If you are looking for archeological tours in my loved Sicily, I invite you to visit an ancient Roman villa regarded as the twin sister of the Roman Villa of Casale. I am discussing about Tellaro Roman Villa . That is a Roman villa near the baroque city of Noto, in the South – East of Sicily, in the province of Syracuse. I visited this ancient building recently, along with my husband. We remained highly impressed by its magnificent charm. Tellaro Roman Villa is smaller than Roman Villa of Casale in Piazza Armerina, but mosaics, rooms and ancient walls are really awesome. I visited this Roman villa near Noto after a two day trip in the beach of Avola.

The building is about a 6 km from the beach . It was on Sunday and after sunbathing for the entire day, I and my husband decided to visit this archeological treasure. I know very well my loved Sicily and even this Roman villa, but I had not visited it, yet. As soon as I put my feet in front of the entrance of the Villa, I was about to faint, because the ancient space was alive and untouched, as if I was really gone back into time, into the age of the Roman Empire.

What I have known about the history of Tellaro Roman Villa

The Roman villa of Tellaro is an ancient luxury Roman villa dating back the late age of the Roman Empire. This luxury building was made in the IV century B.C. and is in the suburbs of the village of Noto. Hence, I walked among the rooms and the floors of a true archeological treasure. The external façade of this villa is very similar to a Sicilian farm, around the courtyard there are also the ancient ruins of this manor, scattered amid weeds and surrounded by a large wood of lemon and poplar trees. As soos as you crossed the courtyard, you get overwhelmed by the delicious scent of these Sicilian trees.

But it not still enough. As soon as you go through the main entrance of the Villa, you’ll see a large hall made of a pebbled floor containing a sort of stone round chairs where the ancient Roman consuls spent their free time. In the ancient Rome, the floors of the houses were pebbled. Hence, I walked on an original Roman floor dating back to 2500 years ago!

The main hall was the living room. I am unable to describe the deep emotion I felt .

Then, I visited the other rooms and viewed some burials with bones, true bones of corpses of ancient Roman soldiers (see the image) What a touching view, really! Roman Villa del Tellaro is a great witness of a glorious past, one of the archeological jewels owned by my loved Sicily.

I also crossed another room with the Roman baths where the Roman consuls discussed about their conquers and battles (see the image). I continued my visit to the second floor.

Tellaro Roman Villa is, indeed, on two floors supported by steel and iron pillars. You can easily cross them and walk along another floor decorated with Roman mosaics. They are still untouched and well visible with hunting and daily life scenes of the Romans. I remained stricken by a mosaic where you can see the pictures of two Roman warriors and an original Latin Inscription (see the image).

Roman mosaics

Also Tellaro Roman Villa is filled with stunning Roman mosaics. The most impressive ones are on the floors, as said above, but you can see other Roman mosaics on the walls. The latter have been entirely renovated because the original ones was destroyed by the passage of centuries. During my archeological tour to the Roman Villa of Tellaro I felt in peace with myself because I dipped into the past, sensed the charm and the scent of a lost time.

It was as if I could see the ancient Roman people walk alongside me. I observed their tools, their customs, because their ancient legacy was just in front of my eyes, like 2500 years ago. I also admired a stone oven, an original stone oven used in the ancient Villas of the Roman Empire (see the image).  You don’t need to have a time machine to travel back into time, because you can visit Sicily and enjoys stunning archeological tours like this.

Roman Villa Tellaro Opening hours

Roman Villa of Tellaro opens every day from 9 to 17.30 Pm. The entrance is free. The visit takes only 15 minutes and before leaving, you can also write your thoughts on the guest book laid on the opposite side of the ticket office. I left my handwritten thoughts with my signature and a short sentence in Italian: “Semplicemente bellissima”, “ Simply very beautiful”. Since the visit lasts short, I advise that you enjoy this archeological tour along with a visit to Noto and Avola.

How to reach Tellaro Roman Villa

The Roman Villa del Tellaro consist of an archeological itinerary which includes Tellaro river and the ruins of Eloro (see the image). Placed on a low hill next to the beach, 21 meters above the sea level, in the north of the mouth of Tellaro river, the ancient settlement of Eloro was founded at the end of the VIII century B.C by a group of Corinthian colonies as a stronghold of the Syracusans in the southern coast of Sicily. Eloro is near the beach of Noto. Today, in this archeological settlement, you can also see the remains of the ancient houses, temples and Greek columns.
Hence, to reach Tellaro Roman Villa, you can land to Catania airport and take a taxi, bus or car to Syracuse. From there, you can reach Noto , Eloro and Tellaro Roman Villa. From the beach of Noto, you must overcome Tellaro river, soon after, you’ll meet a right fork leading you to a farm dating back the XIX century, the same I visited recently and that thanks to archeological exscavations, occurred in 1971, unveiled a magnificent buried treasure, namely: the Roman Villa of Tellaro.

Photocredits:

noto.ilsoledelmediterraneo.eu for the external facade of the villa

sicilyonweb.com for the  interior and the mosaics of the villa

Rosalba Mancuso

Rosalba Mancuso is a freelance journalist born in Sicily. Passionate about her loved island and with extensive writing experience, Rosalba worked as a contributor for the main Sicily’s newspapers and as a bilingual Italian – English writer. Thanks to her skills, she also founded four websites in English. On Sicilyonweb, Rosalba tells every corner of her beloved Sicily. Furthermore, she writes this blog thanks to your help. Rosalba, in fact, earns a small commission, with no cost for you, when you book your travel or buy products through the affiliate widgets or links you find in her posts.