THE new winter Love Island mansion is named after a Roman gladiator school.
ITV bosses have spent £1.2million on hiring the luxury pad in South Africa which boasts rugby and football pitches as well as an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
Maya Jama is the new host of Love Island and will kick off her tenure in the role in South Africa next monthCredit: Getty
The new Love Island villa boasts rugby and football pitches as well as an Olympic-sized swimming poolCredit: ludusmagnus
The new Love Island villa is named after a Roman gladiator school. Russell Crowe played a gladiator in the 2000 historical drama film directed by Ridley ScottCredit: Alamy
But the singletons must be braced for combat in their quest for romance at the site, which is called Ludus Magnus after Rome’s ancient gladiator school.
The original Ludus Magnus was built between 81 and 96 AD by the Emperor Domitian to supply gladiators for the Colosseum — where slaves battled to the death to save their lives in front of baying Romans.
The eco-friendly Love Island villa has its own boreholes and streams for water and runs off the grid — being powered by 266 solar panels.
It also has its own resident springboks and four rescue donkeys.
For standard punters, one night in the mansion costs in excess of £430 a night.
But it is understood the owners are charging the show’s producers £8,000 a day to rent the whole estate.
It lies a couple of miles from Virgin billionaire Richard Branson’s hotel and vineyard, Mont Rochelle.
It has football and rugby pitches, a 400m running track, ziplines and mountain bike trails.
Ludus also boasts river rapids and two 50metre swimming lanes in a vast lake — which are used for Olympic training.
The water also its own “love island” in the middle, with a sandy beach surrounded by trees.
The pad is sprawled over 25 acres of a wine valley in the town of Franschhoek, 46 miles from Cape Town.
It has 17 bedrooms and a treehouse, as well as a T-shaped swimming pool.
Ludus’s owner Regis Maniora, 43, from Luxembourg, and his wife Ilaria, 41, took it over two years ago and revamped it.
They are both high-level triathletes and wanted it to reflect their sporting background.
A source said: “The challenges on Love Island always make for fun TV and this place is a producer’s dream.
“It’s absolutely stunning and has so much going on. It will set the standard for future series.
“There’s bound to be plenty of fun and games on the winter edition and Ludus Magnus provides the perfect opportunity for a huge range of activities for the contestants to get stuck into.”
Ludus’s owners Regis and Ilaria Maniora were not available for comment.
Love Island’s winter edition was launched in 2020 and was won by Paige Turley and Finn Tapp, who scooped the £50,000 prize.
But the show was then put on hold for two years due to Covid.
Love Island will have a new host for the new series, with Maya Jama replacing Laura Whitmore.
The Olympic-sized pool has its own ‘love island’ in the middle, with a sandy beach surrounded by trees
The pad is sprawled over 25 acres of a wine valley in the town of Franschhoek, 46 miles from Cape TownCredit: ludusmagnus
The villa has 17 bedrooms and a treehouse, as well as a T-shaped swimming poolCredit: Instagram
ITV bosses have spent £1.2million on hiring the luxury villa for the winter series – pictured zip lines
Maya has taken over from Laura WhitmoreCredit: Rex