Domus is the name of the type house that was used by the wealthy and upper classes to live in during the Republican, Imperial and Republican periods. This type of house was present in most major Roman cities. Roman society’s upper classes built their homes with expensive frescoes and paintings, as well as marble decorations and inlaid panels. The vestibulum served as the central hall of the Domus. The most important room in the house was the atrium. This is where clients or guests would greet each other. Ancient Romans of the upper class had lavish interiors and exteriors. Their homes and lifestyles were a perfect match.
The domus was a complex of rooms, courtyards indoors, gardens, and walls beautifully painted. The vestibulum led to a central atrium which contained a statue representing an altar dedicated to household gods. Atriums were flanked by cubiculas, dining rooms tricliniums where guests reclined on couches to eat, tablinums, living rooms, and shops. The wealthy owned buildings in cities across the Roman Empire that had few windows on the exterior. Glass windows were scarce because the glass-making industry was still young. A wealthy Roman would have a large house that was divided in two and connected together by a study or tablinum. It would be built so that the entrance was facing the street, and not the street itself, to protect the family against intruders. This allowed for more space behind the house, including gardens, as well as living areas. Surrounding the central atrium were the rooms that belonged to the masters: the small bedroom cubiculas or the bedrooms of the family, the study tablinum and the dining room triclinium.
Roman homes were like Greek homes. In the atrium of Caecilius, Pompeii, only two objects were visible: a bronze box for storing family treasures and the Lararium, which was a shrine dedicated to the household gods. The bedroom of Caecilius had a wooden couch and bed, usually with some padding. The tablinum began to take on the role of the study as the domus developed. In the rest of the bedrooms, you’d find a single bed. Three couches surrounded a small table in the triclinium. The triclinium was often the same size as a master bedroom. The study served as an entrance. A banker or merchant was more likely to have a larger study due to their greater material needs. Roman houses were built along an axis. A visitor could view the peristyle from the atrium and tablinum.
