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17 - IMPERIAL TRICLINIUM Description
It has two different levels: on the upper floor, at the same level of the Hospitalia, the corridor TI1 gives access to the Hospitalia and also to the lower floor with the TI1a staircase.
Along corridor TI2 four small rooms TI3-6 opened
Central Hall TI13 in the Imperial Triclinium
The lower floor has a vast central hall TI13, probably a triclinium, which opens with two columns towards the portico TI10 and onto the front garden TI11.
The portico had pillars made of bricks, and the capitals that we see there today do not belong to this building, as Marina De Franceschini studied in the article «Marmi architettonici di Villa Adriana murati per le case di Tivoli» (https://rirella-editrice.ch/schedashop.aspx?idArt=2897)
The side corridors TI12 and TI14 gave access to two series of quadrangular rooms, TI7-9 and TI 17-19.
On the side towards the embankment is the large Cryptoporticus TI22; on its rampant vault there are still some frescoes and traces of color can be seen. It was depicted in an engraving by Giovan Battista Piranesi.
Cryptoporticus TI22
Function and meaning
Together with the Hospitalia, the Imperial Triclinium was a single building. It was the living part of the complex, with a vast triclinium, several rooms and a large Cryptoporticus for walking indoors.
The modesty of the decoration, with black and white mosaics and frescoes, confirms that it belonged to the secondary quarters of the Villa, meant for high ranking personnel, such as praetorians or freedmen.
SEE: Marina De Franceschini, Villa Adriana. Mosaici, pavimenti, edifici, 1991, Imperial Triclinium pp. 55-72 amd 367-373. On Hospitalia and Imperial Triclinium as a whole: pp. 374-376).