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5 - Residential Architecture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 August 2019

Fikret Yegül  and
Diane Favro
Fikret Yegül
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Diane Favro
Affiliation:
University of California, Los Angeles
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Summary

A small hut constructed of poles, mud, and thatch was lovingly maintained for centuries atop the Palatine Hill in Rome (). The structure memorialized the original residence of Romulus, Rome’s mythical founder. By the late Republic, the humble hut nestled amid upper-class family residences embellished with imported sculpture, colorful wall paintings, and lush plantings, explicitly affirmed both the Romans’ humble beginnings and how far they had progressed. Research and data on Roman housing and house types are extensive. For the capital city texts preserve information about the use and status associated with various forms of domestic architecture. Particularly useful is the marble plan where whole streets of atrium-type houses as well as multistoried tenements are shown on some fragments (see ). Official lists catalog the types and numbers of residences. As the population of Rome exploded, the more desirable single-family domus courtyard house competed with high-rise insulae climbing the hillsides as well as with row houses and live/work units lining the streets in the flatlands. However, despite exceptions, archaeological evidence for residential architecture in Rome is fragmentary and incomplete.

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Chapter
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Roman Architecture and Urbanism
From the Origins to Late Antiquity
 , pp. 244 - 293
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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  • Residential Architecture
  • Fikret Yegül, University of California, Santa Barbara, Diane Favro, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: Roman Architecture and Urbanism
  • Online publication: 21 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511979743.006
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  • Residential Architecture
  • Fikret Yegül, University of California, Santa Barbara, Diane Favro, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: Roman Architecture and Urbanism
  • Online publication: 21 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511979743.006
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  • Residential Architecture
  • Fikret Yegül, University of California, Santa Barbara, Diane Favro, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Book: Roman Architecture and Urbanism
  • Online publication: 21 August 2019
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511979743.006
Available formats
×