Roman Mosaics of Risan
The floor mosaics of a 2nd-century Roman town villa in Risan, found in 1930 and shown as a museum site by Muzeji Kotor; the mosaic of Hypnos, god of sleep, is the best known.
Archaeology · Ancient / Archaeology · Kotor
The Roman Mosaics (Rimski mozaici) in Risan are the remains of a 2nd-century AD Roman town villa (villa urbana) with floor mosaics, a complex of 790 m² in the municipality of Kotor. The site is run as a museum unit by Muzeji Kotor and is known for the mosaic of Hypnos, the god of sleep. It opens Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-16:00 all year; the ticket is €6.
Opening hours and tickets
Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-16:00, the same hours in both seasons. Closed on Mondays, for the whole of January, on Orthodox Easter, on 1 May and on 13 and 14 November.
Tickets: €6 individual, €4 for children up to 12, €4 per person in groups of more than five. The common Muzeji Kotor ticket for €15 covers the mosaics, the Perast Museum, and the Gallery of Solidarity, the Lapidarium and St Paul's Church in Kotor. Telephone +382 32 371 233, e-mail rimskimozaici@muzejikotor.me.
What to see
The villa's rooms keep their mosaic floors. The best-known shows Hypnos; the other rooms have geometric and floral motifs only. The site's story is part of the display: Risan, the ancient Rhizon or Rhisinium, was a Roman "oppidum civium romanorum", a town of Roman citizens.
History of the site
The mosaics were found in 1930 by Dušan Vuksan, then director of the State Museum in Cetinje. Italian archaeologists excavated them in 1942 and reburied them, which caused damage. Conservation and excavation works followed in 1956-1960. The operator does not publish a street address for the site; the contact e-mail and phone above reach the staff on site.
Getting there
Risan is in the municipality of Kotor. Muzeji Kotor publishes no street address for the site and no information on accessibility; use the phone number above to ask.
Nearby
- Perast Museum, same operator and joint ticket.
- Our Lady of the Rocks.
- Maritime Museum of Montenegro in Kotor, whose Ivelić family salon comes from Risan.
Questions
How old are the mosaics? The villa dates from the 2nd century AD.
Are the hours different in summer? No; Tuesday to Sunday 10:00-16:00 in both seasons, closed in January.
Is there a combined ticket? €15 for all five Muzeji Kotor sites in Risan, Perast and Kotor.
