The Late Republican Domus
Province
Location
Sublocation
Garden
Gardens of the Republican Domus, Palatine
Keywords
- porticoesAAT:300004145
- domusAAT:300005506
- sudatoriaAAT:300004219
- palaestraeAAT:300007301
- peristyles (Roman courtyards)AAT:300080971
- Pliny the Elder
- Cicero
Garden Description
In the Republican period, by the 1st century BCE, the Palatine Hill had small but numerous gardens associated with the well-appointed houses (domus) situated upon it. Among these numerous residences were those of L. Lucius Crassus, famous for its six majestic nettle-trees (Celtis australis) (Plin. HN, 17. 1-6), and the domus of M. Tullius Cicero, which offered the author "all the pleasures that gardens can give" (ad Quint. III.1). Cicero's house even included a Greek-style palaestra with a laconicum (Cic. ad Att. II.4), as well as an avenue (ambulatio) for promenades (CIL VI, 29774-29775). By the beginning of the Augustan period, gardens had become almost as much a necessity for Romans as houses themselves; therefore, one must suppose that no domus of any importance lacked a peripheral garden or one planted within a peristyle.
RELATED PHASES ON THE PALATINE:
Garden of the House of Augustus (B)
Garden of the Domus Tiberiana (C)
Garden of the Neronian Palace (D)
Garden of the Domus Flavia (E)
Garden of the Domus Augustana (F,G)
Garden of the Palatine Stadium (H)
Garden of the Severan Complex (I)
Dates
2nd- 1st century BCE
Bibliography
- M.A. Tomei, Augusto sul Palatino: Gli Scavi di Gianfilippo Carettoni. Appunti inediti (1955-1984), Milano, 2014. (worldcat)
Places
- House of M. Tullius Cicero Pleiades: 233061795
- Casa dei Grifi Pleiades: 817164756
- Palatine Hill Pleiades: 971691208
- Monte Palatino (hill) TGN: 3000935