1950.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



371 



anil bakinfr, but hnililin? and rlecoratin? was the work of the 

 household slaves. W'ljere the floors were so j;enerally constructed 

 of mosaic or tesselated marble, the pavimentarii, or slaves skilful 

 in the art of constructing pavements, must have been necessary 

 members of the family. The floors were frequently laid with 

 small bricks placed obliquely upon their edge, so as to form an 

 angle; a kind of work called opus spicaturti, because the bricks 

 were placed like the grains in an ear of wheat. Sometimes the 

 brick was mixed witli bits of white marble, as may be seen in 

 Pompeii. In the more richly decorated apartments a coating of 

 cement was laid, and upon this, mosaics of elegant design in 

 variously-coloured stones. Occasionallv, appropriate inscriptions 

 formed a part of the mosaic floor, such 'as ".S'a/rc," and in the bed- 

 rooms, ''Bene dormin." Numerous fine specimens of Roman pave- 

 ments have been found in every part of their world-wide domain. 



In preparing the walls of the rooms for the fresco jiaintings with 

 which they were decorated, three coats of plaster were used: the 

 first, rough mortar; the second was called arenatum, and was com- 

 posed of sand and lime, or puzzohmo; the third and last coat was 

 called marmoratum. in which ]i(iunded marble was used. This was 

 worked and rubbed until a perfectly smooth surface was obtained, 

 and was capable of receiving so high a degree of polish as to 

 reflect objects like polished marble itself. While this marmoratum 

 was still wet, the frescoes %vere laid on. 



The rooms were divided in height by a small cornice, above the 

 door; the upper division being to the lower as two to three. The 

 walls were then divided into compartments, the width of the door- 

 way; these compartments were painted a full deep colour, such as 

 red, cinnamon, dark green, or even black; with the e.vcception of 

 • the central medallion, which was occupied by a design iu brilliant 

 colours. 



The paintings were generally either historical or mythological 

 subjects, or illustrative of passages from the poets; 'but occa- 

 sionally landscapes or architectural pieces were introduced; the 

 latter showing a considerable knowledge of perspective. 'The 

 figure pieces are designed after the manner of bas-reliefs each 

 figure being independent, without casting shadows one on another- 

 foreshortening was seldom attempted. Occasionally, in smaller 

 compartments, the medallions were brought out in 'white on an 

 azure ground. Each division or panel was surrounded by a border 

 ot elaborate or richly coloured arabesque, displaying an exuberant 

 and graceful fancy. It is difficult to assign an origin to this style 

 of decoration, whic-h the Romans called ropoqi-ap/,,,' or twig paint- 

 ing: the discovery of the antique frescoes lias quite contradicted 

 the idea that it was an invention of the Saracens, or peculiar to 

 Arabian architecture, as the name of arabesque would lead one to 

 suppose. The Romans relied more on the architecture and paint- 

 ing of their rooms, to produce a magnificent effect, than upon the 

 furniture which they contained; upliolstery work was almost 

 unknown, as internal decoration was then an art and not a trade. 



The art of glazing was evidentlv known at an early period as 

 a window of thick greenish glass set in lead, has been found in 

 1 ompeii; but this appears for some centuries after to have been 

 an unusual refinement, for A'opiscus mentions iilass windows as 

 amongst the luxuries of a wealthy merchant of the name of Fir- 

 mus, who lived in the reign of Aurelian: a kiml of thin stone is 

 described as generally used for windows, called hipi'.- .speeii/arh' 

 probably talc. Fire-pkices have occasionallv been found amongst 

 Koniaii remains; but the only chimney appears, in mo>t in»tances 

 to have belonged to the kitchen, tlie rest of the house being heated 

 with hot air. 



It is to be supposed that in the various climates through which 

 the Roman empire extended, some variations in the style of domes- 

 tic building would be found necessary; but none such are disco- 

 verable from existing remains. 



Of all the splendid palaces erected by the difi^erent emperors, 

 few vestiges are left. The Palace of the Cajsars is now only a 

 heap of ruins on the Palatine Hill. The Villa of Hadrian at TiColi 

 may yet be traced for a circuit of ten Italian miles; it contained 

 theatres, paliestrse, naumachia, therms, and every conceivable 

 kind of building for luxury and entertainment. In the library 

 were numerous niches occupied by the finest statues of Grecian 

 workmanship and a portico near wns built in imitation of tiie 

 Poecile of Athens. The ruins of this villa have proved an inex- 

 haustible mine from which the cabinets of Rome are still enriched 

 and some of the most beautiful antique frescoes have been found 

 here. 



The Domus Aurea, or golden house of Nero, so called from the ' 

 gilded tiles of its roof, was built on the borders of an artificial lake 

 between the Palatine and Esqiiiliue hills, and was surrounded by 



extensive pleasure gardens and porticoes. It is said that the 

 wings of the building were united by a gallery a mile in length. 

 In the interior the walls and ceilings were decorated with gold and 

 mother-of-pearl, or set with precious stones; the ceiling of the 

 great banqueting-hall was painted to resemble the firmament, and 

 so contrived as to have a rotatory motion, and to shower down per- 

 fumed water. When this palace was completed, Nero observed, 

 that he had now built a house fit for a gentleman. It did not long 

 remain a monument of his extravagance, for it was partially 

 destroyed by Vespasian, and the Coliseum built on its site. 



The only palace of the Roman emperors of which enough is left 

 standing to enable us to trace the plan, and to judge from actual 

 observation of its extent and magnificence, is that of the Emperor 

 Dioclesian at Spalatro; commenced a. d. 30.3. The building occu- 

 pied twelve years, and, together with the cultivation of his garden, 

 formed the principal amusement of the emperor during his retire- 

 ment. The plan of this palace is quadrangular, about 700 feet in 

 length by 600 feet in breadth; the walls were flanked by sixteen 

 towers; it was constructed of the beautiful freestone of Tragutium, 

 which is almost as fine in quality as marble: the outer walls are 

 7 feet in thickness. The building is intersected by two streets at 

 right angles; in the southernmost division were the private apart- 

 ments of the emperor, and two temples, the one dedicated to 

 Jupiter, the other to ji;sculapius, the deities presiding over fortune 

 and health. The former building is now the Duomo of the modern 

 town. It is vaulted, and about 78 feet in height; the dome is 

 constructed in brick-work, and consists of a succession of small 

 arches one oyer the other, something resembling scales; the roof 

 is covered with tiles, and a floral ornament surmounts the apex: 

 both the temples stood within a temenos. In the great peristyle 

 of the palace, the columns are of granite, and support arches 

 which spring direct from the capital, without any intervening 

 member. The building, though consisting of only one story, was 

 capable of lodging a prstorian cohort. The principal entrance is 

 yet standing, and is still known by the name of the golden gate; 

 over this is a flat arch, composed of indented stones fitting into 

 each other— the first departure from the plain wedge-shaped 

 voussoir. Amongst the decorations in this edifice are seen the 

 rope moulding, and the chevron or zigzag. It is diflicult to believe 

 some of the brackets to be of so early a date, so completely do 

 they anticipate the Christian art of after-centuries; especially 

 those supported by the winged head of a child, with the chevro'n 

 ornament round the mouldings. Few ruins are more interesting 

 than this, as so clearly showing the gradual transition of style. 



The country villas of the Romans were in a style of equal mag- 

 nificence with their town houses; tliey were divided into three 

 parts: first, the Prtftoi-iiim, or villa urbana, for the residence of 

 the master and his immediate attendants, consisting of the 

 atrienses or household servants, the topiarii or gardeners belonging 

 to the pleasure grounds, the musicians, and the notarius or secre- 

 tary. Secondly, the Filla Rustica, or farm department, where were 

 lodged the procurator or bailiff; the villicus and viUica, or husband- 

 man and housekeeper; tlie master of the cattle; the aviarius or 

 poulterer; and other persons employed on the farm. The third 

 division was called the Fnictiiaria,' consisl'mg of storehouses for 

 corn, oil, wine, fruit, iJtc. 



But as much of our information respecting these villas is derived 

 from the writings of Pliny, I cannot do better than make a few 

 extracts from his letter describing his villa at Laurentinuni. seven- 

 teen miles from Rome: — -'My villa, he writes," '-is large enough 

 to afford all desirable accommodation, without being extensive. 

 The porch before it is plain, but not mean; through which you 

 enter a portico in the form of the letter D, which includes a small 

 but agreeable area. Tliis afl'ords a very commodious retreat in 

 bad weather, not only as it is inclosed with windows, but jiarticu- 

 larly as it is sheltered by an extraordinary projection of roof. 

 From the middle of this portico, you pass into an inward court 

 extremely pleasant, and from thence into a handsome hall, which 

 runs out towards the sea; so that when there is a south-west wind, 

 it IS gently washed with the waves, which spend themselves at the 

 foot of it. On every side of this hall, there are either folding 



doors, or windows equally large On the left-hand side of this 



hall, somewhat farther from the sea, lies a large drawing-room, 

 and beyond that a second of smaller size, which has one window 



to the rising, and another to the setting sun The angle which 



the projection forms with this drawing-room, retains and'increases 

 the warmth of the sun; and hither my family retreat in winter to 



perform their exercises Contiguous to this is a room, forming 



tlie segment of a circle, the windows of which are so placed as to 

 receive the sun the wliole day; in the walls are coutuined a set of 



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