Short answers, pulled from the story.
Archaeologist Paolo Orsi began digging into the Sicilian soil near Piazza Armerina in 1929. He uncovered a Roman villa that had been buried for over eight hundred years beneath layers of earth and vegetation.
The site contains Roman mosaics covering some 3,500 square meters of floor space. These artworks remain the richest and most varied collection in existence today according to the Grove Dictionary of Art.
Scholars have debated the owner's identity for decades since discovering the villa's grandeur. Some features like Tetrarchic military insignia led experts to suggest an imperial owner such as Maximian while other scholars believed it belonged to high-level senatorial aristocrats.
A landslide covered the entire site in the twelfth century forcing survivors to relocate to current Piazza Armerina location. The event occurred after the estate remained inhabited for at least 150 years before eventual abandonment.
UNESCO designated this site as a World Heritage Site in 1997 recognizing its exceptional value. The designation acknowledges the mosaic and opus sectile floors cover approximately 3,500 square meters almost unique due to excellent state preservation caused by landslides and floods covering remains naturally.