DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42778#0250
i5o THE ARCHITECTURE OF ANCIENT ROME.
to the private portion of the house without passing through the
tablinum.
In the private portion of the house were :—
e. The Peristyle, which resembled the Corinthian atrium, having
a colonnaded portico round it, but it was much larger. The central
court, open to the sky, was planted with flowers and shrubs, with a
small fountain in the centre. The margin round this court was of
stone and sunk in the centre, to form a gutter to carry off the drop-
pings from the eaves.
f. Cubicula, or sleeping apartments, for the owner and his family.
g. Triclinium, or dining-room, the name being derived from the
three couches placed round a central table, leaving the fourth side
open for the service. Sometimes these rooms were of large size, so
as to accommodate an increased number of guests, and a summer
triclinium facing the north is occasionally found.
h. Oecus, the largest room in the private portion of the house,
usually in the central axis of the house and facing the peristyle.
According to Vitruvius, this was the hall occupied by the mistress
of the house and where she received her guests, but it was also used
as a banqueting room on special occasions, probably on account of
its size.
i. Pinacotheca, or picture gallery for easel pictures, not often
found in Pompeii.
k. Bibliotheca, or library, a small room to hold papyri or rolls
of manuscript.1
l. Exedrce, rooms corresponding with the alae in the public
portion of the house, but here occupied by the family or the female
guests.
m. Lararium, a chamber devoted to the Lares, or household
gods. Sometimes a niche at one end of the peristyle would be
considered sufficient.
n. Culina, the kitchen.
o. Xyxtus, or garden, at the back of the larger houses only,
sometimes with a portico facing it, or, as in the Villa of Diomede,
on all sides.
The kitchen and storerooms were of small size, and placed on one
1 In the excavations made at Herculaneum in 1753, a library in a private
house was discovered with bookcases round the walls and one in the centre
of the room. Although it contained about 1,700 papyrus rolls, the room was
not larger than 15 feet by 20 feet, which suggests that the Roman library was
probably used as a store only for such documents, which were taken out and
read in the exedrse jr other apartments of the house.
to the private portion of the house without passing through the
tablinum.
In the private portion of the house were :—
e. The Peristyle, which resembled the Corinthian atrium, having
a colonnaded portico round it, but it was much larger. The central
court, open to the sky, was planted with flowers and shrubs, with a
small fountain in the centre. The margin round this court was of
stone and sunk in the centre, to form a gutter to carry off the drop-
pings from the eaves.
f. Cubicula, or sleeping apartments, for the owner and his family.
g. Triclinium, or dining-room, the name being derived from the
three couches placed round a central table, leaving the fourth side
open for the service. Sometimes these rooms were of large size, so
as to accommodate an increased number of guests, and a summer
triclinium facing the north is occasionally found.
h. Oecus, the largest room in the private portion of the house,
usually in the central axis of the house and facing the peristyle.
According to Vitruvius, this was the hall occupied by the mistress
of the house and where she received her guests, but it was also used
as a banqueting room on special occasions, probably on account of
its size.
i. Pinacotheca, or picture gallery for easel pictures, not often
found in Pompeii.
k. Bibliotheca, or library, a small room to hold papyri or rolls
of manuscript.1
l. Exedrce, rooms corresponding with the alae in the public
portion of the house, but here occupied by the family or the female
guests.
m. Lararium, a chamber devoted to the Lares, or household
gods. Sometimes a niche at one end of the peristyle would be
considered sufficient.
n. Culina, the kitchen.
o. Xyxtus, or garden, at the back of the larger houses only,
sometimes with a portico facing it, or, as in the Villa of Diomede,
on all sides.
The kitchen and storerooms were of small size, and placed on one
1 In the excavations made at Herculaneum in 1753, a library in a private
house was discovered with bookcases round the walls and one in the centre
of the room. Although it contained about 1,700 papyrus rolls, the room was
not larger than 15 feet by 20 feet, which suggests that the Roman library was
probably used as a store only for such documents, which were taken out and
read in the exedrse jr other apartments of the house.