![]() Surrounding the atrium were arranged the master's families' main rooms: the small cubicula or bedrooms, the tablinum or study, and the triclinium or dining-room. To protect the family from intruders, it would not face the streets, only its entrance providing more room for living spaces and gardens behind. ![]() Thus a wealthy Roman citizen lived in a large house separated into two parts, and linked together through the tablinum or study or by a small passageway. Glass windows weren't readily available: glass production was in its infancy. In cities throughout the Roman Empire, wealthy homeowners lived in buildings with few exterior windows. Leading off the Atrium were cubicula (bedrooms), a dining room triclinium where guests could recline on couches and eat dinner whilst reclining, a tablinum (living room or study) and tabernae (shops on the outside, facing the street). The vestibulum (entrance hall) led into a large central hall: the atrium, which was the focal point of the domus and contained a statue of an altar to the household gods. The domus included multiple rooms, indoor courtyards, gardens and beautifully painted walls that were elaborately laid out. As Rome became more and more prosperous from trade and conquest, the homes of the wealthy increased in both size and luxury emulating both the Etruscan atrium house and Hellenistic peristyle house. This could have been the beginnings of the atrium, which was common in later homes. The huts were probably made of mud and wood with thatched roofs and a centre opening for the hearth's smoke to escape. It is believed that the Temple of Vesta was, in form, copied from the these early dwellings because the worship of Vesta began in individual homes. They were small familiar huts constructed on the axial plan of a central hall with an open skylight. The homes of the early Etruscans, predecessors of the Romans, were simple, even for the wealthy or ruling classes. These multi-level apartment blocks were built as high and tightly together as possible and held far less status and convenience than the private homes of the prosperous. Many poor and lower middle class Romans lived in crowded, dirty and mostly rundown rental apartments, known as insulae. The elite classes of Roman society constructed their residences with elaborate marble decorations, inlaid marble paneling, door jambs and columns as well as expensive paintings and frescoes. While many chose to live primarily, or even exclusively, in their villas, these homes were generally much grander in scale and on larger acres of land due to more space outside the walled and fortified city. ![]() Along with a domus in the city, many of the richest families of ancient Rome also owned a separate country house known as a villa. The word dom in modern Slavic languages means "home" and is a cognate of the Latin word, going back to Proto-Indo-European. The modern English word domestic comes from Latin domesticus, which is derived from the word domus. It could be found in almost all the major cities throughout the Roman territories. It comes from the Ancient Greek word domi meaning structure since it was the standard type of housing in Ancient Greece. The domus was occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. The rooms of the Pompeian domus were often painted in one of four styles: the first style imitated ashlar masonry, the second style represented public architecture, the third style focused on mystical creatures, and the fourth style combined the architecture and mythical creatures of the second and third styles. In contrast, homes in Pompeii were preserved intact exactly as they were when they were occupied by Roman people 2000 years ago. Even in its original state, however, the House of Livia and Augustus is not a good representation of a typical domus, as the home belonged to one of Rome's most powerful, wealthy and influential citizens. Little of the original architecture survives only a single multi level section of the vast complex remains. The most famous of the Roman domus is the Domus of Livia and Augustus. The homes of Rome are mostly bare foundations, converted churches or other community buildings. While there are excavations of homes in the city of Rome, none of them retained the original integrity of the structures. Much of what is known about the Roman Domus comes from excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum.
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