"Non ti posso scrivere nulla di preciso": Seneca e le ville

Seneca’s works do not devote much space to the theme of villas, because their vision immediately pushes the philosopher to moral lessons, which, more generally, declare themselves indifferent to the different places. The article analyzes some epistles (51, 55, 86) in which Seneca provides information on the layout of the villas of several owners and on some selected parts of them. In particular, the description of the Literninum is compared with the archaeological evidence of the known villas from the second century B.C. in central Italy and elsewhere. The contribution ends with a study of Epistle 12, in which Seneca visits his suburbanum; from the observation of the deteriorated condition of the villa and of the plane trees, and from the encounter with an elderly slave, he draws inspiration to rehabilitate old age.