Villa Adriana. Accademia. Hadrian's Secret Garden. I. History of Excavations, Ancient Sources and Antiquarian Studies from the XVth to the XVIIth Centuries

Villa Adriana or Hadrian's Villa near Tivoli (Rome) is the largest and most famous Roman Imperial villa and needs no introduction. But the Accademia does, because is in a private property, in the southern part of the Villa, not open to visitors, and it is very little known and studied. This is why the author decided to study it, using for the first time digital technology and laser scanner to draw a new updated plan and discover its features. After the survey, the starting point was reading previous antiquarian sources and studies, collecting ancient maps and drawings, to see what had been done and studied before. It turned out to be an extraordinary journey among the greatest artists of all times, who visited and studied the Accademia and the rest of the Villa. This is how and why this book was born: to tell the story of the building and of its works of art, and to talk about the outstanding artists, antiquarians and architects who studied there and were inspired by its imposing ruins. Rediscovering this place is also important to understand the nature of the structure that some scholars believed to have been a villa within the Villa, that is to say the residence of Hadrian's wife, Vibia Sabina. There is no evidence about this, hence the importance of knowing more about a site for which it is still possible to answer questions about its real nature and connotation, although it is badly kept. The author's choice to write this work in English is a very effective action in order to expand knowledge and open to the whole world the analysis of a monument like no other, which since several decades has a place of excellence within the Unesco World Heritage Sites.