Villa d'Aiano, San Gimignano (Siena)
Direction: Université catholique de Louvain, prof. M. Cavalieri
Orthophoto plan from drone of the villa at Aiano, taken during the summer 2024 excavation campaign.
The residential sector is visible to the south, organized around the so-called Tri-apsed Hall, while to the north lies a large courtyard area bounded by two storage buildings composed of spacious rooms with pillars. The east-west oriented structure functioned as a cella vinaria.
(Photo by A. Peeters; drawing by A. Novellini, 2024).
Panoramic photo from a tethered balloon of the villa at Aiano, taken from northwest to southeast.
In the background of the valley, the Fosci stream can be seen, along with the green hills of the Val d’Elsa.
Since 2005, this site has been the focus of a collaborative effort by several institutions coordinated by UCLouvain (Belgium), with the aim of excavating, studying, and enhancing the monumental archaeological complex dating to Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.
(Photo by P. Nannini, 2016).
