This villa rustica, situated in the locality of Le Piane, Larino, stands to the east of the Cigno torrent and circa 3 km from the river Biferno, on lowland at 120 m a.s.l. It is positioned between two important ancient tratturi: the Centocelle-Montesecco to the north and the Ateleta-Biferno-S. Andrea to the south. Although the villa has not been completely excavated, the work undertaken to date has exposed the rooms around the west-north-western part of the courtyard. Three main sectors were identified: a west-north-west wing with five residential rooms, a north-eastern wing, of which two storerooms were uncovered and the third sector (rooms 3 and 5) in the central-southern part, with two arms of the corridor opening onto a porticoed courtyard. The stratigraphic data, including that relating to the floor surfaces, and the pottery forms demonstrated five phases in three periods) The first (end of the 2nd - beginning of the 1st century B.C.) was attested by black glaze pottery from inside the excavation area and the areas around it. Phase two (1st century B.C.) saw the construction of the villa with walls of opus incertum which characterise the residential zone, with mosaic floors, organised around a porticoed courtyard and the storeroom, which in this phase perhaps also included part of room 4 and of the north-western part of the courtyard. Phase three (end of the 1st century A.D.) saw the obliteration of the peristyle when the structures in _opus mixtum_ were built with reused materials from phase two. This construction coincided with the restructuring/enlargement of the storeroom. The fourth phase cannot be dated but coincides with the abandonment of the complex after the robbing of the structures. The final phase (modern period) was represented by the progressive build up of the agricultural terrain. Further excavation will provide data regarding the organisation of the rooms surrounding the peristyle, and the size of the structure itself.

The Archaeological Superintendency of Molise carried out excavations on the rural villa in the locality of Le Piane in 2007, 2009, and 2010. The villa, on a north-south alignment, emerged after the removal of the plough soil. Unfortunately, the ancient structures had been badly damaged by agricultural activity. The villa seemed to have three main sectors: a west-north-west wing with five rooms, probably the residential sector; a north-east wing of which two store-rooms were exposed; the third wing (rooms 3 and 5) was the central part formed by a corridor with colonnade opening onto a courtyard (fig. 1). Based on the stratigraphic data, the decorative style of the floors and the typology of the pottery documented during the excavation, five phases were identified falling between the late 2nd century B.C. and beginning of the 2nd century A.D. Phase one (end of the 2nd- beginning of the 1st century B.C.) was characterised by the presence of black gloss ware in the contexts present in the trench and in the excavation area around it. Phase two (1st century B.C.) related to the construction of the villa with _opus incertum_ walls that characterise the rooms of the residential area, with mosaic floors, organised around a colonnaded courtyard. In this phase, the storeroom may have taken up part of room 4 and the north-western sector of the courtyard. Phase three (end of the 1st century A.D.) saw the obliteration of the peristyle (fig.2), and alterations to several rooms involving the building of structures in _opus mixtum_ reusing phase two materials (alteration/enlargement of the storeroom). Phase four, the robbing and abandonment of the villa could not be dated. The residential area situated in the eastern part was characterised by two different types of floor: a mosaic with white tesserae laid in diagonal rows and bordered with straight lines of black tesserae (preserved in the eastern part of room 2) (fig. 3), and a polychrome mosaic floor with geometric motifs (preserved in patches). The decoration was in two bands, one green, and the other red (fig. 4), which finds parallels with mosaics of this type in Campania and northern Italy and similarities with the remains of a polychrome mosaic housed in Vienna museum. This type of two coloured rhombus decoration is attested from the second decade of the 1st century B.C. and was widespread between the end of the 1st century B.C. and the mid 1st century A.D. (not excluding a delay in the development of stylistic systems in this area). In 2011, the University of Molise reopened the excavations. The investigations produced interesting data regarding the building phases of several of the villa’s rooms situated in the north and north-eastern zones (rooms 8 and 4). The identification of two overlying floors from two different construction phases and the organisation of the storage area, confirmed by the typology of the wall facings and walls, attest the changes made to these rooms (perhaps their function).