Hadrian’s Villa Reborn: Stadium Garden
Hadrian's Villa Reborn: Stadium Garden
Step into the so called Stadium Garden of Emperor Hadrian's villa at Tivoli, near Rome, as it looked in the 130s CE. An expert archaeologist guides you through its halls, gardens and statues, rebuilt in 3D from the latest research.
Hadrian's Villa Reborn: Stadium Garden is a virtual tour by Flyover Zone, a company that turns academic reconstructions of ancient sites into virtual tours. It was released on Steam on 7 November 2020 and on the Meta PC VR store in January 2021, where it costs $9.99. It is no longer sold on Steam, and Flyover Zone now offers the tour through its Yorescape app, which streams on the web and runs on phones and tablets.
The tour recreates the so called Stadium Garden at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli as it appeared in the 130s CE, late in Hadrian's reign. Despite the name, it was not a sports ground but a setting for imperial audiences, dining and leisure. Stops include the South Nymphaeum with its statues of the Niobe story, the South Hall where Hadrian receives an audience, the North Hall sculpture gallery, and the North Peristyle with the emperor's dining room. Audio is narrated in English by Prof. Bernard Frischer, Director of the Digital Hadrian's Villa Project, with subtitles in English, French, Italian and Spanish. The complex can also be seen lit at night.
- Based on scholarly research
- Narrated by the project's director
- Statues shown in their original settings
- Subtitles in four languages
- Also available without a headset through Yorescape
- Night view of the complex
- Short, focused on one part of the villa
- No longer on Steam
- PC VR version needs a capable PC
- Some nude statues
- Few user ratings
