Houses
The Roman town house, or domus, was a single-family house. The most popular design for this structure was based around the atrium, which had its roots in early Etruscan homes. These houses had a single main room with many small rooms opposite the entrance, or, in some cases, a set of small rooms around a courtyard, from which the atrium developed. |
Apartments outnumbered domus style town houses more than 25 to 1 in the fourth century, remaining the main type of housing until the end of the empire. |
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During the middle/late republic, a villa rustica was the term applied to a farmstead attached to an estate, complete with accommodations for the owner should he choose to visit. By the 2nd century BC the term was also used for large country homes and retreats, and soon, the meanings became indistinguishable. Many villas probably performed both duties, gradually passing from owner to owner over time. The basic peristyle villa spread from Italy during the 1st century BC, and logically remains have been found of villas in provinces conquered early in the empire, such as Spain. Contravertly, villas are scarce in Britain until the 2nd century AD. Regional differences in villas reflected wealth and tastes of the owner. The most simple villas are native cottage types resembling farm homesteads. These were usually augmented by adding a corridor verandah, and then a wing at either end. In outlying provinces, the courtyard villa developed into as an addition to the wings and corridor. These had buildings on one-to-four sides of a courtyard resembling a farmyard more than a garden. In villas operated by the wealthier, a second courtyard was often built to separate the agricultural and residential functions of the villa. |