House Garden 
the Vatican Gardens is a fair 
counterpart of a small Roman 
villa of the olden time. In all 
these villas, the first essential 
seems to have been the selec¬ 
tion of a sloping site, capable 
of being terraced, so that from 
each successive platform there 
might be an uninterrupted 
prospect of distant hills, green 
plains or blue water. The 
second essential was a stream 
of water, for everywhere the 
Roman demanded the sooth¬ 
ing splash and ripple, the cool¬ 
ing presence of fountains and 
cascades. The third essential 
was an abundance of shaded 
and sheltered promenades, 
screened from the sharper 
winds or exposed to the more 
ROMAN HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS OF SILVER 
In the National Museum at Naples 
refreshing breezes; and 
for this purpose colon¬ 
nades, pergolas, arbors 
and porticoes were pro¬ 
vided with lavish hand. 
The famous letter of 
Pliny the Younger to 
Gallus, describing the 
Laurentine villa, is full 
of references to the 
varied provision made 
for every sort of ex¬ 
posure and shelter, to 
secure or to avoid at will 
the effects of sun, sea- 
breeze, land-breeze, 
shadow, heat and cold, 
according to the season 
and the momentary in- 
clinationof theoccupant. 
A well equipped 
Roman villa was there¬ 
fore an extensive affair. 
The buildings, for the 
most part of a single 
story, covered a wide 
area, sometimes includ¬ 
ing several terraces. In 
general they comprised 
three fairly distinct por¬ 
tions—the public, the 
private and the domestic 
REMNANT OF A MARBLE TABLE IN THE HOUSE OF 
CORNELIUS RUFUS AT POMPEII 
5 
