Sicilian Roman villa the best in Europe?

[Imperial Dave]

https://www.en-vols.com/en/inspirations-en/culture-en/sicily-ancient-villa/

Very striking...

[Nick Harbud]

What a wonderful piece if tourist advertising!  Note how they selected the mosaic of the bikini girls to illustrate the text.

Yes, this villa is well worth a stop on one's tour of Sicily.  Originally built for some governor or other high official, its state of preservation owes much to being buried for hundreds of years under half a mountain following an earthquake.  Subsequently, locals helped themselves to some of the more easily retrieved remains to adorn their own gaffs.  One example on the hillside opposite the entrance incorporates some of the villa's columns.

Whether this is the best villa in Europe appears to be something of a cheap marketing boast.  The mosaics are impressive, but discussing them with one of the site's guides, she was jealous of the quality and quantity of mosaics found in Britain.  Apparently, we are much better at discovering these things, preserving them from the light-fingered and the quality is generally better.  Despite their superficial appeal, she reckoned that the villa's owner was a cheapskate, effectively calling in any old floor-layers from the region to get the place decorated quickly rather than let a master craftsman take his time.

[Imperial Dave]

All they need to do now is find a sword embedded in a stone and they have the market cornered...