DeLaine, J. (2021). "Insula dei Dipinti." Gardens of the Roman Empire, accessed October 2, 2026. https://roman-gardens.github.io/id/1f6d3e89b7/

Insula dei Dipinti

Author: Janet DeLaine
Published: 2021-04-21
Last modified: 2026-07-29

Dates

late Hadrianic period
150-180 CE

Excavation Dates

1914-1919
recent excavations

Garden Description

The large open area in this insula, divided into two by a wall, was identified as a garden at the time of excavation (1914 to 1919), but on little evidence apart from the absence of paving over most of the area. Recent excavations have however clarified the phases of the garden and added some significant detail. The garden is now known to have been created as a single area, forming an integral part of the late Hadrianic development comprising the three houses which make up the Insula of the Paintings (House of Jove and Ganymede, House of the Infant Bacchus and House of the Paintings). The excavations in the SW corner of the south garden (Fig. 1, Tr. 1) however produced no evidence of Hadrianic garden features, due to the garden being greatly disturbed by a substantial restoration of the insula somewhere in the period 150-180 CE. At this time the wall dividing the garden into two was built, and a humus-rich soil imported into the south garden area, its use as a garden being confirmed by fragments of five flower pots, recognized by the holes in their bases. In addition, the lower part of a Dressel 20 amphora and a neat, sub-triangular pit roughly 50 cm across cut into the underlying rubble fill may have served as planters. In the Severan period a small aedicular shrine was added to the south face of the new garden wall, the niche being originally decorated with glass mosaic above foliage plants against a red ground. This was later covered with whitewash and replaced by a figured scene, and finally a statue of Jove was installed in the niche. A section of black-and-white geometric mosaic, overlying the humus-rich soil in Trench 1 and possibly associated lightweight rough walls, suggests the creation of a summer pavilion or dining room during this period, which would have enjoyed a view of the garden shrine.

Figures

Figure 1: The Garden and Houses of the Insula dei Dipinti.

Bibliography

  • G. Calza, G. Becatti, I. Gismondi, G. De Angelis D'Ossat, H. Bloch, Topografia generale, Scavi di Ostia I, Rome, 1953.
  • R. Meiggs, Roman Ostia. (worldcat)
  • C. Pavolini, Ostia: Vita quotidiana. (worldcat)
  • Jean-Paul Descœudres, Ostia: Port et porte de la Rome antique. (worldcat)
  • E.J. Shepherd, P. Olivanti (eds), Giardini ostiensi, Bullettino della Commissione archeologica comunale di Roma, 109, 2008, pp. 69-98. (worldcat)
  • M. De Vico Fallani, C. Pavolini, E. J. Shepherd, M. Pileri, "Le sistemazioni a verde di Michele Busiri Vici per Ostia Antica: un caso di studio," Rivista di Archeologia 43, 2019, pp. 165-176. (worldcat) (Rivista di Archeologia)
  • M. De Vico Fallani, C. Pavolini, E. J. Shepherd, M. Pileri, "Un sogno lasciato a metà: il progetto di Michele Busiri Vici per le sistemazioni arboree e per i giardini nella zona di Ostia Antica Scavi (1939-1941)," Bollettino d'Arte, in press. (worldcat)
  • Giornale degli Scavi, 1917, pp. 58, 69-70.
  • Giornale degli Scavi, 1919, pp. 227-228, 251-253, 255, 263-5.
  • G. Calza, Monumenti antichi 26 (1920), pp. 328-330. (worldcat)

Keywords

Places