Villa of Lucullus

The villa of Lucullus was an extensive and sumptuous ancient Roman villa built in the first century BC in Naples by the famous gourmet, general and consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus [1]. The villa was equipped with piers that stretched out into the sea, a very rich library, fish ponds and moray eel farms and lavish gardens with peach trees imported from Persia which for the time were a novelty along with the cherry trees he brought in from Cerasus [1]. At some point after the death of Lucullus (57/56 BC), the villa passed to the Roman emperor; later, under Valentinian III (419-455), it was transformed into a fortress, and since then has been called the castellum Lucullanum, and was the place of exile of Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor [1]. Remains of the villa, given its enormous area, are visible at several places in the city of Naples [1]. The largest and perhaps most important nucleus is located in the cellar of the Castel dell'Ovo situated on the islet of Megaride, the so-called "hall of columns" derived from the Roman columns still standing [1].