The archaeological excavations of the Roman Villa of San Marco

The archaeological excavations at the Roman villa of the San Marco estate, which began in 2012, immediately uncovered a settlement that predates the grand and monumental Grotte complex, located on the hill above.

The villa, whose remains are well preserved, was built in the second half of the 2nd century BC using almost exclusively raw earth construction and was destroyed in the 1st century AD by a fire which, by "baking" the structures, helped ensure their survival.

During the eight excavation campaigns, 9 rooms were uncovered, of which 8 have an upper floor, making up a total of 17 rooms.

The ground floor rooms were used for the storage and preparation of foodstuffs, as indicated by the presence of hearths, numerous ceramic fragments from cooking, animal bones, and transport amphorae. These rooms centered around a large space that constituted the wine cellar of the villa, where five large, partially buried dolia defossa were found, intended for wine storage.

The upper floor contained rooms with residential or representative functions: the painted plasters found collapsed in some of these rooms, characterized by lively polychromy, feature elements typical of the early 2nd Pompeian style.

The elegant decorative schemes and the use of skilled craftsmen demonstrate the high quality of the residential area of the San Marco villa and the full adherence of the patrons to the models fashionable in the luxurious Roman homes of the late Republic, confirming its association with members of the Roman ruling class, which, based on the epigraphic evidence found on the walls of some dolia, can be attributed to the gens Valeria, deeply rooted along the entire Tuscan coast.

Some maker’s marks found on the dolia confirm the ownership of the farm and villa of the Grotte by the Valerii Messallae, a powerful family with economic interests (and property) along the coast. Marco Valerio Messalla was the typical aristocrat of his time: a military leader (like Caesar), senator (like Cicero), protector of letters and arts (like Maecenas), and founder of the "Messalla Circle." The property was then passed on to his adopted son, Aurelio Cotta Massimo Messalino, who is believed to have had the poet Ovid as a guest before the latter's exile to the Black Sea.

The maker’s marks also allowed for the identification of the wine producer: Hermia, a slave owned by Marco Valerio, who not only stamped his mark on the dolia but also placed his “signature” on some roof tiles, accompanied by the image of a dolphin.

In ancient literature, there are many episodes of friendship between this animal and humans, set in various Greek cities. Pliny, in particular, recounts the story set in Iasos, Asia Minor, of a child of Hermia. The child used to play with a dolphin in the waves but drowned due to a sudden storm. The dolphin, in sorrow, let itself die on the beach. It is likely that Hermia, who was educated, wanted to evoke his homeland.

The atmosphere is further enhanced by the fact that the harbor of Portoferraio is frequently visited by cetaceans of various species, including dolphins.