Olivanti, P. (2021). "House on Via del Tempio Rotondo." Gardens of the Roman Empire, accessed October 2, 2026. https://roman-gardens.github.io/id/5cdeb84b3f/

House on Via del Tempio Rotondo

Published: 2021-04-21
Last modified: 2026-07-29

Dates

unspecified

Excavation Dates

partially excavated between June 1972 and January 1973

Garden Description

This house was only partially excavated between June 1972 and January 1973 (Fig. 1). In its Augustan phase the peristyle garden (a) was adorned with a large central basin paved in opus signinum. At the center of the basin was a brick support, interpreted as the base of a fountain. The columns of the peristyle, probably Tuscan, rested on bases alternating with travertine strips at pavement level (Fig. 2). Three perforated vases of the type of ollae perforatae recorded by Cato (RR 52, 133 | Trans.) and Pliny (NH 12. 16; 17. 64, 97) were found between the basin and the columns of the peristyle, and exactly aligned with their bases. The ollae were intact and must have contained plants, no doubt of the flowering and rambling variety, which would have found both a support and a chromatic backdrop in the columns to the rear.

Plans

Plan of the House on Via del Tempio Rotundo
Fig. 1: Plan (after M. Supino; PA-OAnt, Archives).
Fig. 2: Plan of the peristyle, with column bases and flower pots
Credit: (from Messineo 1984).

Images

A flower pot during 1973 excavation
Fig. 3: A flower pot during excavation, 1973 (PA-OAnt, Photo Archive).

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, 1972-1973, p. 56. (worldcat)
  • G. Messineo, "Ollae perforatae," Xenia 8, 1984, pp. 65-82. (worldcat)

Keywords

Places