Dome

Close view of the mosaic in the ambulatory of the great hunt, depicting figure of an elephant (lower left); The villa contains some 45 rooms, nearly all of them still paved with mosaic (or in one case marble) flooring preserved in situ. It is estimated that the total area of mosaic paving covers about 3500 sq. m, more than in any other known single building in the Roman Empire. Internal stylistic links between individual pavements not only suggest close contemporaneity but also strengthen the likelihood that most if not all of the floors were laid by a single workshop; and close parallels in North Africa for pavement after pavement in the Sicilian villa demonstrate beyond all reasonable doubt that the mosaicists who worked at Piazza Armerina were based in Africa, almost certainly at Carthage. The subject matter is very diverse and includes hunting scenes, mythological scenes, marine scenes, circus and chariot scenes, children and cupids, fantastical animals and geometric decorative schemes. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 7/9/2008)