In Mendrisio, to the south of the Lago di Lugano, a few remains of a villa were excavated in 1911 and in the first decades of this century. The remains were found next to the church of Santa Maria in Borgo. In one of the rooms a hypocaust was found (but it was not a bathing room). The building was erected in the second half of the second century. It was rebuilt after a fire around 300 AD. It was abandoned after another fire in the second half of the fourth century. The main find was a part of a polychrome mosaic.
View of the excavations in 2002. Photo: Verga 2021, fig. 3.
The remains of the polychrome mosaic. Photo: Wikimedia, Esperide.Three fragments of inscriptions were found in Mendrisio: a funerary inscription (EDCS-08000558), a probable funerary poem (carmen epigraphicum; EDCS-82600003), and an inscription mentioning clientes (EDCS-82600002).
Literature
Von Gonzenbach 1961, 134-135; Drack-Fellmann 1988, 444; Drack-Fellmann 1991, 177; Jahrbuch der Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Ur- und Frühgeschichte 86 (2003), 240; Jahrbuch Archäologie Schweiz 97 (2014), 237; Bollettino dell’Associazione Archeologica Ticinese 27 (2015), 32-34; Verga 2017; Verga 2019; Verga 2021; Verga 2022(1); Verga 2022(2).
[21-Jan-2024]
