Leopoldo II di Toscana, il mosaico di Vignale e un progetto di parco archeologico nella Maremma dell’800

During the ongoing archaeological research at Vignale (near Piombino, Tuscany) a large and very interesting Late Antique floor mosaic was unearthed. Really, it would be more appropriate to speak of a rediscovering, since the mosaic was originally excavated by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Leopold II, in 1830-1831. A few years later, the mosaic and the surrounding building (believed to be a large Roman bath) were included into a sort of early archaeological park, maybe one of the first we know. Despite of this clear interest by Leopold II, the mosaic was apparently never seen by any scholar or traveller, since we don’t have any documentation, or even information, of it. Nevertheless, it was probably visible until the first decade of the 20th century, when it was intentionally concealed under the floor of a rural barn, until the archaeological rediscovering in 2014.