In 1514 and 1535, the Marquise of Mantua Isabella d'Este walked among these ruins, followed by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, who came to study their formidable construction techniques.
Covering two hectares with a rectangular plan of 167 by 105 meters, this archaeological complex is the most imposing Roman villa in northern Italy. Erected in the early 1st century AD over older 1st-century BC structures, it commands the northernmost tip of the Sirmione peninsula on the southern shore of Lake Garda. In 1483, the scholar Marino Sanuto the Younger attributed the ruins to Gaius Valerius Catullus, inspired by the poet's 31st poem describing his return to Sirmione. The name "Grottoes" stuck because the collapsed structures, overgrown with vegetation, resembled caves to early explorers. Although historical evidence proves the building visible today was constructed after the Veronese poet's death, the title has remained. Abandoned by the 3rd century, its architectural elements were stripped to build another Roman villa on Sirmione's via Antiche Mura. Between the 4th and 5th centuries, the massive surviving walls were incorporated into local fortifications, and the interior was repurposed as a cemetery.
What to see
The main entrance stood in the southern forepart, introducing a complex designed with strict axiality and symmetry, a unitary project confirmed by studies in the 1990s. To compensate for the sloping rocky bank, Roman engineers carved substantial cuts into the stone—highly visible along the western cryptoporticus and the eastern side of the northern forepart—and erected massive support substructions to the north. While the main floor, which housed the owner's residence, suffered heavy damage from centuries of quarrying and exposure, the intermediate and lower levels remain better preserved. The layout featured long porches and terraces facing the lake to the east and west, connecting to a northern belvedere terrace once equipped with a velarium. In the south-western thermal sector, visitors can see remains of rooms including a swimming pool added at the beginning of the 2nd century, while a 43-meter-long water cistern sits beneath an opus spicatum floor on the southern side. The northern ruins bear evocative conventional names assigned during early excavations, including the Three-pillar hall, the Long corridor, the Trifora of heaven, the Big pylon, the Horse cave, and the Hall of giants. The center of the complex, originally an extensive garden, is now the grande oliveto, home to 1,500 century-old olive trees of the casaliva, leccino, and gargnà varieties.
Visiting
Following early comprehensive studies in 1801 by Napoleon's artillery commander General Lacombe-Saint-Michel and 1856 excavations by the Veronese Count Giovanni Girolamo Orti Manara, the Italian state acquired the site in 1948 after an extensive restoration program begun in 1939. Ranking as the 27th most visited Italian state site in 2013 with 215,961 visitors and a total gross income of 504,700 euros, the complex also features the Archaeological Museum, inaugurated in 1999. The entrance portico details Lake Garda's genesis, morphology, and ancient communication routes. Inside, three sections display prehistoric and protohistoric stilt-house artifacts, Roman finds from this estate and the nearby Toscolano villa, and medieval funerary goods from Sirmione's church of S. Pietro in Mavino. A scale model of the Roman villa and a touch-screen monitor with videos in three languages complete the exhibition. The site's cinematic appeal was recently highlighted when it served as a filming location for the 2017 Academy Award-winning movie Call Me by Your Name.
Our editors' tip
The western cryptoporticus, a long walk that was once covered, offers the clearest perspective to appreciate the massive rock excavations required by Roman builders to level the terrain. Afterward, notice the historic central olive grove; thanks to a targeted recovery program, the centuries-old trees resumed the production of extra virgin olive oil in 2012.