Villa dei Sette Bassi

The Villa dei Sette Bassi (also Villa Via Tuscolana) was the second-largest ancient Roman villa or monumental palace in the suburbs after the Villa of the Quintilii. The site is on a hilly plateau located at the fifth mile of Via Tuscolana to the southeast of Rome and forms part of the Appia Antica archaeological park. The name, known since the Middle Ages, is probably derived from the emperor Lucius Septimius Bassianus known as Caracalla (r. 198–217) and not from Septimius Bassus, prefect under the Emperor Septimius Severus (r.193–211) (Caracalla's father). Indeed, it seems that Caracalla had merged the villa of the Sette Bassi and the villa of the Quintilii into a single vast imperial estate. It was inhabited until the beginning of the fourth century, and maintained by additional restorations for two more centuries. Six Roman marble sculptures from the site can be found in the British Museum.