ANCIENT ROMAN GIRLS IN BIKINIS? That’s just one of the bizarre sights in this villa. It’s a mosaic that covers the floor of the “Room of the Ten Girls,” featuring a line-up of curvy, muscular young girls in two-piece suits pumping barbells and playing handball. Their outfits, which scholars say are actually their underwear, make them look totally contemporary, even though the mosaic is from the fourth century. It’s a striking, entertaining change from the classical images we usually see of women in togas or lounging about nude in erotic scenes from those days.

The mosaic is just one of many in this villa where you’ll find the world’s largest and most amazing display of mosaics from Roman times. It’s smack in the heart of Sicily, in the rural, hilly province of Enna. Here’s where the beautiful Proserpina, daughter of Goddess of the Harvest Ceres, was wandering around picking wildflowers when God of the Underworld Pluto pulled her down to Hades to make her his queen.

The massive 12,000-square-foot villa was built around the fourth century as a luxurious hunting lodge, which was surrounded by a farm estate. Not much is known about the original owner, except that he was a rich Roman, probably a member of the Empire’s senate or imperial family. It’s obvious from the set-up that he threw great parties.

There’s a huge triumphal military arch at its entrance and a sprawling bath complex. Best of all are the floors of the public and residential rooms, which were created by North African mosaic artisans in a vibrant style that’s distinct from what you’ll see in Pompeii or Italy’s medieval churches. Along with fantastic geometric patterns you’ll find dramatic action-packed scenes that capture moments from myths to wild hunting expeditions to contests at the Circus Maximus.

Not much remains of the villa’s wall decorations, but considering the floors, what a place this must have been. It was buried in a mudslide in the twelfth century, and not fully excavated until the 1950s. In order to keep the mosaics in the well-preserved state they were found and still have tourists traipse through, catwalks have been built. When you visit you’ll be walking along narrow planks attached to the sides of the rooms to get an overview of the floors, which is actually a better angle to admire them than guests had back in Roman partying days.

Some of the most spectacular you’ll see include the one in the “Corridor of the Great Hunt,” which depicts rowdy scenes of animals (lions, leopards, and antelopes) being captured and carted off to Rome for shows at the Colosseum. In the corner of the room is a dark-skinned, regal-looking woman who personifies India or Arabia, surrounded by an elephant, tiger, and phoenix in flames. Other rooms have whimsical scenes of cupids fishing, women dancing, and the Greek poet Arion playing his chitarra.

What would a rich Roman’s villa be without a touch of erotica? In what’s assumed to have been the master’s bedroom a mosaic shows the voluptuous bare backside of a woman looking like she’s giving a man on a throne a lap dance.

Villa Romana del Casale: Open daily from 9 to one hour before sunset, with evening openings in July and August, www.villaromanadelcasale.it.

Golden Day: Visit the Villa early in the morning, before crowds of tour buses arrive. Spend the rest of the day at Piazza Armerina, a medieval hill town nearby (3.5 miles/5.5 km away), which has a beautiful baroque Duomo and other impressive churches. Eat at Ristorante Al Fogher (Contrada Bellia, 093 5684123, www.alfogher.net), which serves Sicilian classics in refined style.