Villaspeciosa, Site of San Cromazio

The town is located on the edge of the reclaimed area of the Decimoputzu district.
The site is known above all thanks to the discovery of a vast polychrome floor mosaic, the largest (about 160 square meters) and best preserved among those found so far in Sardinia.
The mosaic (in white, black, red, green, ocher) consists of a series of contiguous panels arranged around a central rectangle. The outer band is enclosed in a border decorated with a “chevrons” pattern, while the individual panels have the following decorative motifs: a) embrication of “kantharoi” (the branch of millet present here is attested only in Africa and in Piazza Armerina); b) pelte embrication (comparable to those of a Djebel Oust floor in Tunisia); c) rosettes enclosed by acanthus leaves, d) an oblique network of bands containing curvilinear squares formed by acanthus leaves (acanthus leaves are occasionally found in Africa at the sites of Utica, Sousse, Cherchel); e) tangent octagons.
The mosaic paved a large rectangular room positioned O-shaped with respect to a series of structures relevant to a thermal system, of which the “frigidarium” (room equipped with a cold bath tub), the “praefurnium” (room and oven for heating), the “calidarium” (heated room) and some rooms can be interpreted as “tepidaria” (rooms heated to medium temperature) or as “tepidarium”, “laconicum” (room intended for steam baths), “destrictarium” (spoiled room) toilet where spa goers could dedicate themselves to cleaning from sweat and dust by means of the strigile).
As for the functional interpretation of the environment in which the great mosaic is located, the debate is still open. The currently most accredited interpretative hypothesis considers that it is the paving of a large church built in the fourth century AD on the pre-existence of a thermal building from the imperial Roman period.
The mosaic was restored in the Byzantine era, around the 6th century, with the addition of a large libation vessel placed in the center, similar to the smaller ones on the left side. Furthermore, there are cyst-shaped burials located in the immediate vicinity of the thermal environment from the Byzantine era.
Around the baths, perhaps adapted to a church, a village had developed, whose structures insisted on the ruins of previous Roman buildings; the village was abandoned in the early Middle Ages.
Noteworthy is the identification of a square paved with stone, which overlooks numerous rooms and has a dozen Roman-era tombs. This group of findings has been interpreted as traces of the existence of a small Roman town ('vicus'), to which it seems possible to attribute the function of 'mansio': that is, it would be one of the rest and supply stations located along the road arteries.

History of excavations
Starting from 1974 until today, the area has been subject to systematic excavation interventions by the University of Sassari.

Bibliography
S. Angiolillo, The Art of Roman Sardinia, Milan, Jaca Book, 19982; C. Cossu-G. Nieddu, Baths and Extraurban Villas of Roman Sardinia, Oristano, S'Alvure, 1998;
G. Pianu, “On the Church of San Gromar”, Insulae Christi. Early Christianity in Sardinia, Corsica and the Balearic Islands, Oristano, S'Alvure, 2002, pp. 443-452; E. Cicu-G. Pianu, Saint Chromatius. The mosaic project. Proceedings of the Conferences held in Villaspeciosa in 2002 and 2003, Sassari, 2004.

How to get there
The site can be reached from Villaspeciosa by leaving the O limit of the town on the direction of Via Tuveri. The archaeological area is 500 m, as the crow flies, from the outskirts of the town.