The Villa Romana in Desenzano, which came to light in 1921, is the most important testimony in northern Italy of the great late antique villas.
Built at the end of the 1st century B.C., the villa overlooked the lake with piers, moorings and perhaps fish farms.
The more than 240 square meters of polychrome mosaics of valuable workmanship represent scenes with harvesting cupids or on chariots running, maenads and satyrs, wild animals, allegories.
It is possible that the owner was Flavius Magnus Decentius, brother of the Emperor Magnentius, hence the current name of the city.
