Societas Via Romana - Discussion Archives

Salvete,


Most people here know I have a great interest in architecture. I have seen many Roman buildings in Germany, Belgium, France, Greece and tunisia. But almost al remnants are from luxury houses, public places or monuments.

How did the ordinary insula look like? How many stages did it have? what comfort did it have?


Valete,


Locatus

Salve!

Some examples of insulae can be found at Ostia and Pompeii (remains of course.

http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ostia/index.html

The insulae could have many different floors, I think in Rome they had sometimes up to seven or eight floors. These buildings ware badly illuminated and badly heated; and on the inside totally built of wood. Much of the fires that broke out in the city, came from those insulae. Most families lived in one or two small rooms, without water (only on ground level there was water available).

Vale bene

Salve,


But how were they divided, were there seperate rooms? Were those rooms sold, rented or whatever? Had people to provide their own furniture?


Vale,

Loc

Quintus Claudius Locatus wrote:Salve,


But how were they divided, were there seperate rooms? Were those rooms sold, rented or whatever? Had people to provide their own furniture?


Vale,

Loc

Salve

The insulae in the cities can be compared to our cheaper appartment buildings. Each family could rent one or two rooms (more were not affordable). The owners of these buidlings were mostly rich patricians who bought a piece of ground to put an insula on; then they tried to get as many families in the building as possible. The more families, the more money! And there was no furniture. As far as I remember, people slept on straw mattresses or on the ground, and they only had a fire to cook their food upon. These fire places were also used to heat the room. Most of their day these plebeian Romans lived on the streets. They only came home in the evening to eat and sleep. These insulae were only used from the late republic on and especially during the time of the emperors, when there were big cities with much jobless plebeians. Before they might have lived in smaller houses or huts.

Vale bene