La decorazione scultorea nelle ville tardo antiche dell’Occidente: indicatori per la ricostruzione dei contesti espositivi

Sculptural fragments have been found during archaeological excavations in some Late Antique villas of the Western Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain) since the xix century. They have constantly been well examined regarding to their iconography, style and chronology, but several doubts still remain about the most common places they were originally set inside the villas. The paper aims to explain archaeology’s contribution in this field. A careful analysis of each sculpture is fundamental: for example, presence of unfinished parts, traces of little hydraulic pipes and data about the place of its discovery can sometimes help to reconstruct which was its original settlement. The study of the villas’ masonry is important too, for example by locating niches along the walls and pedestals. However, it is possible to reconstruct that the sculptures were usually arranged in high visible places such as triclinia, reception rooms and gardens: they contribute to show the power, wealth and education of the dominus, along with other decorations (painting, mosaics…). Sometimes, their exhibition had to be organized during the construction of the villa or during the building’s restoration, because the masonry and the pavements were accommodated in order to host them inside niches and on pedestals.