Dedicated to Jupiter, the Villa Jovis of the emperor Tiberius is the first of the twelve Roman villas on the island.
Immense, with seven thousand square meters of buildings, thirteen thousand meters of park with terraces and nymphaeums scattered over 40 meters in altitude, it extends majestically towards the Sorrento Peninsula and Punta Campanella. The excavations of Amedeo Maiuri have brought to light the central nucleus with large cisterns, around which four areas are identified: the quarter of the emperor and the court; the servants' area, the baths and the space for public hearings.
At least two phases of stratification can be noted: the first from the Augustan era, with the use of limestone covered with opus reticulatum with plaster and paintings, the marble mosaic floors; and the second visible in the floors covered with marble slabs and walls covered with glass mosaic.
Going further, towards the northern end of the Villa, we arrive at the so-called Salto di Tiberio, 297 meters above the sea. From there - following the legendary stories of Suetonius - the emperor had "human victims thrown away for his own amusement".
