Villa of Pollius Felix in Sorrento :: The Roman Mysteries

The 'Villa of Pollius Felix' in Sorrento

South of Sorrento, on the Cape of Hercules, (the modern Capo di Sorrento), is an ancient but perfectly preserved Roman road running down to the sea. It passes through ancient olive groves and ends at the site of a Roman villa built right on the coast. Although little remains today, it is evident that the villa was built on at least three levels. Many scholars believe this is the villa of Pollius Felix (Pollio Felice, in Italian). It enjoyed magnificent views of the hills of Sorrento and Vesuvius across the bay. The vaulted bath-houses are still visible, as well as a natural hidden cove, only accessible through an arch of honey-coloured rock.

The poet Statius imagines the god Hercules speaking to Pollius Felix:

"Are you the generous patron who... set on my mountain so many towers, so many green woods, so many sculptures in marble and bronze, so many wax portraits alive with colour? What was that house, that land, before it delighted in your touch? You covered naked rock with a long pathway, and where once was just a dusty track now stands a lofty colonnade of painted columns."

Statius, Silvae 3, 91-100

Here is Flavia Gemina's first glimpse of the Villa Limona, as I call it:

As the sun sank lower and lower in the west, Lupus urged the horses along the twisting road through dusty olive groves and orchards. The mountains reared on their left and the cliffs plunged to the sea on their right.

The carriage rattled through Surrentum without stopping and began to climb again. Just as the sun touched the horizon, the horses automatically turned off the main road and trotted down a drive which ran between high stone walls.

Presently the stone wall on their right gave way to columns. Now they were driving beneath a colonnade. The sinking sun painted the white columns orange, and Flavia kept catching glimpses of the shining sea through the twisted, ancient olive groves.

The colonnade went on for nearly half a mile, winding down the mountainside towards the sea. The iron-rimmed wheels of the carriage and the horses' hooves resounded in the half enclosed space.

When at last they emerged into the open, the sudden silence and space around them seemed vast.
The sea blazed like molten copper under the yellow sky of dusk and before them, as if floating on the water, was the most beautiful villa Flavia had ever seen.

Flavia rubbed her eyes and looked harder. It had been built on an island attached to the mainland by two narrow strips of land. As the carruca stopped and one of the slaves wedged its wheels, Flavia stood up to get a better view. There were columns, domes, fountains, palm trees and two covered walkways.

A pool of seawater lay between the villa and the mainland, a secret cove, surrounded on all sides by the honey-coloured rocks. An arch in the rocks led out to sea, making it a small natural harbour.

from 'The Pirates of Pompeii'

How to get to the villa itself...

Take the Linea (line) A bus from Piazza Tasso in Sorrento to Capo di Sorrento. The end of the line is at a small shop in the village of Capo di Sorrento near a 60's church and the 'American Bar' of the Hotel Cavour. You will see signs pointing down to the 'Roman Villa of Pollio Felice'. Descend the mini-Roman road on foot. It passes down between private residences and olive groves and takes between 10 and 15 minutes. When you glimpse the sea to your right you know you're almost there. You can see more pictures of the path down HERE

How to get to a model of the villa...

Read Top Fan Rhianna's account of how she did a bit of detective work and tracked down the model of the Villa of Pollius Felix at the Museo Georges Vallet in Piano di Sorrento HERE. NB: The instructions given to Rhiannon were to 'flow like water from the train station to the sea', but only go as far as the coast road, or you'll have a long walk back up!