The appearance and magnificent design of Roman seaside villas, the villae maritimae, is – apart from the extant architectonic remains – at least partly known to us on the basis of Roman wall paintings. Although it is doubtful that
the paintings allow immediate conclusions concerning really existing villas, nevertheless, the perspective on the maritime villas in paintings and ancient texts focuses on the real life experience of somebody approaching a maritime villa in the appropriate manner, i.e. from aboard a ship sailing along the coast. The ideal “villascape” is formed basically by a luxuriously designed villa, lavishly constructed moles and gardens bordering the shore. Underwater archaeological research on the Roman villa at the Cape of Sorrento resulted in clear evidence of such a villa with two representative harbours, which served both the supply of the villa and the reception of high dignitaries. First, the villa and the rock on which it is built were documented photographically by a drone and terrestrial photographs, and a three-dimensional model of the building was created. By using “structure-frommotion” (SfM) under water as well, the two harbours of the villa were also documented and considered with regard to the interpretation of the whole complex for the first time. The resulting three-dimensional model of the entire complex provides information about the architectural design of the villa as well as the effort that was spent on the
construction.