Today, our picture of the Roman house is dominated by Pompeii.
The eruption of Vesuvius in AD79 not only preserved public buildings,
but also many private houses.
These reveal some architectural similarities,
but also show how individuals adapted layout and decoration
to suit their personal circumstances.
Petruvius, writing in Italy in the first century BC,
described in remarkable detail how a man's social standing
was related to the size and facilities of his house.
Magnificent vestibules and alcoves and halls
are not necessary for people of low status, he wrote,
because they pay their respects by visiting,
and are not visited themselves.
Advocates and professors of rhetoric should be housed with distinction,
and with enough space to accommodate their audiences.
Men of high rank who hold office and magistracies
should have princely vestibules,
lofty halls and spacious parastiles.
Although centuries of excavation
have left many of the buildings themselves
empty of their original furnishings,
Petruvius' comments suggest that the houses of the Roman elite
had to accommodate the demands of public life,
as well as the needs of the household.
From the street, there was sometimes a hint
of the rich interior which lay beyond.
Through the open door,
a visitor could take in much of the interior at a glance,
although sometimes screens or curtains were used
to divide the space.
Many houses had images at the entrance,
which today may seem more threatening than welcoming.
But these images were placed at the threshold to ward off evil,
or to bring good fortune to the household,
like the guardian deity, Priapus.
From the entrance, the various architectural elements combined
to create a monumental impression,
as here in the house of Vettii.
At the centre of the house there's a large hall or atrium,
rising to an opening in the roof.
The house of Ceii has a columned atrium.
The opening in the roof, or compluvium,
let in light, ventilation and rainwater,
which was collected in the pool below. the impluvium.
The water was then channelled into a tank beneath the floor,
and drawn when needed from a well head.
This house and the house of Vettii have well-preserved atria.
This area was the focal point of the house.
The poet, Ovid, mentions anxious clients waiting here to see their patron,
the master, at the customary hour.
Whereas the front part of the house was organised around the atrium,
the rear centred on a second space, a garden open to the sky.
In the house of Vettii, this was a regular peristyle garden
The roofed colonnade surrounding a central area of plants.
Socially, the garden was a more informal area,
decorated with small fountains and sculptures.
Although some of this furniture is not original to this garden,
it helps us imagine how the space might've been laid out.
In the house of Vettii, rooms off the peristyle include this dining room.
This was a more private space,
where invited guests could be received informally,
or for dinner parties.
The walls are decorated with a frieze,
depicting cupids undertaking various tasks.
Goldsmithing.
Wine selling.
Cloth making and fulling.
It also provides useful evidence for the furnishings,
which might've been placed in the house itself.
Similar examples of furnishings are on display in museums,
as here in the Museum of Civilisation in Rome.
A few also survive in situ.
Like this chest in the atrium of the house of Vettii
In the house of Marcus Lucretius Fronto,
beyond the atrium is an additional room, the tablinum.
This room was used for greeting guests and holding formal meetings,
and the rich decoration was positioned to impress.
Screen doors, which could be open or closed,
lead out into the garden.
This isn't a peristyle but a walled garden,
with columns only on one side,
and an elaborate painting creating the illusion of wilderness beyond.