The Villa Romana del Casale (4th century AD) near Piazza Armerina in central Sicily contains the most EXTENSIVE and best-preserved Roman mosaic floors anywhere on Earth. 3,500m² of polychrome mosaics covering every room of a luxury country villa — hunting scenes (the Great Hunt corridor is 60m long, showing the capture of exotic animals from Africa for the arena), mythological scenes (Odysseus vs Polyphemus, Arion on the dolphin), and the famous Sala delle Dieci Ragazze (Room of the Ten Girls) — 10 women in what are unmistakably BIKINIS, doing gymnastics, lifting weights, throwing a discus. 4th century AD. Bikinis. Sport. Women athletes. UNESCO World Heritage since 1997. This villa alone is worth the trip to central Sicily.
The Great Hunt (Corridoio della Grande Caccia, 60m): The longest Roman mosaic narrative surviving — men in tunics capturing leopards, elephants, ostriches, rhinos, loading them onto ships for transport to Rome's arenas. The detail is PHOTOGRAPHIC — you can identify animal species, ship types, clothing styles. Room of the Ten Girls: 10 athletic women in strophium (bandeau top) and subligaculum (bikini bottom) — running, throwing discus, lifting dumbbells. One holds a victory palm and crown. The world's oldest depiction of a two-piece swimsuit. The Triclinium mosaic (dining room): The Labors of Hercules — each panel a different labor, the quality of drawing rivaling any painting.
The villa itself: The owner was probably a Roman senator or possibly Maximian (co-emperor with Diocletian). 60+ rooms, 4 thermal baths, a peristyle garden. The elevated walkways allow you to look DOWN at the mosaics — the perspective is essential (from floor level, the foreshortening is invisible).
€12. Open daily 9-18 (summer until 23 on some nights — check). Piazza Armerina is in central Sicily — from Catania: 1.5h. From Agrigento: 1.5h. From Palermo: 2h. No train to Piazza Armerina — car or bus from Enna (30 min). Combine with: Caltagirone (30 min — ceramic staircase). Enna (30 min — the belvedere of Sicily, the highest provincial capital). Sicily →