The Valpolicella Classica area is a small region with Veneto, found in the hills between Verona and Milan. This is one of the most well-known areas of Italian winemaking internationally, with Valpolicella ranking only behind Chianti in wine production in Italy.
Most of the wines produced here are characterized as light, fragrant table wines produced in a style similar to Beaujolais Nouveau, resulting in slightly fruity, delicious reds. This region also produces the legendary Amarone wines.
When the Romans first entered this valley around 200 B.C., they came upon a well-established winemaking culture that was already in place. The name they gave it – Valpolicella – hails back to this time and means “the valley of many cellars.”
Traces of the Romans, and the Etruscans who preceded them, can be found throughout the region, including the remnants of settlements, columns, and temples.
A sweet wine known as vino retico was produced here in Roman times, and the lovely Recoito wines still produced today are believed to descend from this ancient beverage. It is amazing to visit this beautiful, hilly region and imagine that the vineyards we see today stand where vineyards may have stood 2,000 years ago!
One Roman villa was discovered in the comune of Negrar in this region in 1887, although never fully unearthed. But the tireless work of archaeologists uncovered a new section of the villa in late May, revealing a surprise for wine lovers and history lovers alike – a nearly pristine mosaic that hearkens back to the region’s Roman-era winemaking heritage.
The town’s government announced May 26, “After countless decades of failed attempts, part of the pavement and foundations of the Roman villa located north of the capital, discovered by scholars over a century ago, has finally been brought to light.” [1]
Lead archaeologist Gianni De Zuccato believes that the mosaic may date back to the 2nd or 3rd Century B.C. It features beautiful geometric and floral designs.
Other mosaics have been discovered in this area, and a local winery even features one of the mosaic designs on its label. Other artifacts found here have pointed to the likelihood that structures here were all connected to winemaking in that long-ago era.
Roman mosaics have been unearthed wherever Roman settlements took hold, and have been found everywhere from England to the Middle East. They often reflect the purpose of the structures in which they were built, whether in honor of a trade, a sport, or a Roman deity.
These beautiful and painstaking works of art were created using small tiles, or tesserae, made of stone, ceramic, or glass. An amazing feature of the tesserae is that the colors do not fade as they do on paintings or other works of art, so we can often still enjoy them today in all their original brightness and splendor.
They represent one of the crowning achievements of art in the Roman world but were also meant to be durable and utilitarian. Elaborate mosaics were a sign of one’s status in those times and meant to show off wealth and rank to visitors and guests.
Hidden under the soil for over a millennium, the mosaics found in Negrar, Italy continue to tell us their story. The villa that once stood here featured an extensive pars rustica, a structure devoted to agricultural work in a wine region where winemakers produced what the Romans referred to as Rhaetian wines. [2]
Italy never ceases to charm and surprise us, and even from far away, we can uncork a lovely wine from Valpolicella and toast yet another amazing discovery in this storied land.