A huge Roman villa has been unveiled just outside Florence - the first ever in the popular tourist area and one of the biggest Roman farms ever discovered .

"Villas like these were fully fledged factories for the production of wine, olive oil, meat, corn and other products," said archaeologist Fausto Berti, who led the dig at Montelupo Fiorentino .

"We've found big animal pens, warehouses and even a workshop for making ceramic vases. The owners were self-sufficient" .

Berti reckons the villa and farm - which covers 2,000 square metres - must have had its own teams of craftsmen and a small army of slaves .

"In this particular villa, I'd say there must have been at least 70 slaves" .

The 500-metre-square villa is well-preserved and shows the high architectural standards patricians liked for their country homes, reminding them of their luxury town houses: large and elegant rooms, spacious gardens and a long (52m) portico .

It also has fully equipped baths with all the areas Romans used to produce various levels of heat, warm water and steam - and then turn down the temperature .

A tiepidarium (heated-water pool), calidarium (hot room) and frigidarium (cooling-off area) like Morlupo's are found in most villas. The biggest attraction will probably be the well-preserved laconicom, or sauna .