Domus classicus.THE ROMAN HOUSE AND SOCIAL IDENTITY By Shelley Hales. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). . 2003. [pounds sterling]55 The Roman house enjoys enduring respect as an emblematic response to its environment, and the Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate is a climate that resembles the climate of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin. Outside the Mediterranean, this climate covers relatively small areas of the Earth, and generally occurs on the western coasts of continental landmasses, roughly between in particular. This book examines its principal manifestations, including the Pompeian atrium-and-peristyle format and the imperial residences on the Palatine hill prop. n. 1. One of the "seven hills" of Rome, situated southeast of the Capitoline and north-northeast of the Aventine. It borders on the Roman Forum; is the traditional seat of the city founded by Romulus; was the seat of private and later of imperial residences; and in Rome, along with less familiar material from as far afield as Silchester, Antioch and Volubilis (Morocco). This in itself is a welcome service (supported by due academic rigour rig·our n. Chiefly British Variant of rigor. rigour or US rigor Noun 1. and a fair repertoire of references and black and white illustrations), but Hales' main contribution concerns the domus as a social response, as a crucial means by which ancient propertied prop·er·tied adj. Owning land or securities as a principal source of revenue. Adj. 1. propertied - owning land or securities as a principal source of revenue property-owning classes defined their status, registered their adherence to conventional mores--their Romanitas and indulged in imaginative projections and personal fantasies. It is of course inevitable that homcowners express value systems through built form and its decoration. What made Roman homes specially telling social barometers was their public character. While today the rich and famous retreat to private havens only to be violated under tightly controlled conditions (perhaps via a lucrative showing at the safe remove of the pages of Hello), in the Roman world it was open house all year round. Besides being a residence, the domus was a business space, a place of display and a lobbying platform; every morning the paterfamilias received his clientes for the daily round of arrangements, tasks, errands, favours and gifts. He might then proceed to the forum or the basilica, but the shift was only one of scale, not of kind. As Cicero noted, 'my house ... is a forum', and with reference to one of his country homes, 'I own a basilica, not a villa, crowded with the (local) people'. Hales capably negotiates between the literature and the archaeology with its abundant legacy of wall decoration to engage a range of sub-themes: the affirmation of identity, the perpetuation of memory, the allure of exoticism ex·ot·i·cism n. The quality or condition of being exotic. exoticism the condition of being foreign, striking, or unusual in color and design. — exoticist, n. and the perennial tussle over the border between decorum DECORUM. Proper behaviour; good order. 2. Decorum is requisite in public places, in order to permit all persons to enjoy their rights; for example, decorum is indispensable in church, to enable those assembled, to worship. and 'un-Roman' luxury. Her main conclusions may not be revolutionary, but they are sound and well-argued. Book reviews from this and recent issues of The Architectural Review can now be seen on our website at www.arplus.com and the books can be ordered online, many at special discount. |
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