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Formal gardens had existed in Egypt as early as 2800 BC. At the time of the
18th dynasty of Egypt, gardening techniques, used to beautify the homes of the
wealthy, were fully developed. Porticos (porches) served to connect the home
with the outdoors, creating outdoor living spaces.
Later, the different influences of Egyptian, Persian, and Greek gardens became a part of Roman horticulture, producing villa and
palatial pleasure gardens,[3] along with public parks and gardens meant for enjoyment or to exercise in. No type of garden was
specifically reserved for wealthy Romans; all a civilian needed was to have their own land or home. Excavations in Pompeii show
that gardens attached to residences were scaled down to meet the space constraints of the home of the average Roman.
Horace wrote that during his time, flower gardens became a national indulgence.[4] Augustus constructed the Porticus Liviae, a
public garden on the Oppian Hill in Rome. Outside Rome, gardens tended to proliferate at centers of wealth. Modified versions of
Roman garden designs were adopted in Roman settlements inAfrica, Gaul and Britannia. As townhouses were replaced by tall insula
(apartment buildings), these urban gardens were replaced bywindow boxes or roof gardens.[5]
Domus (townhouse)—This free-standing structure was usually one story, containing multiple rooms for everyday activities and an
atrium toward the front of the house to collect rainwater and illuminate the area surrounding it. Toward the back of the house was
often a hortus or peristylium (an open courtyard).[7]
Villa rustica (farmhouse)—A large farmhouse used when thelandowner came to visit.[8]
Villa urbana (suburban townhouse)—These villas were where Roman citizens would go on holiday excursion or would stop and rest
at night when traveling.[8]
Villa suburbana (country house)—A Roman take on the country home, used specifically for recreational use.
Non-residential gardens—These would be the public parks, pleasure gardens, temple gardens, tombs, etc.
Elements of a garden
All Roman gardens were generally made up of the same basic elements. Depending on the style or type of garden, elements may be
added or embellished more, or may be omitted altogether.[6] Even though an atrium is found inside the house, it is considered part of
the garden because it is the opening that would allow Romans to collect rain water used to irrigate the plants and gardens located on
the property.
Pleasure gardens would incorporate different designs according to the taste of their builders. All gardens of this type have the same
basic parts to them: a patio at the entrance, a terrace, an orchard or vineyard, several water features, a kitchen garden, shrines or
grottoes and other decorations that would personalize the garden tour. The patio would normally be decorated with outside garden
furniture, a water basin or fountain, and be the starting point of a walk that would show fofall the features of the garden.[3]
Peristyle—from a Greek word, where "peri" means "around" and "style" means "column"—denotes a type of open courtyard,[9]
which is surrounded by walls of columns supporting aportico (porch).[10]
The xystus (garden walk or terrace) was a core element of Roman gardens. The xystus often overlooked a lower garden, or
ambulation. The ambulation bordered a variety of flowers, trees, and other foliage, and it served as an ideal place for a leisurely stroll
after a meal, conversation, or other recreational activities.
The gestation was a shaded avenue where the master of the house could ride horseback or be carried by his slaves. It generally
encircled the ambulation or was constructed as a separate oval-shaped space. Paths or walkways were often constructed through the
garden. These were made with loose stone, gravel, sand, or packed earth. Gardens featured many ornamental objects, from sculpture
to frescoes to sundials. These depicted nature scenes or were put in place as a shrine (aedicula) to the gods or otherworldly
creatures.[11]
The plants that were grown ranged from flowering plants to herbs and vegetables for everyday use, as well as trees. The most popular
plants found in a typical Roman family's garden were roses, cypress, rosemary, and mulberry trees. Also possibly included were a
variety of dwarf trees, tall trees, marigolds,hyacinths, narcissi, violets, saffron, cassia, and thyme.[3]
Legacy
Roman garden designs led to the Italian garden, elements of which were adopted by Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, and even
20th century landscape architects.
See also
Gardens of Sallust
Giardino all'italiana
Landscape design history
Roman Agriculture
References
1. Semple, Ellen Churchill (1929-01-01)."Ancient Mediterranean Pleasure Gardens"(https://www.jstor.org/stable/20914
9). Geographical Review. 19 (3): 435. doi:10.2307/209149 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F209149).
2. Semple, Ellen Churchill (1929-01-01)."Ancient Mediterranean Pleasure Gardens"(https://www.jstor.org/stable/20914
9). Geographical Review. 19 (3): 431. doi:10.2307/209149 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F209149).
3. "Elements of a Roman-Style Pleasure Garden | Italy"(http://www.lifeinitaly.com/garden/roman-garden.asp).
www.lifeinitaly.com. Retrieved 2015-11-11.
4. Semple, Ellen Churchill (1929-01-01)."Ancient Mediterranean Pleasure Gardens"(https://www.jstor.org/stable/20914
9). Geographical Review. 19 (3): 436. doi:10.2307/209149 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F209149).
5. "ancient roman homes, houses, villas and apartments"(http://www.mariamilani.com/ancient_Rome/ancient_roman_h
omes.htm). www.mariamilani.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
6. Turner, Tom. Garden History Reference Encyclopedia: Historic books etc on garden design and landscape
architecture (https://books.google.com/books?id=2q98CAAAQBAJ) . Gardenvisit.com.
7. "Peristylium" (http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/garden.html). www.vroma.org. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
8. "The Classics Pages: Antony Kamm's 'The Romans': 6.4 Domestic architecture"
(http://www.the-romans.co.uk/dome
stic_architecture.htm). www.the-romans.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-11-12.
9. "The Roman House" (http://www.roman-empire.net/society/soc-house.html). www.roman-empire.net. Retrieved
2016-12-08.
10. "What is a Peristyle? Definition of a Peristyle – Quatr
.us" (http://quatr.us/greeks/architecture/peristyle.htm). quatr.us.
Retrieved 2015-11-12.
11. "LacusCurtius • The Greek and Roman Garden (Smith's Dictionary
, 1875)" (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/R
oman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Hortus.html). penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
Further reading
Bowe, Patrick (2004). Gardens of the Roman World. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum.ISBN 0-89236-740-7.
Ciarallo, Annamaria. Gardens of Pompeii. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2001.
Gagarin, Michael, and Elaine Fantham. "Gardens."The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Vol. 7.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010. 271–76. Print.
Giesecke, Annette and Naomi Jacobs.Earth Perfect? : Nature, Utopia and the Garden.London: Black Dog Pub.,
2012.
Henderson, John (2004).Roman Book of Gardening. New York: Routlage.
Jones, F. M. A. "Roman Gardens, Imagination, and Cognitive Structure."Mnemosyne, vol. 67, no. 5, Dec. 2014, pp.
781-812.
MacDougall, Elisabeth Blair and Wilhelmina .FJashemski, eds. (1981).Ancient Roman Gardens (Dumbarton Oaks
Colloquium on the History of Landscape Architecture, VII)
. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and
Collection.
MacDougall, Elisabeth B.Ancient Roman Villa Gardens. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and
Collection, 1987. 200-06. Print.
Spencer, Diana. Roman Landscape: Culture and Identity . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010.
von Stackelberg, Katharine T. The Roman Garden: Space, Sense, and Society . London: Routledge, 2009.
Turner, Tom, and Marie Luise Schroeter Gothein. "Ancient Rome." Garden History Reference Encyclopedia. London:
Gardenvisit. Com, 2004. N. pag. Print.
External links
Marie-Luise Gothein on the gardens of the Roman world
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