(_custodian next door to the church_), _about four miles from the
bridge_, discovered in 1863. When first excavated, the frescoes and
arabesques were found in a good state of preservation, but they have
since been greatly damaged by atmospheric influences. Livia was the
wife of Augustus, and mother of Tiberius.
"Formerly, when Livia, after her marriage with Augustus, was making a
visit to her villa at Veii, an eagle flying by let drop in her lap a
hen, with a sprig of laurel (bay) in its mouth, just as it had been
seized. Livia gave orders to have the hen taken care of, and the sprig
of laurel set; and the hen reared such a numerous brood of chickens,
that the villa to this day is called THE VILLA OF THE HENS. The laurel
grove flourished so much, that the Cæsars procured thence the boughs
and crowns they bore at their triumphs. It was also their constant
custom to plant others in the same spot, immediately after a triumph;
and it was observed that, a little before the death of each prince,
the tree which had been set by him died away. But in the last year of
Nero, the whole plantation of laurels perished to the very roots, and
the hens all died" (Suetonius, "Galba," i.).
Cavaliere Piacentini has discovered (1879), on his farm at Prima
Porta, the remains of some baths, which probably were connected with
Livia's Villa of the Hens. In the centre is a hemicycle, 29 feet in
diameter, the mosaic of which represents circus races, the victor
receiving the palm of victory for his horse Liber; and the three
chariots racing, Romano, Ilarinus, and Olympio. Surrounding this hall
are twelve others, with mosaic pavements of festoons and geometrical
patterns in _chiaro-oscuro_. One pavement, 26 feet by 20 feet,
represents the sea, in which are numerous fish; while upon the sea
three-winged figures gambol with marine monsters. The boilers for hot
water, furnaces for hot air, and pipes for cold water are in a capital
state of preservation. Brick stamps show that the building was
restored as late as the time of King Theodoric.
Near the bridge over the Fosso di Prima Porta has been found the
circular tomb of Gellius, the freedman of the Emperor Tiberius.
_The road straight on from the Ponte Molle_, VIA CASSIA, _leads to_