The video continues by showcasing the rooms that were attached to this central hall of the atrium. Used primarily for ventilation purposes, this conspicuous aperture also allowed the entry of rainwater, which was then collected on the floor-based cavity known as the impluvium and then passed on to the underground cisterns for household usage. Now intriguingly enough, the animation showcases a rather curious opening through the ceiling, which was actually called the compluvium. Now like its modern-day counterpart of a living room, the atrium was the semi ‘public’ area ( pars urbana) that was primarily used for entertaining the guests – and thus it was typically the most decorated section of the entire domestic scope. This central hall was the focal point of the entire house and was accessed from the fauces (a narrow passageway connecting to the streets) or the vestibulum. The video starts off with what is known as the atrium section of the Roman domus. In any case, the resourceful folks over at Ancient Vine and Museum Victoria have given a go at virtually reconstructing the typical Roman domus of a ‘well-to-do’ family – and we daresay they have succeeded in portraying the dynamic internal layout of the Roman ‘domestic’ side of affairs. Now beyond origins and influences, a typical Roman domus served as a dwelling for the Roman familia, while being (sometimes) used as a ‘personalized’ center for business and religious worship.Īs can be deduced from these functions, the extensive domus were constructed for the higher middle-class Roman citizens – and even then there were no standardized forms of the ancient dwelling-type (though ‘on an average’, there were probably 8 domus per city block). Platner-Ashby, A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome, London: Oxford, 1929: 158-166.From the historical perspective, the Roman domus (house) was oddly enough not exactly ‘Roman’ in its character rather it was possibly inspired by a few older Mediterranean cultures including the Etruscans and the Greeks – as is evident with the architectural focus on the central courtyard. Neue Forschungen zum “ Versenkten Peristyl” auf dem Palatin Investigating the “ Sunken Peristyle” on the Palatine Hill, Leiden 2012 (worldcat) (worldcat) ("Aqueducts") (worldcat) ("Waters") Wentworth Rinne, ed., Aquae Urbis Romae: The Waters of the City of Rome, 7 (Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities, University of Virginia, 2011): 1-27. Schmölder-Veit, "Aqueducts for the Urbis Clarissimus Locus: The Palatine’s Water Supply from Republican to Imperial Times," in K. 11 Upper peristyle of the Domus Augustana: Hypothetical reconstruction. Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, henceforth abbreviated as SAR). Plan of the Palatine with the indication of the garden area of the Upper Peristyle (Drawing Coop. Plan of the Palatine with the indication of the garden area of the Lower Peristyle (Drawing Coop. Garden of the Severan Complex (I) Figures Fig. These elements lent the upper peristyle the characteristics of an idyllic-sacral space, where the plantings occupy the areas between the temple and the surrounding structures, which had open forms such as loggias, terraces, exedrae, and splendid statues and works of art (fountains, basins, herms Contiguous to this peristyle was a series of rooms with non-rectilinear plans, among which were a porticoed diaeta and water gardens. 4), which could be reached by means of a little bridge supported on arches (Fig. In the upper peristyle garden in the middle of a large rectangular pool with a highly articulated edge stood a small temple on a podium (Fig. The peristyle garden and fountain as well as several nearby nymphaea must have made this part of the palace, especially cool and welcoming on hot summer days. Because of clearly articulated planting beds it is possible to reconstruct the shape of this garden as composed of alternating planting beds, basins and plants around a central fountain. Such scenic plantings around water within an architectural setting are comparable to the later Maritime Theater at Hadrian’s Villa, which was perhaps inspired by this Flavian peristyle garden. Water, which is given great space within the architecture, was included in a garden adorned with dense planting beds of shrubs and flowers, alternating with decorative elements and important sculptures. The lower peristyles of the Domus Augustana, the private area of the Flavian Palace, was sumptuously decorated with a large fountain in the shape of four peltae (semi-circular shields that were common motifs for gardens of the early imperial period), comparable to the arrangements at Conimbriga (Fig. Garden of the Domus Augustana, Palatine Keywords
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