🏛️ LE ABITAZIONI dell'ANTICA ROMA: Domus, Villa di Campagna e Insula 🏡🏚️ STORIA ROMANA 📚

The dwellings in which ancient Romans lived could be of three different types. DOMUS The wealthiest Romans lived in a domus: a large and comfortable house with many rooms, resplendent with marble and colonnades, surrounded by a high wall so that its inhabitants were not disturbed by the hustle and bustle of the city. A single-family urban dwelling, typical of the wealthy classes, it was characterized by a rectangular plan and usually developed on a single floor, with rooms arranged around a central atrium and a peristyle, an internal courtyard or garden surrounded by a columned portico, typical of the most luxurious domus, such as those seen in some reconstructions of Pompeian houses. The atrium was the central heart of the house, with an opening to the top (called the compluvium) and a basin below (called the impluvium) to collect rainwater. The tablinum, on the other hand, was the master's study, and was located between the atrium and the peristyle. In this room, the master kept important documents, received guests and clients, and conducted business. The dining room was called the triclinium and took its name from its furnishings: three beds arranged in a horseshoe shape, on which Romans would lie down to eat. Sleepers slept in cubicula, usually small bedrooms arranged around the atrium. Then there was the culina, or kitchen: a small, functional room, usually located off to the side. It featured a brick counter with fireplaces, a space for wood, jars, amphorae, and often a bread oven, and was used primarily by servants and slaves to prepare elaborate meals. For the sake of completeness, we also mention the vestibulum: an entrance corridor that connected the street to the atrium. Sometimes, a taberna, a room with a separate entrance from the street, which served as a shop or store, could be integrated into the façade of a domus. Finally, each domus had a lararium, a small domestic altar dedicated to the worship of the Lares and Penates, which we've already discussed in another video. VILLA When a wealthy Roman grew tired of the frenetic city life, he left his domus and moved to the countryside for a few months, where he owned large tracts of land and a beautiful villa. The country villa consisted of the master's residence and a large farm. The master's residence was similar to the city domus, but even more spacious and elegant, with large porticoes, indoor and outdoor dining rooms, a sumptuous bathroom, and a vast garden adorned with fountains and statues. The farm, on the other hand, was a true agricultural enterprise, with vegetable gardens, olive presses, warehouses, granaries, vats and tanks for pressing grapes, cellars and areas for burying amphorae for storing food and drink, stables and pens for animals, as well as a bread oven and a carpentry workshop. The Roman country villa, dating back to the end of the Imperial Age, later evolved into the medieval curtis, a large farm that also included the lord's residence, which we discussed in the video above. INSULAE Very different from the homes of the rich were the homes of the poor, who lived in multi-story buildings called insulae, consisting of many apartments. These were large buildings, erected by unscrupulous builders, who often skimped on materials, so that collapses and fires were commonplace. They maximized space, dividing the buildings into very small rooms. The insulae were square-plan buildings, with an internal courtyard, sometimes with a portico, leading to the corridors leading to the various living units, called cenacula, which were technically actual "apartments." Typically, the insulae housed tabernae on the ground floor, or workshops and shops of artisans and small traders. The upper floors housed the apartments, which became less luxurious as one ascended towards the roof. The apartments in the insulae lacked toilets, so people drew water from fountains, threw trash into the street, and heated themselves with makeshift braziers, which were very dangerous for the safety of all the insula's inhabitants. And you? Where would you have liked to live? Tell us in the comments! Bye, and see you in the next video! 🎂🍰 Follow us on Facebook too!   / pasticciotti.it   and on Instagram: i_pasticciotti_it