The Roman maritime villa at Bibione and its context

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The Roman villa at the northern outskirts of modern Bibione (Venetia, Upper Adria, Italy) is known for quite some time. Nevertheless, it has only sporadically been investigated. This state of research is symptomatic for the region of eastern Venetia. While a larger number of villae and rural settlements has been identified, in most cases only superficial surveys or singular excavation campaigns did take place. To date, there is no record of an entire villa-complex, nor have the relative economic activities, infrastructure and natural environmental conditions been thoroughly investigated. Yet, studies of this kind, with a specifically regional focus, are an urgent desideratum within the field of research on Roman villas and their socio-economic impact. The villa of Bibione offers an excellent opportunity to fill in the gap, even for some most propitious external framework-conditions. Based on an interdisciplinary and international cooperation between the universities of Regensburg (Germany) and Padua (Italy) it is possible to realise a differentiated research program, which includes different topics and methodical approaches. Archaeological (excavation, survey) as well as geoscientific and (for the moment, on a limited scale) palaeoecological fieldwork and studies are parts of this program. The case study is consciously conceptualised as to serve as a point of reference for comprehensive research on economic history and settlement patterns in Italy between the Roman Imperial Period and Late Antiquity.