Gaius Maecenas
With the expansion of Rome it was just far enough away to be insulated from the riots and tumults of Rome. Leading Romans built magnificent seaside villas there and when Cicero returned from exile, it was at Antium that he reassembled the battered remains of his libraries, where the scrolls would be secure. Remains of Roman villas are conspicuous all along the shore, both to the east and to the northwest of the town. Gaius Maecenas also had a villa. Many ancient masterpieces of sculpture have been found there: the "Fanciulla d'Anzio", the "Borghese Gladiator" (in the Louvre) and the "Apollo Belvedere" (in the Vatican) were all discovered in the ruins of villas at Antium.