- Wealthy Romans took summer holidays either in seaside towns or in the mountains. The Romans also went on a two year holiday around the Mediterranean world.
- The Bay of Naples was full of sumptuous villas in resort towns along the coastline. Tivoli near Rome was also a popular Resort, as was Lake Como in the mountains.
Bay of Naples
- Baiae
- A reference in 178 BCE to ‘Aquae Cumanae’, the ‘Cumaean Waters’, shows the Spa Town was already popular under the Roman Republic.
- Under the Roman Empire, Baiae became the main Spa Town and Resort for the Roman Emperors and the Roman Aristocracy.
- Several Roman Emperors had Villas there, including Hadrian who died at his villa here on the 10 July 138 CE aged 62.
- The Temple of Mercury (known as the Temple of Echo due to its acoustics) had the largest Dome (21.5 m or 71 ft) in the Ancient World until the Pantheon was built in 128 CE. These ‘Temples’ were actually Baths, several of which had Domes.
- Pompeii
- Pompeii was a very popular resort town frequented by the Roman wealthy, and many had villas there.
- The Archeological site of Pompeii is the excavated area of the town of Pompeii which was buried under the volcanic ash of Mount Vesuvius during the eruption of 79 CE.
- Herculaneum
- Herculaneum was nearby to Pompeii and was also a popular resort town with many villas. It also was buried under the ash after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
- Capri
- Capri is an Island in the Bay of Naples in Italy.
- It is the location of the Villa Jovis, built and lived in by the Roman Emperor Tiberius (14-37 CE).
- Tacitus mentions that Tiberius owned 12 villas on the island of Capri.
Near Rome
- Tivoli
- Tivoli was ‘Tibur’, another popular resort, where there were many villas, including Hadrian's Villa.
- Lake Nemi
- The Lake Nemi Roman Shipwrecks were two giant vessels constructed as floating palaces for the entertainment of the Emperor Caligula (37-41 CE). They were recovered from Lake Nemi between 1929-1933.
Lake Como
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- Lake Como was a popular location in the mountains for wealthy Romans to have villas, such as Pliny the Younger (61-112 CE), in contrast to having villas at Baiae, in the bay of Naples.
- After Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore, Lake Como is the third largest Lake in Italy, and is 28 miles (46 km) in length. It is shaped in an upside down ‘Y’ and surrounded by mountains along its shores.
- The villages and towns along its banks were most easily connected to each other by water, and even today they remain connected by a fleet of high speed ferries running to a timetable.
Roman Grand Tour
- The Ancient Roman Patrician Class toured Greece, Asia Minor and Egypt to view all the famous Temples and Tombs. Usually, This would take two years. They even left Graffiti on the walls.
- The Grand Tour was repeated in the 17th and 18th centuries by the Northern European upper classes as Neoclassicism became a popular Western cultural movement.