L'Ager Albanus e le Sue Ville. Ad Utilitatem et Voluptatem

Although no ancient source directly mentions a poleonym referable to it, the praedial Albanum recurs in literary texts with historical and topographical consistency. Since this is not an administrative definition, the motivations behind such a toponymic practice are investigated here, and the delimitation of the geographical area that the ancients identified with that name is proposed. Having reconstructed the dynamics of the formation of this reality and clarified its spatial dimension, attention is turned to the presentation of an archaeological map documenting the presence of numerous villas in the area in a chronological span substantially between the 2nd century B.C. and the 4th-5th centuries A.D. The topographical, archaeological, and architectural analysis is compared with the rich dossier of written sources mentioning the eminent owners of these wealthy residences and allows for the reconstruction of the estate layout and dynamics of this important and coveted sector of the Rome region. Thus the historical, social, and cultural landscape of an area that because of the amenity of the places, the presence of the imperial villa, and the proximity to the Urbe was configured as its natural extension is reconstructed.