Villa Romana ed Antiquarium di Desenzano del Garda
Villa Romana ed Antiquarium di Desenzano del Garda
Villa Romana ed Antiquarium di Desenzano del Garda
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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4.0
437 reviews
Excellent
174
Very good
187
Average
63
Poor
9
Terrible
4
JJJC_Family
Virginia808 contributions
May 2022
Very little to see here. A few mosaics and fewer that are worth making a visit to. If you are in Desenzano, as we were, and you have excess time on your hands, ok, go. Otherwise, there are so many other places to see and time is so very limited on the typical trip that this cannot be a priority. I went because I read reviews that seemed to make it much better and because we were on an 83 day trip in Italy so we could indulge in lesser attractions. Now you know better.
Written June 21, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DB_Freeman
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK14 contributions
Jun 2015 • Couples
Friendly welcome. Video about the site was informative and not too long (9 minutes). You get the chance to walk around at your own pace. There are plenty of information boards and you get a good feel for what the layout would have been like. The mosaic floors are interesting and so are the remind of the statues. It's not a massive site but well presented and good value for money.
Written June 23, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
niki101
London, UK767 contributions
Oct 2012 • Couples
This is a fascinating place to visit and the entrance fee is 2 Euro only. The remains of the mosaics, walls and foundations can all be admired (even if you’ve seen Pompeii). Placed at the foot of a hill slope and with a beach just a few metres away, it must have been a lovely place. (According to archaeological data, the villa was destroyed by fire).
Before you go to the mosaics and remains, you can watch a ten minute video (including in English) about the place and its history. It is quite informative and definitely worth seeing. There is a small museum attached to the site which contains some beautiful artefact recovered from the excavations. These include remains of sculptures and statues which are very interesting.
The site is considered the most important example of grand villa in Northern Italy from the Late Roman era (the first centuries AD). It is said that the villa belonged to a rich merchant, and that the name of the merchant ("Decentius") is where the town's name came from.
It was interesting to learn that when the villa was discovered (during building works in the early 1920s) it had been covered by a landslide, which preserved some of the mosaics.
The mosaics are splendid. They show some beautiful scenes in vibrant colours (which still retain their original richness) such as wild beasts, cupid grape-pickers and Orpheus with a dog and a
sheep.
There were no signs for directions to the site and I had to ask some locals. The villa is located behind the Duomo (really easy to find).
I myself found Desenzano an impressive place to visit and it seemed a lively and colourful lakeside town. Lots of people, beautifully dressed, strolling along the streets, wandering around the shops or sitting in the restaurants and cafes that seemed to be everywhere.
Before you go to the mosaics and remains, you can watch a ten minute video (including in English) about the place and its history. It is quite informative and definitely worth seeing. There is a small museum attached to the site which contains some beautiful artefact recovered from the excavations. These include remains of sculptures and statues which are very interesting.
The site is considered the most important example of grand villa in Northern Italy from the Late Roman era (the first centuries AD). It is said that the villa belonged to a rich merchant, and that the name of the merchant ("Decentius") is where the town's name came from.
It was interesting to learn that when the villa was discovered (during building works in the early 1920s) it had been covered by a landslide, which preserved some of the mosaics.
The mosaics are splendid. They show some beautiful scenes in vibrant colours (which still retain their original richness) such as wild beasts, cupid grape-pickers and Orpheus with a dog and a
sheep.
There were no signs for directions to the site and I had to ask some locals. The villa is located behind the Duomo (really easy to find).
I myself found Desenzano an impressive place to visit and it seemed a lively and colourful lakeside town. Lots of people, beautifully dressed, strolling along the streets, wandering around the shops or sitting in the restaurants and cafes that seemed to be everywhere.
Written December 4, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Patricia L
Clondalkin, Ireland38 contributions
Aug 2012 • Couples
When you arrive at the excavations you watch a short video explaining what is going on at the site. It is very informative. The admission is only €2 and under 18s and over 65s are free. It's is wonderful to see mosaics and statues from the 4th century so well preserved.
Written September 4, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
doormouse2
Hagley, UK61 contributions
Aug 2012 • Family
good videos explaining the site and others around Lake Garda. Very quiet so could walk around at leisure. Good selection of artefacts.
Written August 17, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
tengies
Isle of Wight37 contributions
Jul 2012 • Family
This was a good attraction but if you have ever been to Pompeii like we have then you've been spoilt!
Written August 6, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DoraandNigel
Southampton, UK168 contributions
Aug 2019
The Roman villa is situated within a 10 min walk north west of the centre of Desenzano. We only visited the Roman villa as we had time to spare before catching our train & were really pleased we did.The artefacts in the small museum were interesting & the mosaics were stunning. The villa remains covered a large area & there is still more to be excavated. We have visited other Roman villas in the past & this one counts among the best.Not to be missed.
Written August 31, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
JCBShipley
Shipley, UK107 contributions
Jul 2019 • Couples
Worth a visit if you have an hour or so to spare. After entering these is a small museum of information and artefacts found on site. We were given a photocopied information leaflet in english which was rather dry and didn't give the reader a picture of the villa when in use. The floor mosaics are impressive, the wall bases and underfloor heating can be seen in places, but information is scarce on how some areas were used and visitors need to use some imagination to visualise how the villa was used.
Written July 23, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
happymum2014
Orpington, UK45 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
A small site so only needs about 1 hour to view. Some lovely mosaic floors but only one booklet in English, so if there is more than one English speaking group visiting, then there is no literature to help you understand what you are looking at.
Written June 9, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ajuliaw65
London, UK64 contributions
Sep 2018 • Family
Went here on the first Sunday of the month and was thrilled to find it was free. You first go into a museum and there all the labels are in English but once we got out into the villa, the signs were only in Italian and German. My Italian is OK but the level was quite academic so I went in and asked if they had an English translation. They only have one copy which they were happy to let me have and that made the visit so much better. I could really understand what each area of the villa was and what the mosaics showed.
I've seen lots of better mosaics elsewhere but getting an understanding of how the house was laid out was of interest. It is a pity that the view of the lake that the villa would have had has been blocked by buildings. For that reason, if its Roman ruins you are after, the ones in nearby Sirmione are far more beautiful but these ones are definitely worth a visit if you have some spare time in Desenzano.
I've seen lots of better mosaics elsewhere but getting an understanding of how the house was laid out was of interest. It is a pity that the view of the lake that the villa would have had has been blocked by buildings. For that reason, if its Roman ruins you are after, the ones in nearby Sirmione are far more beautiful but these ones are definitely worth a visit if you have some spare time in Desenzano.
Written September 7, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Marilena B
Mestre, Italy29 contributions
È possibile parcheggiare nelle vicinanze?
chiara p
Bologna, Italy82 contributions
Scusa, vedo solo ora la domanda; per fortuna altri viaggiatori ti hanno risposto!
È facile posteggiare e la villa merita
caterinabettazzi
Prato, Italy87 contributions
Ciao! quanto tempo richiede la visita della Villa? Ho un bambino di 10 anni ..è opportuno chiedere una guida?
Lucilla V
Palermo11 contributions
Ciao un'ora circa,secondo me non e' necessaria la guida turistica.Buona visita
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Frequently Asked Questions about Villa Romana ed Antiquarium di Desenzano del Garda
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Villa Romana ed Antiquarium di Desenzano del Garda Information
Excellent Reviews | 174 |
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Very Good Reviews | 187 |
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