A Roman House
Today we went to an archaeological site that had opened very recently, called Le Domus
Romane Di Palazzo Valentini (say that 5 times fast!) It was the remains of a high class roman
house. As we entered the building that it was housed in, the first thing that caught my eye were
the steps down to the site. The steps were glass and maybe 4 inches beneath them were the real
roman steps that the archaeologists found, for the romans to walk into their house, it was a very
funny feeling descending into the house just how this roman family would have.
The room that we entered was pitch black, then a light came on and illuminated the floor
for a second. After that a voice narrated what the room would have looked like, even using light
effects and movie screens to show you how it really would have looked.
The house was one of the very high end houses. It had a pool in the center and something
that likely could have been a baby pool to the side. In this wide courtyard, there would have also
been a balcony, where people could have ate and watched what people below are doing. In the
side rooms there was a sauna and linked to that, a frigidtorium, where you would submerge in
icy water after sweating in the sauna (the romans believed that doing that was good for you,
people still do this today.) There was also a heated pool in another side room.
The living corridors were also luxurious, with sleeping corridors that looked out on
Trajan’s column, a construction project commissioned by Hadrian that was built about the same
time as the house. The living room was surrounded by statues and probably had a large dining
table in the middle of it. What really amazed me was that the stair case leading up to the room
was the tallest staircase every excavated (it was about 10-15 steps tall.)
This museum was really interesting because it gave you a taste of what the roman world
really would have looked like. It nice to say, “there’s a headless statue, its roman,” but this
museum really linked together the loose ends and with some lights, managed to show you how
that house really would have looked like. When I got out, I really did see things in a different
light.
This museum didn’t allow pictures, but I included some of the forum and Trajan’s column
because:
1. They were constructed around the same time as the house.
2. They look awesome.
Trajan’s column, built by Hadrian to honor his father (he was adopted by Trajan.) Notice
the eagle standards in that I have drawn a box around.
One of the ruins in the
Forum, if you look
closely you can see
Senatus Populus Que
Romanus (the senate
and the people of Rome,
SPQR.) This used to be
a court of justice.