Beautiful Emperor’s residence built by Constantine
Located on an important commercial route of former Roman road
Mediana is one of the most important archaeological sites from late antiquity in south east Europe. It is located on an important commercial route of former Roman road “Via militaris”, road that connected Singidunum /nowadays Belgrade/ with Serdica /nowadays Sofia/ and Constantinople /nowadays Istanbul/ , and this location conditioned its rapid economic development which was particularly evident in the 4th century AD. It was a time when Naissus was a prosperous imperial city and home to workshops for the manufacture of arms.
There are the very well preserved remains of the beautiful Emperor’s residence built by Constantine, which was used as a temporary residence by six Roman emperors. The site contains numerous remains of buildings and objects that testify to the life of the Roman aristocracy and the local population: luxurious mansions, barns, a craft centre, thermal baths and the remains of a villa with peristyle, which was adorned with rich mosaic floors. Inside the spacious complex of Mediana, the emperor’s villa once dominated, surrounded by an open colonnade, summer residences, thermal baths and other numerous edifices. In the full splendour of imperial luxury, the halls are decorated with floor mosaics, impressive frescoes and marble statues. Most mosaics have geometrical or floral motifs, while two mosaics presenting figures – the head of the Medusa and a semi-prostrate figure of a river deity (probably Neptune).