Verige Bay

On the western coast of Brijuni, along Verige Bay, stands a magnificent Roman villa rustica. Its construction began in the 1st century B.C., and it achieved its greatest splendor in the 1st century A.D. Certain parts of the villa were used until the 6th century.

1st century BC

The Roman villa in Verige Bay

The villa consisted of several buildings for different purposes located on carefully selected locations in various parts of the bay.

Sumptuous summer residence

On the southern side of the bay stood a sumptuous summer residence, with an economic function, with two peristyles. An integral part of the complex were temples erected in honor of the sea god Neptune, the Capitoline Triad and the goddess of love and beauty, Venus, situated at the end of the bay. Dieta, palestra, thermae, fishpond and the economic part were situated at the northern side of the bay.

By an interesting system of promenades stretching one kilometer along the sea, all the buildings were connected into a unique whole, in ideal harmony with the landscape.

Besides this villa furbished with mosaics, frescoes, stucco decoration and precious marble, there were a number of Roman villas of mostly economic function on Brijuni, the villa on Kolci hill being the particularly interesting one among them.

Let us not forget the Roman villa on which the archaeological site richest in strata on Brijuni was built – the Byzantine castrum.

It is part of the Roman Emperors’ Route

The Roman villa in Verige Bay is a part of the Roman Emperors Route which has received a certificate of the Council of Europe and the European Institute of Cultural Routes. The route is 3.5 thousand kilometers long and stretches through Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania and promotes archaeological tourism. It covers 20 archaeological sites important for the period of imperial Rome and related to the lives of 17 Roman emperors.