roman brickwork Villa Jovis Capri Italy
Opus incertum ("irregular work") was an ancient Roman construction technique, using irregularly shaped and randomly placed uncut stones or fist-sized tuff blocks inserted in a core of opus caementicium. Initially it consisted of more careful placement of the caementa (rock fragments and small stones mixed with concrete), making the external surface as plain as possible. Later the external surface became plainer still by reducing the amount of concrete and choosing more regular small stones. Villa Jovis ("Villa of Jupiter") is a Roman palace on Capri, southern Italy, built by Emperor Tiberius and completed in 27 AD. Tiberius ruled mainly from there until his death in 37 AD. Villa Jovis is the largest of the twelve Tiberian villas on Capri mentioned by Tacitus. The entire complex, spanning several terraces and a difference in elevation of about 40 m, covers some 7,000 square metres. While the remaining eight levels of walls and staircases only hint at the grandeur the building must have had in its time, recent reconstructions have shown the villa to be a remarkable testament to 1st-century Roman architecture.
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Location: Villa Jovis Capri Italy
Photo credit: © Adrian Weston / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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