Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Hadrian's Villa,

an ancient luxury mansion like no other.

Built by the Emperor Hadrian,

it's the largest Roman villa in the world.

It seems to go on forever.

NARRATOR: The emperor's ambitious mega structures

showcase Roman engineering and ingenuity at their peak

and contain clues that could reveal

the truth about one of Rome's most enigmatic rulers.

He was not just an inhabitant of this place,

but he was a creator of this place.

NARRATOR: But what drives Hadrian to build

an opulent mega mansion, then spend years on the road?

Perhaps the clues lie in the ruins

of this sprawling villa.

Villa Hadrian is a window on the person of Hadrian himself.

NARRATOR: Now, investigators have special access

to hidden spaces to use laser scanning technology,

pioneering restoration techniques,

and 3D modeling to shed new light on Hadrian's

remarkable reign and bring this extraordinary site

back to life.

We digitally reconstruct its epic splendor.

We dive down to reveal hidden tunnels,

and we rebuild the architectural wonders

that reveal the secrets

of one of Rome's greatest emperors.

Rome.

The capital of one of history's

mightiest civilizations,

it lasts for 1,000 years.

One of its mightiest emperors is Hadrian.

Hadrian takes the throne in 117 CE,

When the Roman world is at its biggest and its richest.

He builds the glorious Pantheon in the center of Rome

and Hadrian's wall that stretches 73 miles

coast-to-coast across Britain.

One of his greatest achievements is

the construction of this grand villa,

20 miles east of Rome in the Sabine Hills.

It stretches for more than 200 acres

and is made up of more than 30 separate buildings.

It is the largest Roman villa ever built.

This villa is huge, maybe

the most beautiful place in the world.

NARRATOR: Hadrian's workers spend more than

10 years building this mega structure.

It brims with tranquil pools, countless statues

and luxury spaces for every occasion.

It's an idyllic and luxurious pleasure palace, with gardens,

bath houses, temples, libraries, and theaters.

An opulent country retreat

10 times bigger than the White House.

What can this place tell us about

one of Rome's most enigmatic and powerful leaders?

Sergio del Ferro manages this sprawling Roman supervilla.

SERGIO: As an archaeologist,

I think it's fantastic to work here, just because every year,

we have excavations, and so there's always something

more to be discovered.

NARRATOR: This mega mansion is so huge that

half its total area is still unexcavated.

Sergio wants to find out what

drives Hadrian to build on such scale.

His mission begins at one of the grandest spaces,

the Golden Square.

It is not a name given by the Emperor Hadrian.

It's because of the many treasures that have been found

there during the excavations in the centuries.

NARRATOR: Sergio's work here aims to bring this huge

space back to life to reveal its purpose.

This enormous 150-by-200-foot open space is

once surrounded by grand columns and filled with

luxurious gardens.

SERGIO: All the way around the square,

there was the gardens you see on the left and on the right of

this shallow pool.

NARRATOR: Now, the purpose of this huge space becomes clearer.

With gardens and water and columns

of luxury marble reflecting on the water,

such a wonderful place would be more common in Rome.

This is useful to understand

the real scale of the entire villa.

NARRATOR: Sergio believes the comparison to Rome is key

and that the Golden Square is Hadrian's

answer to its public gardens and piazzas.

This is a forum, but it's not a public square as

you can find in Rome and another cities of the empire.

It is a giant square, but for private use.

Just a place to hang out for

the emperor and his court and his guests.

NARRATOR: Hadrian wants his villa to compete with

Rome itself, and he isn't compromising on scale.

SERGIO: Hadrian wanted to build up in the countryside here

something that could equal the level of

richness and power as the monuments of Rome.

NARRATOR: This is to be Hadrian's power base,

at arm's length from Rome and his rivals.

Hadrian is 10 years old when his parents die.

His cousin, the Emperor Trajan, becomes his guardian.

31 years later, in 117 CE,

Trajan lies dying -- according to his wife,

he nominates Hadrian as his successor.

When influential figures in Rome voice their opposition,

Hadrian's right-hand man, Attianus,

arrests and assassinates them.

Hadrian fears the Senate and Rome's revenge

and builds a Rome of his own at a safe distance.

Sergio investigates what Hadrian uses this villa for.

SERGIO: This is the winter palace.

You have to imagine, because now we see only ruins,

but it's such a huge building,

and it's very, very rich in its decoration.

NARRATOR: Hadrian builds this grand structure as

a display of power to impress illustrious guests.

From here, Hadrian could look out over his property.

It seems to go on forever.

NARRATOR: Hadrian creates a miniature Rome out in

the countryside and makes Rome's elite come to him.

Hundreds of officials

and dignitaries fill these stately buildings,

but one unusual structure stands out --

not a grand palace nor a place of work.

In the heart of the villa is a strange island complex.

A colonnaded enclosure paved in

white mosaic runs around the perimeter,

and a marble-lined moat 15 feet wide surrounds the island,

crossed only by two pivoting wooden bridges.

The walls inside are not the usual straight lines of

Roman architecture,

but a mixture of curved walls that create many irregular

rooms and alcoves.

Little remains of the original structures,

but Sergio searches the island for evidence

of its true purpose.

NARRATOR: Opus Sectile is a style of patterned flooring.

Craftsmen use perfectly cut

tiles of expensive colored marble sourced from all corners

of the Roman Empire.

NARRATOR: Its use here reveals that this

is a space intended for Hadrian himself.

Sergio hunts for clues to its purpose.

NARRATOR: As Sergio explores more of the island,

its design becomes clear.

NARRATOR: Hadrian has a completely

self-contained apartment on this island,

luxuriously appointed with precious marble,

but in scale, far more humble than any other

imperial residence.

This private home within a home isolates

him from the rest of his palatial villa

and reveals a startling insight

into the emperor's character.

NARRATOR: The moat and these high walls

surround this private retreat

and offer seclusion from the constant demands

of running an empire

and protection against any enemies, real or imagined.

What else can the villa reveal

about Hadrian and his true character?

How can the emperor indulge his ego

and impress his guests here?

NARRATOR: Hadrian's 200-acre mega palace,

his own personal Rome.

It is full of hidden clues

to the character of the enigmatic emperor.

This intensely private man needs

to host important politicians and dignitaries,

and Hadrian has a stunning showpiece to wow his guests.

The villa's main attraction is the breathtaking serapeum,

a 60-foot-high dining space,

with richly decorated walls brought to

life by rows of cascading waters.

Its ceiling is lined with the tiles of blue glass

and studded with stones to resemble the glittering sky.

And the crowning glory --

Hadrian has a private area

where he can hide with a controllable curtain of water.

Why does the emperor want to

cut himself off from his esteemed guests?

There are water features everywhere in this villa,

but this one is a prime example -- in Italian,

we say it's the cherry on the cake.

NARRATOR: Sergio passes through a small door to

examine the wings of the emperor's private space.

It feels like I'm in a backstage before a show.

NARRATOR: The elevated stage allows Sergio to look down

on the main dining room

and strengthens his suspicion that this design is

all about showmanship.

He believes the waterfall curtain is key.

I think that Hadrian used this waterfall,

this little artificial waterfall,

as a real curtain of a theater.

So while he was getting to the position and wasn't ready,

the curtain goes down, and when he finally

was ready to be seen, the curtain goes up.

NARRATOR: This extravagant feature is all designed

to impress his guests.

Sergio investigates how Hadrian does it.

He believes the answer could lie behind the serapeum.

Tucked away at the back are

the inner workings of Hadrian's magic trick.

That's where the water came from.

And it was collected into this shallow little pool,

and then it was collected by these double little aqueducts.

NARRATOR: Gray stone blocks hold grooves for

panels that can be raised or lowered.

Hadrian just needs to wave his hand,

and a servant can stop and start his wondrous waterfall.

When the gates were lifted up, the water could reach

the waterfall, and when the gates were closed,

the waterfall was switched off.

NARRATOR: This clever act of stagecraft relies on

a steady and continuous supply of water.

Danilo Ceirani heads a team from

Sotterranei di Roma, an organization committed

to mapping all the ancient underground spaces

around the Rome region.

They're on a mission to investigate where

this huge villa gets all its water from.

NARRATOR: They head underground to explore

the water supply to the great baths.

NARRATOR: The team's first job is to ensure the tunnel is safe.

One-third of the underground spaces are yet to be mapped,

and they can't risk damaging

any fragile structures or entering

a channel too small for them.

NARRATOR: Danilo gives the okay, and one-by-one, they climb in.

The team reaches a narrow point in the tunnel.

When they squeeze through,

they find signs this next section stores

a huge amount of water.

NARRATOR: The team explores further

and discovers a system of branching

water tunnels that continues until it reaches

a main supply channel,

and they find where this water comes from.

NARRATOR: The water supplying

these baths comes from a giant waterway,

or aqueduct, that is intended to supply Rome.

Sergio investigates how the ancient engineers pump

the water around the vast

site to make Hadrian's incredible

water-filled villa a reality.

He finds that the entire villa

is designed for water distribution.

Here, behind the serapeum, there's a bigger clue.

Just look at the ground -- here, we are at a ground level,

and there, we have roof level,

so the water flows with gravity.

There's no need for pumping.

NARRATOR: From south to north, the entire

villa is built on a gentle gradient.

SERGIO: But the water follows the natural slope of the land.

It is very, very simple, but very efficient.

NARRATOR: All Hadrian's engineers have to do

to realize his grand plan

is connect one end of the villa to the giant

aqueduct network.

The water carried by the aqueducts

is the lifeblood of Roman civic life,

but nothing is off bounds for the all-powerful emperor.

The stretch of land under the villa is

200 feet higher in the south than the north.

Hadrian's workers smooth the terrain to create

a gentle gradient across the whole area.

The water, powered simply by gravity,

reaches every part of the site

to create a villa filled

with constantly running fountains and pools.

Hadrian creates this water-cooled engineering

masterpiece as a display of imperial might, to show

there is nothing beyond his power,

but there are other hidden spaces

that don't serve the water systems.

Why has Hadrian hidden miles of

paved underground passageways in his luxury villa?

NARRATOR: Hadrian's villa -- investigations here are

revealing hidden insights into the emperor,

and an incredible secret subterranean world

is slowly giving up his secrets, too.

Beneath the bathhouses, domes,

and luxury entertaining spaces,

archaeologists discover two miles of unseen tunnels

and passageways.

Some are narrow and only semi-submerged

and paved and plastered with fine materials.

But others run deeper,

with huge, rough walls up to 16 feet wide

and strange markings on the ground.

What is the purpose of these subterranean passageways?

[speaking foreign language]

NARRATOR: In the northwest section of the site,

Danilo Ceirani and his team gear up

to explore one of the roughly-hewn tunnels.

NARRATOR: One that begins on the outskirts of

the villa and disappears into the heart of the complex.

NARRATOR: They're attempting to create a digital map

of all the underground spaces

to find out what exactly each tunnel is used for.

NARRATOR: They use a state-of-the-art laser scanner

to survey one stretch at a time in incredible 3D detail.

NARRATOR: The team makes its way into the tunnel.

NARRATOR: They were once clearly lit by torchlight,

and the team spots another clue on the paving stones.

NARRATOR: A rut worn into the stone pavement

shows the repeated passage of wheels.

There aren't just people using these tunnels,

but vehicles, too.

Look here, can you see? Okay?

NARRATOR: The size and depth of the groove reveals that

horse-drawn carts travel through these tunnels

countless times.

NARRATOR: Danilo thinks the torchlight

and the cart tracks, together with the tunnel's location

and the rough finish of its interior all add up to reveal

its original use.

NARRATOR: Hadrian demands that all the vital services

of his luxury home are hidden from view.

His servants keep the villa

running using this huge underground labyrinth,

but when their day's work ends,

they need to remain out of sight.

Archaeologist Benedetta Adembri investigates

where all these servants live

and how the reclusive emperor avoids contact with them.

At the entrance, we see the remains of a big arch,

but there is also a second road here.

NARRATOR: Sandwiched between the grand approach road

and the villa itself

is a wider road, sunk into the ground.

Facing onto it are the doors and windows of dozens upon

dozens of tiny rooms,

all built into the enormous earthworks that support

the giant reflecting pool and gardens above.

Every room was separated from each other,

but we think that they had bunk beds

in each room, and also a common toilet.

NARRATOR: Crammed side-by-side,

they're a world away from

the luxury chambers of Hadrian and his guests.

It's clear to Benedetta who these rooms are for.

They are more than 100 chambers -- many,

many rooms, which we think served as a bedroom

for servants.

NARRATOR: The size of this giant accommodation block reveals

the sheer scale of the operation

required to staff this villa.

We don't know exactly how many people lived there,

but every activity needed

many people -- we think that here in

the villa would work at least some thousand servants.

NARRATOR: The site of over a thousand servants hard at

work will be repulsive to the genteel Hadrian,

but Benedetta discovers how he keeps them out of his sight.

You see the -- this line means that

the wall reached this height in ancient times.

The guests which enter the villa could not

see the servant area because of this wall.

NARRATOR: The accommodation block is the perfect

illustration of a villa of two halves --

the elite enjoying the tranquility above,

and the servants toiling below.

Storage rooms and stables beneath the servants'

living quarters

house everything needed to host

Hadrian and his guests.

They're flanked by a huge service road that passes into

a tunnel under the grand entrance hall

and completely out of sight.

A high wall hides the service road from arriving guests,

and pools lining the gardens

prevent guests from standing at the edge

and seeing the hustle and bustle below.

Hadrian has a 200-acre mega mansion with

hundreds of servants spread all over the property.

And thanks to this huge network of tunnels,

all their work is hidden from sight.

But what of the villa the guests can see?

How does Hadrian impose his own enigmatic character

and taste?

How does he put his own stamp on it

to make it truly unique?

NARRATOR: On the outskirts of Rome lies

the gargantuan villa of Emperor Hadrian.

Benedetta Adembri searches for clues

to Hadrian's character hidden in the detail.

She examines the best preserved

of his many bathhouses.

We are in the heart of a little bath.

From these doors, you could reach

different parts of the bath.

On that side, you could reach the warm section,

with a sauna -- on the other side,

the cold section, and on the other side,

the space for exercises.

NARRATOR: Benedetta searches the walls for

clues to the chamber's original appearance.

Deep holes dot the ancient brick at regular intervals.

BENEDETTA: The holes were used to put

inside iron elements to fix marble slabs.

NARRATOR: Strong iron hooks take the weight of enormous

marble panels.

Thick slabs of this luxury paneling

cover these walls from floor to ceiling.

This means that this room was a very precious room.

NARRATOR: These are the baths used by the emperor,

and Benedetta believes every aspect of this

fine decoration reveals an insight into Hadrian.

In the time of the Emperor Hadrian,

marble was used to impress guests,

to show luxury and power

of the emperor, and to show the emperor himself

was a -- a god.

NARRATOR: Hadrian believes he is a god.

He wants his villa to remind his visitors

of his divine status.

An under-floor heating system

warms this entrance hallway,

and more than 10 tons of marble slabs cover the walls.

Instead of the traditional circular atrium at the heart of

most baths,

these walls curve inwards to create unusual

undulating vaults.

Daylight shines in through giant glass windows,

giving the room an ethereal aura.

This complex octagonal bathhouse is

topped with a segmented dome.

What inspires this strange style of building?

See how complicated was the shape

of this interior, because of

the straight and concave shape

of the four walls and the roof.

NARRATOR: This strange design is unusual in Roman architecture,

but is a common theme in Hadrian's buildings.

Ancient writers describe how Hadrian is fascinated

by architecture,

and his travels through the empire influence

his lavish taste.

He stayed in Syria as a governor of the province.

It was a very rich province of Rome, and in Syria

still today, we can see similar

buildings with this particular movement of walls.

So we think these elements could inspire the emperor.

NARRATOR: This exotic and extravagant architecture

is evidence Hadrian is personally

involved in the design of his villa.

BENEDETTA: We have perhaps one proof here in

little bus that the emperor planned himself

some buildings.

NARRATOR: Hadrian wants this villa to be

not just an illustration of his power or even his taste,

but his talent.

He has a deep passion for architecture,

and, as emperor, it is allowed to run wild.

Hadrian is a self-taught architect.

He builds projects across the empire wherever he goes.

He is fascinated with the domed

and semi-domed structures he has seen

in the east, and they inspire his own projects.

The story goes, Hadrian discusses his designs

with the celebrated architect Apollodorus of Damascus,

who pours scorn on his efforts.

The emperor later banishes Apollodorus, and the architect

is eventually tried on trumped-up charges and executed.

The villa is Hadrian's architectural playground,

showing off his taste and talent on a grand scale.

This extraordinary opulence makes his villa

fit for an emperor and a god.

But what clues to the real Hadrian,

the private man, are found here?

NARRATOR: Twenty miles from Rome,

the 200-acre villa of Emperor Hadrian.

Veronica Fondi works in the villa's on-site

restoration laboratory,

bringing the materials and decorations

of these grand structures back to life.

Today, she is restoring a statue that could

reveal a deeply personal side of Hadrian's character

and unlock the final clue to the real purpose of his villa.

There were hundreds of statues in

the original times, in the Hadrian times, in the villa.

They were everywhere --

in the palace or near the fountains -- everywhere.

NARRATOR: Roman leaders regularly portray themselves

in statues.

But the piece Veronica is working on today

doesn't look Roman.

In fact, it isn't even human.

This is actually the statue of an Egyptian god, Horus.

NARRATOR: Hadrian's interest in Egypt

is exemplified in the Canopus.

The marble-lined water feature is named for an Egyptian city,

and its carved crocodiles and 400 feet of

gentle flowing waters are styled on the River Nile.

But it also boasts statues copied from

the Acropolis in Athens and the Greek god, Hermes.

Why does such a mix of non-Roman influences

take center stage in a Roman emperor's villa?

The statues around the Canopus are only rediscovered in

the 1950s, when archaeologists dredged the mud-filled pool.

NARRATOR: Art historian and site director,

Andrea Bruciati, tries to

make sense of this mixture of statues from different regions.

NARRATOR: The sculptures around the Canopus seem to

be from various parts of his enormous empire,

almost like an expo of the Roman world.

However, Andrea sees a link between them.

NARRATOR: Greece and Egypt are separate parts

of Hadrian's Roman Empire.

But after the Greek king, Alexander the Great,

conquers Egypt back in the fourth century BCE,

Greek and Egyptian cultures blend.

NARRATOR: The Greco-Egyptian city,

Canopus, that gives its name to this feature in the villa,

is a port on the Nile delta that has

strong trade links with Greece.

NARRATOR: Hadrian is especially influenced by Greek culture.

NARRATOR: Hadrian spends half his 21-year reign traveling

the vast empire, from Britain to Spain to Egypt.

But Hadrian has a particular affinity for Greece.

He loves all things Greek,

from its architecture to its art and culture.

In Greece, in 123 CE,

He meets the love of his life, a Greek youth

named Antinous,

and brings him back to his villa.

Antinous personifies Hadrian's obsession

for and love of Greece.

Ensconced in his luxury villa,

it seems the emperor has everything he wants.

But one monument to his travels could hold the key to

a tragedy in Hadrian's life and shed light

on the end of his reign.

NARRATOR: The grand villa of Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Hadrian expands this mega palace for more than a decade.

The art and architecture on show here

are evidence of his character and his reign,

but could also shed light on a great personal tragedy.

Benedetta Adembri looks for the clues

at the ruins of a mysterious structure

near the villa's entrance.

We found brick stamps of the year 134,

and so we know that it was

one of the last building of the villa.

We found recently some original Egyptian artifacts,

but a lot of imitations made by Roman artisans.

NARRATOR: The remaining masonry outlines

the foundations of what could be

two rectangular temples that face one another.

Analysis of the soil indicates there were palm trees,

so recalling Egypt also in the plants for the garden.

NARRATOR: The Egyptian-style structure could be connected

to the death of Hadrian's lover, Antinous.

In 130 CE,

Hadrian and Antinous are sailing up the River Nile

in Egypt when Antinous drowns in

suspicious circumstances.

There are rumors that Antinous is murdered,

because, no longer a boy,

he is too old to be an acceptable companion

for the emperor.

Yet another rumor says Antinous sacrifices himself.

A common belief was that one person's

health could be sacrificed to improve another's.

Dark rumors fly about what really happens on the Nile,

but Benedetta believes the stamped brick that dates

the building suggests Hadrian is not responsible

for Antinous's death.

BENEDETTA: We know that it was built after

the voyage to Egypt and the death of Antinous.

NARRATOR: Benedetta thinks Hadrian builds this

monument to commemorate his lost lover.

We can say that here, we have a will of the emperor

to recall his voyage,

but also the figure of Antinous.

NARRATOR: This structure, known as the Aegyptica,

is a memorial not just to a place close to

Hadrian's heart, but also a person.

Hadrian starts a cult to Antinous,

builds a city by the Nile in his name,

and even declares him a god.

The actions of a bereaved lover or a guilty murderer?

Hadrian dies eight years after Antinous, in 138 CE.

Later emperors plunder his villa for its marble and stone,

but the brick structures survive, and to this day,

experts here continue to reveal new secrets about

Hadrian and the Roman world.

SERGIO: We have here one of the greatest

reflections of the power of the Roman empire,

and Villa Hadrian is also

a window on the person of Hadrian himself.

NARRATOR: This incredible villa is a testament to

the heights of Roman luxury and engineering.

From unique architecture, clad in the richest materials,

to subterranean passageways

hiding his thousand servants,

and the groundbreaking design of his private island home,

to the magical spectacle of the waterfalls

he controls with a wave of his hand.

Every aspect of this staggering creation

reflects the private

and public character of the man who builds it

and brings us ever closer to

understanding one of Rome's greatest emperors.