Understanding the Villa di Tito and the Velino valley within central Italy by creating spatial connections

Abstract

This research aims to understand the placement of the Villa di Tito (Villa of Titus) located in the central Apennines in the territory historically known as the Sabine Territory. This research applies ArcGIS Pro and is divided into two forms of analysis. The first compares the Villa di Tito to sample villas located within the Sabine region, using environmental (including slope, elevation, aspect, geology, rivers, lakes, and solar radiation) and cultural (including Roman roads, and archaeological sites) datasets. The aim is to see whether a pattern can be found for villas based on the placement and potential for agropastoral production. In addition, ancient agronomists’ farming manuals such as Cato, Columella, Varro and Pliny were incorporated to understand a villa’s placement in the landscape. The second form of analysis examined the connectivity of the Villa di Tito to other archaeological sites within the Sabine Region by applying optimal path analysis. Combined, these two analyses aim to understand the placement of the Villa di Tito in the Velino Valley and its connection to the broader landscape. The Villa di Tito was found to be a unique placement based on the comparison villas and was well connected with the broader Sabine region.