Roman Villa in Liguria Reopens with New Museum and Visitor Route

The Villa romana del Varignano in Le Grazie, a hamlet of Porto Venere in Liguria, has reopened to the public with a renovated archaeological site tour and a new museum housing all artifacts unearthed since excavations began in the 1960s. The project was funded by a €95,000 grant from Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The villa, built in a sheltered marine cove, covers over 3,000 square meters of visible Roman structures, half residential and half rustic-productive, plus a 4,800-square-meter courtyard. Its creation is tied to the Roman conquest of eastern Liguria, culminating in the founding of the colony of Luna (modern Luni) in 177 BC. The entire Gulf of La Spezia, along with upper Versilia and the marble basins of the Apuan Alps, formed the ager controlled by the colony. The new museum is housed in a 17th-century rural farmhouse built against the Roman walls of the productive area. The ground floor displays objects related to the villa's rustic operations, with olive green as the guiding color to evoke olive oil production; the first floor exhibits residential artifacts, with blue as the theme color to recall the sea view. The site is located in the municipality of Porto Venere.