partial excavation of a Roman villa in Negrar di Valpolicella near Verona revealed several rooms containing brightly colored wall paintings and mosaic floors the rooms were reburied and their precise location was eventually forgotten archaeologists led by Gianni de Zuccato of the Superintendency of Fine Arts and Landscape of Verona and Vicenza have rediscovered the geometric-patterned mosaics in a vineyard The mosaics’ similarity to others found in the region has prompted scholars to date them to anywhere from the mid-third to the fifth century A.D de Zuccato and his team have found clear evidence that parts of the villa were occupied even after the end of the Roman Empire “We found a fireplace made of a pair of large recycled tiles that destroyed the mosaic below,” de Zuccato says “These later inhabitants even buried their dead inside the villa.” An extraordinary find in incredible condition has excited archaeologists in northeastern Italy But local winemakers told us why it's a special moment for them too the residents of the little comune of Negrar in northeastern Italy’s Veneto region knew there was something special in the terroir that yielded its acclaimed Valpolicella wines Evidence of ruins from a vast ancient Roman villa first surfaced in 1887 but most of the site was reburied under bureaucratic woes and then dirt; for decades the town couldn't locate some of the old finds and hadn't sought new ones But excavations in the past few weeks have turned up ornate mosaics as vibrant as they looked 1,800 years ago—right under the storied vines of today “After countless decades of failed attempts part of the pavement and foundations of the Roman villa located north of the capital “The Roman villa itself has a structure that highlights a pars rustica for the processing and conservation of agricultural products, in particular the 'Rhaetian wines' so famous in the Roman world,” a rep from the office of Daniele Accordini general director of the town’s wine cooperative Cantina Valpolicella Negrar (The pars rustica was the part of a Roman country house devoted to agricultural work; Rhaetian wine is what Romans called the bounty of what is now the Veneto up to the Danube) “Studies also highlight other evidence that the villa area [where the mosaic was found] was particularly suited to the cultivation of vines.” It's early days—just a few trenches have been dug—but we had to wonder: What happens to the 2020 A.D told us he's as excited by the find as anyone right now “It’s a wonderful finding,” Bronzo said Monday in Verona there are a lot of those sites all over the city … Finding something that nicely preserved inside our vineyard was a little bit shocking the vineyard provided grapes for a cuvée from the co-op a few years ago featuring a label with one of the mosaics found earlier.) There’s always the possibility that vines will have to be removed for the excavation to continue And the discovery has been a thrill for the family and the community in the sleepy area “We worked with the archaeologists in the digging procedure Negrar mayor Roberto Grison and the cantina’s president are already discussing the best way to display the mosaic and the local government is working with vineyard owners to see what can be done “the extraordinary news of the archaeological discovery has increased the international visibility of our small town and its great wines": The ancient masterpiece has already become a source of modern pride Enjoy Unfiltered? The best of Unfiltered's round-up of drinks in pop culture can now be delivered straight to your inbox every other week! Sign up now to receive the Unfiltered e-mail newsletter, featuring the latest scoop on how wine intersects with film, TV, music, sports, politics and more. Archaeologists partner with southern Italian winemakers to bring grapegrowing and winemakin… It's real and it's rare. When Coop from the new Apple TV+ series lifted a bottle from a … José Andrés, Thomas Keller, Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver star in the new season of … The Duchess of Sussex brings plenty of bubbly and food to her new Netflix Lifestyle Series … New archaeological research uncovers chemical compounds in multiple types of drinking … An ambitious renovation of the stone winery in Rutherford is uncovering layers of American … ShareSaveLifestyleTravel‘A Treasure Beneath The Vines’: Roman Mosaics Unearthed Under Vineyard In ItalyByRebecca Ann Hughes Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights 07:55am EDTShareSaveThis article is more than 4 years old.Roman floor discovered beneath a vineyard in Negrar di Valpolicella Archeologists in northern Italy have discovered a remarkably well-preserved Roman mosaic floor beneath a vineyard in Negrar di Valpolicella is thought to date from 3rd century BC and forms part of a villa complex that was already being excavated on the site archeologists began excavation work in the hills above Negrar di Valpolicella and discovered the remains of a villa dating from the Roman period but almost a century later work began again on the site the mosaics are in an almost perfect state of conservation Roman mosaic floor found beneath a vineyard in Negrar di Valpolicella Mosaics were commonly used for floor and wall decoration in the Ancient Roman world and were made from small cubes of stone or glass enamel of varying colors The archeologists now intend to continue excavations to determine the extent of the discovery “The superintendent will now liaise with the owners of the area and municipality to identify the most appropriate ways of making this archaeological treasure available and accessible,” the authorities of Negrar di Valpolicella continue in their Facebook post Mayor of Negrar di Valpolicella Roberto Grison told the local newspaper L’Arena “We believe a cultural site of this value deserves attention and should be enhanced together with the superintendent and those in charge of agricultural funds we will find a way to make this treasure enjoyable.” Metrics details The identification of the mammalian species based on faecal sediments in modern and ancient environments is the aim of the research of archaeologists we set up and validated an optimized gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) method characterized by a time-saving sample preparation protocol for the simultaneous analysis of faecal biomarkers (6 sterols/stanols and 5 bile acids) in 14 soil samples from the archaeological site of “Le Colombare di Negrar” in northern Italy Although the archaeological sediment samples examined are numerically exiguous a comparative reading of our faecal biomarkers findings with new studies on faunal materials collected in the same stratigraphic detail during recent excavation campaigns will allow to better clarify the economic interest of the animal species farmed in the Colombare site (such as bovines sheep and pigs) and to shed light on the management of breeding Together with archaeozoological and archaeobotanical analyses the investigation of faecal biomarkers can increase our knowledge of how ancient local communities exploited natural resources and may allow us to deduce what their impact on the landscape was Δ5-sterols, stanols and stanones in the environment: prevalent compounds in black pictures (modified from Prost et al.). Primary and secondary bile acids: prevalent compounds in black pictures (modified from Prost et al.) Methanol (MeOH) for HPLC (≥ 99.9%) and MeOH for LC/MS were purchased from Merck KGaA (Darmstadt N-hexane and dichloromethane (DCM) were of analytical grade and purchased from Carlo Erba (Milan Buffer solution at pH 4.60 was purchased from Nova Chimica Srl (Milan Hydrochloric acid (37%) was purchased from Panreac Química SAU (Barcellona The derivatizing agent N,O-Bistrifluoroacetamide was acquired from Uct Specialties Sediment fractions related to the 7 samples of the 5–2020 trench (US4 (US3): sample 1; US3: sample 2; US4: sample 3; US3: sample 4; US3: sample 5; US6: sample 6; US6: sample 7). Sediment fractions related to the 7 samples of the 4–2021 trench (US1: sample 8; US4: sample 9; US5: sample 10; US6: sample 11; US7: sample 12; US8: sample 13; US9: sample 14; US14: sterile layer) Sampling was performed by a 5 cc sterile syringe horizontal motion from the outside to the inside namely “carrot model” using sterile gloves to avoid contamination from the skin The syringes were then vacuum sealed and kept at − 20 °C Steroid-free soil samples were collected from a sterile layer (this one located at the bottom of the stratigraphic sequence corresponds to the soil layer that overlaid the rocky substrate and was deposited in times before the setting of the prehistoric village therefore it is devoid of traces of human activities) using the same procedure and analysed to exclude any source of chromatographic interferences Blank soil was used for calibrators and quality controls (QCs) All samples were sent to our laboratory and kept at − 20 °C until analysis For each sample obtained as explained in "Soil sampling" section 1 g of soil was added with 25 μL of LCA-d4 (10 γ/mL) and with 25 μL of methandienone (10 γ/mL) as IS for BAs or sterols and stanols 1 mL of DCM and 0.5 mL of MeOH were added to samples which were then ultrasonicated at room temperature for 30 min The sample was centrifuged at 3095g for 10 min The supernatant was transferred in Eppendorf of 1.5 mL and centrifuged in an ultracentrifuge at 17,864g for 10 min The clear supernatant was then transferred into glass test tubes and dried under a stream of nitrogen The dried residue was reconstituted with 1 mL of buffer solution at pH 4.6 and then added with 300 μL of HCl 0.125 N and 4 mL of n-hexane/ethyl acetate (9:1; v/v) the organic layer was separated and dried under a stream of nitrogen The dried residue was derivatized with BSTFA at 75 °C and 2 μL aliquot was injected into GC/MS system for the analysis Data acquisition and processing were performed using Agilent Chemstation (Palo Alto Stock solutions of reference materials and internal standards (ISs) were stored in the dark at − 20 °C Working solutions were prepared in MeOH from stock solutions at the following concentrations: and used for the preparation of calibration curves and QC samples Calibration standards (CS) and quality control (QC) for sterols stanols and BAs were prepared from steroid-free soil (1 g) by adding working solutions to reach final concentrations of 5 Method validation was carried out according to the current Eurachem guidelines38 and the following parameters were assessed: linearity sensitivity in terms of limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantitation (LOQ) Calibration standards (n = 6) were obtained by spiking steroid-free soil with appropriate amounts of working solutions in the range 5–125 pg/mg as described at "Preparation of standard solutions, calibrators and quality control (QC) samples" section The calibration curves were constructed by linear regression analysis of the peak area ratios of steroids to the ISs against nominal analyte concentration The correlation was tested over the whole range of concentration (5–125 ng/mg) Linearity was considered satisfactory if r2 \(\ge\) 0.990 and coefficient of variation \(\le\) 15% Intra-day precision and accuracy were determined at three concentration levels (i.e 25 and 125 pg/mg) through the analysis of six independent replicates of QCs Precision and accuracy were estimated from the percent variation coefficient and the percent bias (bias%) The specificity of the analysis and matrix-to-matrix reproducibility were evaluated by comparing the GC/MS chromatograms of the analytes at the Limit of Quantification (LOQ) to those of the blank matrix Sensitivity was expressed in terms of Limit of Detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantification (LOQ) The LOQ was determined as the lowest concentration with precision and accuracy values within ± 20% and a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of the peak areas ≥ 10 whilst the LOD was determined as the lowest concentration with a S/N ratio ≥ 3 The extraction recovery (%) was calculated at the same three concentration levels selected for precision and accuracy by comparing the mass spectrometer responses obtained from free-steroids soil samples spiked before and after the extraction step and expressed as percentage ratio between the two measured concentrations The injection of a blank non-spiked sample after the highest calibration level was used to evaluate the carry-over effect It was considered negligible if the S/N ratio was lower than 3 at the analytes retention time N-pentane and chloroform:N-heptane:isopropanol 50:33:17 v/v/v) were tested in order to obtain a time and solvent saving single step extraction procedure Maximum effectiveness was obtained using the mixture of N-hexane:ethyl acetate (9:1 v/v) as solvent after a pH adjustment at pH 4.6 since a S/N ratio lower than 3 was observed in the blank sample injected after the highest calibration point for all the target compounds Results in % of BAs and steroids in soil samples 1–7 from the 2020 and 8–14 from 2021 excavation campaigns displayed as part of whole Moreover, BA ratios were calculated in order to distinguish between the different faecal inputs (Table 5) For some analytes is quite low (around 30–40%) but for all of them is reproducible (CV < 0.25%) the LOQ we obtained is totally enough for our purpose so we can consider unnecessary a better extraction recovery a mostly vegetable-based diet suggests a content of Δ5-sterols stanols and stanones ranging between 64 and 89% of the total phytosteroids and their bio-products the results obtained from samples from US 6 and US 3 fell within these limits which could provide support for this hypothesis we found presence of DCA >  > LCA in all our samples (predominating bile acid of ruminant and human faeces); the DCA levels of the 5–2020 trench samples fell in the range from 80 to 97% in relation to the total BA content further indirectly confirms the later spread of equine and poultry species in Northern Italy compared to the period of foundation and development of the Colombare site the great abundance of DCA and the almost absence of CDCA support the prevalence of bovines and the more contained presence of sheep/goats the high presence of cholesterol and its metabolites in sample 13 and 14 of the 4-2021 leads to suppose the presence of faecal material derived from omnivore animals the hypothesis of pig ejections is reinforced by the observations of the bile acid UDCA steroid biomarkers have been used in the literature for both a detection of faecal inputs into the environment but also for a source assignment (discussed above) (coprostanol + epicoprostanol)/(coprostanol + epicoprostanol + 5α-cholestanol) We found a ratio > 0.7 for all the samples taken together with the detected enhanced contents of bile acids as bile acids are only produced by vertebrates The study of faecal biomarkers is part of a broader framework of paleoenvironmental investigations; together with archaeozoological and archaeobotanical analyses it increases our knowledge of how ancient local communities exploited natural resources and may allow us to deduce what their impact on the landscape was It could furthermore represent a valid tool to better define archaeological deposits related to the presence of domestic animals within the scope of pastoral or agricultural activities it gives the possibility of supposing the presence of areas dedicated to the recovery of animals with deposits of dung associated to heaps of plant material droppings have also become a multipurpose reusable resource since prehistoric man began exploiting secondary products of animal origin we set up and validated the first GC–MS method able to simultaneously identify and quantify (in the range 5–125 pg/mg) BAs and the steroids in soil samples using a fast and simple extraction protocol Our results are now in agreement with the composition of the faunal population deduced from the remains collected in the 1950s by Zorzi although the excavation methodology adopted at the time did not allow for an accurate collection of these materials either chronologically or topographically (in fact the archaeological excavation was made by “arbitrary cuts” and a sequence of only three layers was detected and uncovered contained lithic industry and pottery from different chrono-cultural horizons so it has been difficult to delineate a punctual relative chronology according to typological criteria no detailed documentation has been preserved that enable archaeologists to understand the close correlation between the finds the squares into which the excavation area was divided and the structures identified at the time as huts was forced to study the faunal remains as a single lot in order to give them statistical significance but he had to forego their chronological and topographical definition) the content of faecal biomarkers detected is supported by stratigraphic reliability and radiocarbon dating (some already available so it is and will be possible to outline a concentration trend with stratigraphic detail The comparative reading with new studies on faunal material collected in the same stratigraphic detail during recent excavation campaigns—including the estimation of sex age of death and the study of killing curves—will allow to better clarify the economic interest of the animal species reared at the Colombare site (cattle ovines and pigs) and shed light on the management of livestock farming also considering the problem of the seasonality once a more precise functional characterisation of the areas of the site has been delineated with the continuation of the excavations they will make it possible to trace the peculiar uses of faecal matter in relation to specific chaînes opérationnelles such as the fertilisation of gardens or the use of dung as building material (dung can also be understood in a broader sense as temper) and to recover much information on the ecological and economic management of a highly potential but complex resource such as excrement by the communities that inhabited the Colombare site All data generated during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files Marinova, E., Linseele, V. & Kühn, M. 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La fauna del villaggio eneolitico delle Colombare di Negrar (Verona) Canidi nella preistoria alpina: paleobiologia e iconografia Download references The authors acknowledge the support of the APC central fund of the university of Milan These authors contributed equally: Chiara Reggio and Erika Palmisano Dipartimento di Beni culturali e ambientali belle arti paesaggio per le Province di Verona Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna The authors declare no competing interests Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-32601-9 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Pristine ‘archaeological treasure’ near Verona may date to 3rd century AD A perfectly preserved ancient Roman mosaic floor has been discovered near the northern Italian city of Verona Archaeologists were astonished by the find as it came almost a century after the remains of a villa were unearthed in a hilly area above the town of Negrar di Valpolicella After the discovery in 1922, the site was mostly left abandoned until a team from the Superintendent of Archaeology Fine Arts and Landscape of Verona resumed digging last summer The team returned to the site in October and again in February before the excavation was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic The mosaic was found a few metres beneath a row of vines a week after work got going again “After countless decades of failed attempts, part of the floor and foundations of the Roman villa located north of Verona, discovered by scholars a century ago, has finally been brought to light,” authorities from Negrar di Valpolicella wrote on the town’s Facebook page which has always been hidden beneath our feet told the local newspaper L’Arena: “We believe a cultural site of this value deserves attention and should be enhanced Paving stones dating back 2,000 years were also discovered after a sinkhole opened in front of the Pantheon in Rome during the coronavirus lockdown The seven travertine slabs were found 2.5 metres beneath Piazza della Rotonda Although sinkholes are a common problem in Rome fortunately the usually packed square was empty at the time the pavement collapsed in April Italy’s cultural sites are slowly coming back to life with the archaeological park of Pompeii reopening on Tuesday The park reopened with security measures in place while the entrance price has been reduced to €5 with visitors obliged to buy tickets online wear face masks and have their temperature checked before entering The first remains of an Ancient Roman villa in Negrar di Valpolicella in northern Italy were discovered in 1922 and were believed to date back to the 3rd century AD the site was left abandoned until last summer when a team of archaeologists started excavations again Though the team had to stop digging earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic The town authorities of Negrar di Valpolicella commented on its Facebook page: "After countless decades of failed attempts part of the floor and foundations of the Roman villa located north of Verona The floor was found just "a few meters" under the ground, according to the Facebook page. The town shared photos of what they had unearthed on Facebook Now they hope to "identify the exact extension and exact location of the ancient construction," they wrote The town also plans to allow tourists to view the site when possible The town's mayor, Roberto Grison, told local newspaper L'Arena "We believe a cultural site of this value deserves attention and should be enhanced we will find a way to make this treasure enjoyable." Antique Trader NewsPublished Jun 3 2020 1:10 PM PDTShare this story Photos are courtesy of Comune di Negrar di Valpoiicella via Facebook.NEGRAR DI VALPOLICELLA archaeologists finally discovered the ultimate treasure: A Roman mosaic floor under a vineyard in northern Italy The mosaic floor from the third century (A.D 200s) is a find historians are calling “this year’s biggest discovery.” The remarkably well-preserved and ornate flooring design is part of the remains of a Roman villa The most recent discovery was made after “decades of failed attempts” by archaeologists to access the remains, according to a Facebook post by the town of Negrar di Valpolicella on May 26 a team with the Superintendent of Archaeology Fine Arts and Landscape of Verona resumed excavation of the site then returned in October 2019 and February of this year They were forced out by the coronavirus outbreak in Italy as the Mediterranean country eases its lockdown restrictions researchers have been able to return to the site they uncovered the pristine craft work beneath a row of grapevines and shared photos of their progress last week what could be this year’s biggest discovery — an almost entirely intact Roman mosaic villa floor,” historian Myko Clelland said on Twitter Clelland explained how such an opulent building could become buried and forgotten this way where residents built layer after layer until the whole thing became meters tall,” he said but a very loose rule of thumb is about an inch of soil per century it’s amazing how humanity has a habit of just building on top of previous efforts many rediscoveries there on a regular basis!” The town of Negrar di Valpolicella now wants to continue the dig in hopes of eventually revealing the entire villa floor and opening the priceless artifact to the public the superintendence will connect with the owners of the area and with the municipality to identify the most suitable ways to make this archaeological treasure available and open and visible under our feet,” they explained in a translated Facebook update “The result will not come soon and significant resources will be needed Mayor Roberto Grison told the local newspaper L’Arena “Together with the superintendent and those in charge of agricultural funds we will find a way to make this treasure enjoyable.”  © 2025 Active Interest Media All rights reserved Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" This is a brand new single varietal from this co-operative located in the heart of the Valpolicella Classico area Corvina is usally blended with Molinara and Rondinella but an increasing number of producers are making 100% Corvina wines The result is light and fragrant with floral notes and some blackcurrant It has an elegant strcuture with some peppery hints on the finish Ancient Roman mosaics unearthed in a Valpolicella vineyard inspire wines—and more History has been used to brand wine for centuries. So when recent excavations uncovered an 1,800-year-old Roman villa’s elaborate mosaics in a Valpolicella area vineyard pristine mosaics were found in a one-acre vineyard plot divided between two modest who have helped pay the costs of excavating and protecting the site as part of an agreement with the Italian government each winery is allowed to use images from the mosaics found under their soils culture and tradition all together here,” enthuses Simone Benedetti who runs Benedetti La Villa winery with his twin He’s right. Benedetti La Villa and neighbor Franchini don’t have the renown of other producers in the comune of Negrar, from the local cooperative’s Domini Veneti label to cult producer Giuseppe Quintarelli who have farmed in Negrar since the 19th century bought the farmhouse-cum-winery and vineyards adjacent to the Roman villa site in the 1970s later adding “La Villa” to the winery’s name The presence of the Roman country villa has long been known here; excavations in the late 19th century unearthed mosaics that were taken to Verona’s Archaeological Museum After the Benedetti brothers bought a little more than half the villa site from a local family in 2019 they began pushing officials in Italy's department of architecture for a full excavation and paid on their own to have archaeologists do spot digging “There was just a lot of talk,” but no commitments an energetic neighbor from less than a mile up the hill who bought the slightly smaller half of the villa site for an over-market premium and agreed to join the Benedettis in paying for the excavation a local thermal engineer who began producing wine commercially from his family’s vineyards in 2010 “It’s a unique emotion—to see what they did 20,000 years ago without modern technology.” excavations are complete after the two wineries spent a combined total of $300,000 The mosaics—now protected from the elements with provisional tent-like awnings—feature intricate geometric patterns and garlands depictions of flora and fauna and human portraits A multi-million-dollar public museum is being planned both wineries have released wines with labels depicting mosaics found under their respective pieces of land produces about 15,000 cases annually from more than 60 vineyard acres with labels featuring decorative swaths from the mosaics made from the classic blend of local grapes: Corvina “The idea is to use our best wine and more structured grapes for a step up [in quality],” explains Benedetti In 2022, they followed up with a 2017 Amarone-like dry Veneto IGT Passito Rosso called Musivo, a 2019 Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso (a method in which grape skins left over from making Amarone or Recioto are added to a young wine to boost its concentration) and a 2019 Valpolicella Classico Superiore made without drying the grapes and priced at only 9 euros who produces about 2,000 cases from 12 acres In addition to making classic Valpollicella appellation reds Franchini has long cultivated a range of international grapes and experimented with complex blends With the idea of using a selection of varieties as broad as ancient Rome’s empire he has produced 150 cases each of two mosaic-branded wines Franchini released his 2021 Candidus Veneto IGT Bianco made with seven white varieties—nearby Soave’s Garganega Pinot Bianco and Muscat—partly from vines that had to be transplanted from the excavation site to a new vineyard the wine is labeled with a villa mosaic portrait of a bearded man He followed up in April with a Verona IGT Rosso from the 2018 vintage called Imperium XXI which bears a villa mosaic portrait of a woman It’s a big Amarone-like wine made from 21 varieties that undergo 60 days of drying before a long process of fermentation and maceration In addition to Valpolicella’s classic mix of grapes Its price straight from the winery is an imperial 200 euros Franchini hosted a small lunch in Negrar featuring a menu inspired by ancient Rome owner of the seafood-focused restaurant Casale Spighetta in Negrar consulted regional archaeologists to develop the dishes which included two preparations of eel: one marinated in vinegar and then sprinkled with his homemade garum (the strong fermented anchovy sauce of antiquity) and the other cooked over wood embers with a marinade of honey and bay leaf wild asparagus and wild herbs were sprinkled throughout the dishes which also included a salad of heirloom wheat there was unleavened wood-grilled focaccia from milled farro Dessert was dried fruits stuffed with fresh goat cheese and nuts (The Romans apparently didn’t go for pâtisserie.) We didn’t lounge on sofas and pick from platters with fingers and spoons but had modern table service brought out in courses ancient Rome tasted so fresh and delicate that it makes me hungry thinking about it I’m glad to know Zantedeschi will keep some of these items on his restaurant’s menu and even prepare similar tastings with advance notice As for the wines—served in glasses and not Roman bowls—they were clearly modern “There’s been a lot of enthusiasm about the villa, especially among foreigners,” says Benedetti, adding, “They don’t have all that we have in Italy.” The first family of Sicilian wine teams with French investors to make biodynamic, bi-cultur… As CEO of Houston’s Goodnight Hospitality—the group behind restaurants March, Rosie … Winemaker Jared Etzel moves on from Domaine Roy & Fils to success with a new Pinot Noir … Winemakers bringing the region’s terroir to the fore Top wine pros share the sweet wines they think deserve more love, from Pedro Ximénez Sherry … Castello Solicchiata is the volcano’s most historic noble winery. Why is it hidden away? United Imaging has announced the completion of the installation of a uMR Omega MR scanner at the IRCSS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital in Negrar di Valpolicella, Italy. The installation of the 75 cm, ultrawide-bore 3-tesla scanner is the first in Europe, and it was achieved in partnership with FORA S.p.A., a medical equipment supplier based in Parma, according to the vendor. The 549-bed IRCSS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital was established in 1922, and is the Veneto Region Medical Reference Centre for tropical diseases, radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, ob/gyn, orthopedics, and ophthalmology. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. The ornate floor was discovered following decades of searches I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Roman mosaic floor has been unearthed at a vineyard in northern Italy following several failed digs Surveyors discovered the ornate floor a few metres beneath a row of vines at the site of an ancient villa near the city of Verona Technicians are still gently excavating the site to see the full extent of the ancient building which scholars believe dates back to the 3rd century AD Archaeologists first found the site in a hilly area above the town of Negrar di Valpolicella in 1992 A team from the Superintendent of Archaeology Fine Arts and Landscape of Verona returned to the site last October but their search was called off four months later because of the pandemic the archaeologists were able to resume work this month after Italy began easing its lockdown restrictions “The superintendent will now liaise with the owners of the area and municipality to identify the most appropriate ways of making this archaeological treasure, which has always been hidden beneath our feet, available and accessible.” Roberto Grison, the mayor of Negrar di Valpolicella, told the local newspaper L’Arena: “We believe a cultural site of this value deserves attention and should be enhanced. For this reason, together with the superintendent and those in charge of agricultural funds, we will find a way to make this treasure enjoyable.” Italy’s cultural sites are beginning to reopen following weeks of shutdown as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Pompeii – the Roman city buried after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius – officially reopened to the public on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Colosseum will reopen on 1 June, with visitors obliged to buy tickets online, wear face masks and have their temperature checked before entering. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies it reveals part of the flooring and foundations of a roman villa dating from the third century AD all images courtesy of comune di negrar di valpolicella was first noted by scholars almost a century ago in 1922 after decades of failed attempts to identify the exact location parts of the ancient construction’s floor and foundations have finally been discovered they were lying a few meters below a vineyard north of verona green and black are formed from geometric shapes in hope of revealing more of roman mosaic floor surveyors in the comune are gently excavating the italian vineyard they will liaise with the owners of the vineyard to ‘identify the most appropriate ways to make this archaeological treasure hidden under our feet available and accessible’ location: comune di negrar di valpolicella AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style The team of archaeologists coordinated by the University of Milan - Colombare The oldest grape from Valpolicella is 6,300 years old and comes from the prehistoric site of Colombare di Villa inhabited between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age These are the most significant findings from the archaeological digs conducted by the Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the University of Milan in cooperation with the Board of archaeology fine arts and landscape for the provinces of Verona professor of Prehistory and Prehistoric Ecology at the University of Milan Launched in 2019 and now in its third year the research project is sponsored by the Municipality of Negrar di Valpolicella and owes much to the Verona board which organized and funded the sampling campaign on the site of Colombare di Villa in the autumn of 2020 Vine pollen and grape seed findings in the most ancient archaeological layers confirmed that the plant must have been cared for in this area of the Lessini Mountains as early as 6,300 years ago Different types of samples were taken from the archaeological layers: soil archaeo-botanical and archaeo-zoological research confirms that the Colombare di Villa site was inhabited by peasants who cultivated cereals and bred domestic animals here The team intends to continue laboratory analyses especially looking for traces of wine on the remains of ceramic containers in order to establish whether production activities continued over the millennia – Valpolicella is currently a leading wine-growing area in Italy vinification was already possible in prehistoric times but further research is needed to confirm whether the grapes that were certainly consumed in the Colombare site were also transformed into wine The findings from the latest laboratory analyses add to those from the stratigraphic excavation and topographical surveys conducted by protohistory archaeologist Cristiano Putzolu research fellow in the Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the University Milan The six-week digs completed on 1 October confirmed that the site was attended for a very long period and reaffirmed the fundamental importance of this production centre for the Lessini area The University relied on the BRAVHO radiocarbon laboratory of the research group from the University of Bologna (team coordinated by Sahra Talamo professor of Chemistry of the environment and cultural heritage) for the pre-treatment of archaeological bone samples for radiocarbon analyses and the Mannhein AMS for dating and on the Forensic Toxicology Laboratory of the University of Milan coordinated by Marica Orioli Palynological research was conducted by the team of the Palynology and Paleobotany Laboratory coordinated by Anna Maria Mercuri professor of systematic botany at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia future onsite research will be led by Professor Tecchiati while all other phases will be conducted jointly with Paola Salzani archaeology officer from the Board of archaeology head of archaeological protection for the municipalities of Verona and its province scholars of Prehistory at the Natural History Museum of Verona professor of Restoration at the Veneto Institute for Cultural Heritage professor of archaeological stratigraphy and geoarchaeology in the Department of Geosciences of the University of Padua head of the Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage of the University of Milan UMBERTO.TECCHIATI@UNIMI.IT The Local Europe ABVästmannagatan 43113 25 StockholmSweden Please log in here to leave a comment