Roman Mosaics Orbe

The most beautiful set of Roman mosaics in the north of the Alps are exhibited in Orbe-Boscéaz . These vestiges of a Roman villa represent figurative and geometrical scenes. Discovered in the middle of the 19th century, these mosaics paved eight of the 100 rooms in a huge and luxurious Gallo-Roman villa that was built towards 160 A.D. It was destroyed during invasions and served as a quarry in the Middle Ages. There is no structure above ground left. Four mosaics represent geometrical trompe l’œil motifs and four mosaics are figurative: the labyrinth of the Minotaur, Theseus leaving Ariane who is asleep, Ulysses calling upon Achilles to fight, the Roman Gods as symbols of the seven planets and the seven days of the week.




Museum: Roman Mosaics Orbe
City: Orbe
Country: Switzerland
Address: Grand-Rue 1