Roman Dwellings- Ancient Rome

Domus. * Domus was the type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen. * The wealthy constructed their residences with elaborate marble decorations, inlaid marble panelling, door jambs and columns as well as expensive paintings and frescoes. * The appearance of a domus depended on how wealthy each family was * Because of hot weather in Rome the house was very open. * Tiled pictures called mosaics decorated the walls and floors, keeping the house cool as well as beautiful, and wall paintings (murals), statues and fountains were also popular. * Furniture consisted mostly of timber-framed beds, timber stools and couches on which people reclined.

Insulae. * An insula was a kind of apartment building * Housed most of the urban citizen population of ancient Rome, including ordinary people of lower- or middle-class status (the plebs). * The ground level floor of the insula was used for tabernae (a single room shop covered by a barrel vault within great indoor markets of ancient), shops and businesses, with the living space upstairs. * Consisted of six to eight three-storey apartment blocks, grouped around a central courtyard. * Insulae were made of wood and mud brick and often collapsed or caught fire. * The upper floors were the most unsafe and therefore the cheapest to rent. * Often those top floors were without heating, running water or toilets, which meant their occupants had to use public restrooms.

Villas. * A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class. * Two kinds of villas- Villa Urbana Villa Rustica

* The Villa Urbana was a country seat (a country house generally a large house or mansion) that could easily be reached from Rome for a night or two. * The Villa Rustica was a farm-house estate permanently occupied by the servants who had charge generally of the estate. Only seasonally occupied. * The Empire