Back

Domus

The rich Roman people of the city lived in a "domus". That's a house with a second floor. When you enter, you first come in the "atrium". That's the big room, where they receive guests. In the roof is a small hole, with beneath it a bassin which catches the rainwater. Around the atrium are different small rooms, the bedroom, kitchen, courtyard with a colonade. Click here for a picture of a domus.

Insulae

Under the big arches which you can see, were children often teached.

Poor Romans lived in flats. These were called "insulae" and had 3 or more floors. They exist of little rooms. In a little room lived a whole family. The rooms got their light trough the open window. There was no glas in the windows. On the groundfloor were little shops. The 3 undermost floors were made of stone, everything above it was made of wood. Augustus gave as maximum-height for an "insulae" 20 meter. Collapses and fires occured frequently. Later Trajanus reduced the height to 17 meter. But the danger was still there.

Villa-complex

90% of the total population of the empire lived on the countryside. Some farmers lived in poor houses. Other farmers and other rich persons had a villa-complex. A villa-complex existed of 3 parts. -Villa urbana. The luxurious engineered living-quarters. The house was just as comfortable as those of the rich people in the city. -Villa rustica. This was the place where the staff worked and lived. Also there were the stable for the animals, a little hospital and a little prison. -Storage accommodations. Finally, there were storage accommodations in the villa-complex for grain, oil, wine and other products which were made in the villa-complex.

Back