Luxurious Ancient Roman Winery Unearthed at Villa of the Quintilli
A newly discovered winery at the Villa of the Quintilii, south of Rome, sheds light on the luxurious lifestyle of ancient Roman aristocrats who gathered annually to watch wine being made at a purpose-built facility complete with marble-lined areas for treading grapes and gushing fountains of wine. The complex was built or expanded around 240 AD to allow the elite of the Roman world, possibly including emperors, to view the traditional production process. The level of decoration and comfort was "comparable to the sort of place the emperor would have been living in and staying in," according to an expert.