The Late Republican Domus
Province
Italia
Italia (Pleiades)
Italia, Regio I (Pleiades)
Location
Sublocation
Palatine
Mons Palatinus (Pleiades)
Garden
Gardens of the Republican Domus, Palatine
Keywords
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)
Pleiades ID
House of M. Tullius Cicero (Pleiades) Casa dei Grifi (Pleiades) Palatine Hill (Pleiades)
TGN ID
Contributor
M.-A. Tomei
Publication date
28 April 2021