ROCCABRUNA

This structure has two levels: a lower story, square in plan with an interior octagonal rotunda (1) preceded by a deep, arcaded porch (4) facing west; and an upper platform on which was built a circular colonnaded structure. Communication between the two stories was by means of a ramp (7). The upper level, entered from a staircase (6), afforded dramatic views of the villa and the surrounding countryside. It was dominated by a tholos of the Doric order. M. De Franceschini and G. Veneziano have confirmed speculation by R. Mangurian and M. A. Ray that the lower level was aligned toward the setting sun on the summer solstice (Villa Adriana: architettura celeste: i segreti e i solsitzi. Accademia Villa Adriana, 1 [Rome 2011]).