Roman exploita­tion of the coun­try­side is sym­bol­ized by the Vil­la Romana del Casale (in Sici­ly), the cen­tre of the large estate upon which the rur­al econ­o­my of the West­ern Empire was based. The vil­la is one of the most lux­u­ri­ous of its kind. It is espe­cial­ly note­wor­thy for the rich­ness and qual­i­ty of the mosaics which dec­o­rate almost every room, they are the finest mosaics in situ any­where in the Roman world.