Saint-Saphorin Roman Villa
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The Saint-Saphorin Roman Villa () was a
Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...
in the village of
Saint-Saphorin Saint-Saphorin () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, located on the shore of Lake Geneva, in the district of Lavaux-Oron District, Lavaux-Oron. History Glerula or C ...
in the
Lavaux Lavaux () is a region in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland, in the district of Lavaux-Oron. Lavaux consists of 830 hectares of terraced vineyards that stretch for about 30 km along the south-facing northern shores of Lake Geneva. Although ...
region,
canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolou ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It is listed as a heritage site of national significance alongside the Reformed Church of Saint-Symphorien and the neighbouring vicarage.


History

The earliest evidence of human activity in the region date back to 1500 or 1600 BC, as showed by the
piloti Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood, and in e ...
s excavated in 1893. However, the history of the village of ''Glerula'' dates back to the
Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
. At this time, the area was a stage on the route that connected
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
to
Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
through the
Great St Bernard Pass The Great St Bernard Pass (, , ; ) is the third highest road pass in Switzerland, at an elevation of . It connects Martigny in the canton of Valais in Switzerland with Aosta in the region Aosta Valley in Italy. It is the lowest pass lying on t ...
. Archaeologists excavated the remains of a
Roman villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...
of the 1st century, as well as a
Roman milestone Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...
dated 53 CE. In the 5th century, the building was transformed into a Christian mausoleum which was entirely re-built after the tidal wave that caused Mount Tauredunum to collapse in 563: around 590, Bishop of Lausanne Marius of Avenches established a new church over the remains of the former building. The church, dedicated to
Symphorian of Autun :''Symphorian is also the name of one of the Four Crowned Martyrs. For various places in France and Belgium, see Saint-Symphorien.'' Symphorian (Symphorianus, Symphorien), Timotheus (Timothy), and Hippolytus of Rome are three Christian martyrs ...
, later gave its name to the village. The Roman villa, as well as the Reformed Church and the neighbouring vicarage were listed among the Cultural Property of National Significance.


See also

*
Gallo-Roman culture Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely ...
*
Switzerland in the Roman era The territory of modern Switzerland was a part of the Roman Republic and Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided ...
* List of cultural property of national significance in Switzerland: Vaud


References


Bibliography

*


External links

* {{Portal bar, Ancient Rome, Architecture, Switzerland 1st-century establishments in the Roman Empire Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Vaud Roman villas in Switzerland