In the seventeenth century the land where the Imperial Palace stands belonged to the Altoviti family; in the eighteenth century it was purchased by Count Giuseppe Fede who became the owner of a large part of the Villa.
He made several excavations on his land, putting together a large Collection of ancient sculptures that was dispersed and sold after his death: most of it was purchased by the Apostolic Chamber to enrich the papal collections.
In 1779 the heirs of Count Fede, Giovan Battista Centini and his son Felice, excavated in the Imperial Palace together with Cardinal Mario Marefoschi. The eighteenth century was a period of frantic excavations, because Italian and foreign prelates and nobles enjoyed being archaeologists and naturally went in search of treasures: statues, marbles and mosaics that were sold at a high price on the antiques market.
In one of the rooms of the Imperial Palace, which we call the Triclinium of the Centaurs (PI46) and in the nearby ones – all built by Hadrian who added them to the republican villa – magnificent mosaics were discovered. One depicts a fight between Centaurs and Beasts, others have scenic Masks or Idyllic landscapes; and then there is a splendid polychrome frame with vine leaves wrapped in yellow and blue colored ribbons. Today all the mosaics are in the Vatican Museums, except the one of the Centaurs, which is in Berlin in the Pergamon Museum.
The panels are in very fine mosaic with 2-3 mm tesserae: they are precious emblemata in opus vermiculatum, probably imported from the East like the Mosaic of the Doves found in the Accademia.
Four panels have been placed in the Pio Clementino Museum of the Vatican, in the Gabinetto delle Maschere (Cabinet of Masks) inside the frame with vine leaves. The space between the panels has a modern mosaic on a white background with ivy leaves, stars and the winds, which were the symbols of the coat of arms of Pope Pius VI, who commissioned the work.
The first mosaic depicts four scenic Masks and Apollo's Lyre and was originally at the centre of a quadrangular room (PI47) near the Triclinium of the Centaurs, and had the aforementioned frame along the walls.
The second mosaic has a scenic Mask crowned with laurel placed on a pillar near which the symbols of Apollo can be seen: the Griffin, the Lyre and the quiver with arrows.
In the third mosaic there is a Mask crowned with vine leaves and below there are the symbols of Dionysus: a Leopard biting a musical instrument, and then a kantharos on a small pillar.
The last mosaic has an Idyllic landscape with five goats, a pond and a small shrine in front of which the god Dionysus is sitting.
The mosaic with the fight between Centaurs and Beasts was found in the Triclinium of the Centaurs (PI46) together with other panels, and depicts a Centauress fallen to the ground and wounded by the claws of a Tiger. In the center of the painting is a Centaur who is about to throw a large stone boulder on the Tiger, and behind him is a dead Lion. At the top left a Leopard observes the scene standing on a rock.
The iconography of the panels with Masks, wild beasts and vine leves is linked to the myth of Dionysus, who was frequently depicted in the decorations of the Triclinia, because the god was linked to wine and banquets.
For this reason, the room where the mosaics were found is called the Triclinium of the Centaurs and it is assumed that it hosted small private banquets.
Other triclinia have been identified in Villa Adriana: the largest and most spectacular one was that of the Canopus, intended for large official receptions to which the emperor invited important people.