2019 and 2022 by the University of Siena.

The complex is the result of two distinct construction phases.

In the first phase (40-30 BC), coinciding with its initial construction, the building was closely connected to the storage and distribution of water. This was not only for watering crops and meeting the needs of the buildings on the plain below, but above all for supplying water for ships passing through this part of the Tyrrhenian. It was probably built at the same time as the construction of an aqueduct (the arches of which can be seen in many 18th-19th century pictures of the promontory).

At the end of the 1st century BC, a general restructuring of the area led to a change in the building’s purpose, and its end use. The interior areas connected to the provision of water were sealed off and filled in with earth, to raise the floor levels. They were then decorated with mosaic and opus sectile pavement floors. In the rooms to the north, built as a raised foundation for a building above it, and probably used as storage rooms in the first phase, a baths suite was built, along with a cistern for rainwater.

The layout of the new rooms, and the sophistication of the decorations found here, show that, in this phase, we are looking at a private monumental complex, with formal rooms, gardens and pools with spectacular water features. Moreover, the presence of decorative motifs closely connected to the political propaganda of Emperor Augustus allows us to link the owners of this building directly to the Imperial household.

The building was abandoned at the end of the 1st century AD, perhaps as part of a specific plan, and with the most precious fixtures and fittings being stripped and relocated. This would explain the absence of valuable materials and decorative elements.

The floors and structures became damaged over the centuries due to agricultural work, but the most serious destructive event occurred when the area was used for military purposes. Indeed, between 1799 and 1802 Elba was the theatre of armed confrontation between the French on the one hand and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany on the other, supported by the British Navy. Many outer walls were demolished in order to set up a battery of siege cannons.

Since then, despite the damage caused by time, and above all by man, the remains of the complex of Le Grotte still stand majestically over the bay of Portoferraio, and await visitors in order to tell them of their centuries-old history.