The discovery of the scale and importance of the site was completely accidental even though a Roman cryptoporticus and related structures in the area were known, and it was very close to the known Lucus Feroniae sanctuary:[2] in 1962 it was found during the construction of the A1 highway at the Fiano Romano tollbooth.

[4] Renovation continued until the 1990s with the restoration of the mosaic floors, walls and structures, the setting up of a small antiquarium and the installation of protective roofs.

Traces of devastation (including the violent shattering of the statues) and of fires have been revealed by excavations but the villa was frequented until the 5th century AD, when a small cemetery was set up in the residential part.

[12] Starting from the early Middle Ages, a religious building was first built and then a small fortified centre with towers and, finally, a rustic farmhouse[13] reported in the maps of the area of the 16th century.

[14] The villa was located about 400 metres (1,300 ft) from Lucus Feroniae alongside the Via Tiberina and was built on an embankment that offered a panoramic view of the lower Tiber Valley.

It was built on two levels, the upper one supported by a cryptoporticus which housed the residential part with an atrium, triclinium, tablinum, with large peristyle, garden and lararium.

Room 34 at the NW corner of the peristyle is a latrine and along the south side of the same complex are 50 closets intended for washing and bathing, all part of the slave economy of the imperial-age villa.