Villa Adriana prima di Adriano

The villa that Maecenas bequeathed to Augustus, the most documented of any other Tiburtine villa and so impressive that for over a millennium it was recognized in the structures now identified as the Temple of Hercules Victor, has now disappeared into oblivion. On the other hand, the name of the owner of the villa renovated by Hadrian and incorporated into his magnificent Tiburtine imperial residence is obscure. Starting from the total absence of adducible evidence to certify that the area of Hadrian’s Villa was received by the emperor as a dowry of his wife Sabina, it is essential to re-examine the whole matter and verify the reasons for which Hadrian, a year after being named emperor, begins the construction of his villa in Tivoli.