This villa was lavishly built by Pompey in the Albanum territory between 61 and 58 B.C., and its construction was financed by the rich spoils from the war against Mithridates.

After having been inherited by his son Sextus, it passed into hands of Dolabella and subsequently became part of the estate of the emperor Augustus anf his successors.

The whole of the ground floor has survived and these impressive ruins extend over an area of nine hectares, that measures 340 m. in length and 260 m. in breadth.

Four different phases of construction can be distinguished  and these denote various operations of extension, rebuilding and restoration.

The main body of the villa, three storeys high, stood on an artificial platform, facing towards the sea. There were nymphaea, cryptportici and other separate buildings, which all added to the magnificence of the villa, to say nothing of the numerous valuable statues, polychrome terracotta decorations, gardens and fountains. Some of the best-known finds, that were excavated between 1700 and 1800, are the marble altar carved with the labours of Hercules (now in the Capitoline Museum in Rome), the group of two centaurs in polychrome marble and the bearded Bacchus (now in the Doria Paphili Museum in Rome, since this family once owned a mansion in Albano and the park where the remains of he villa have come to light).

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