Living by the sea, building in the sea. Underwater researches in Roman maritime villas on the Thyrrenian coast of Italy: the villa of Gianola (Formia - LT)

The villae maritimae along the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy are important testimonies of the Roman archi- tecture during the Late Republican and Imperial Ages: their analysis allows us to understand how the Romans were able to build directly on rocky coasts and jagged promontories, often deeply changing the natural landscape. Despite a long and fruitful tradition of studies on the subject, the scholars rarely worked on what now lies below the sea level, where, actually, a considerable part of the most remarkable structures is. The Southern Latium Underwater Survey, established inside a cooperation agreement between the new Under- water Archaeology Research Unit of the University of Napoli "L'Orientale" and the Soprintendenza Archeologica del Lazio, aims at reconsidering the maritime villas of Southern Latium, and at increasing our knowledge through data coming from underwater contexts. In September 2013, a first campaign of underwater surveys took place in Gianola, in the submerged part of a huge villa. Building techniques and decorative elements suggest a first phase during the 2nd century BC. A big fishpond was documented, with very interesting artefacts related with the closing system of the tanks and with the mixing of freshwater and salty water, for a more profitable fish breeding.