Roman gardens and ornamental horticulture became highly developed under Roman civilization, and thrived from 150 BC to 350 AD. [1] The Gardens of Lucullus (Horti Lucullani), on the Pincian Hill in Rome, introduced the Persian garden to Europe around 60 BC. It was seen as a place of peace and tranquillity, a refuge from urban life, and a place filled with religious and symbolic meaning. As Roman culture developed and became increasingly influenced by foreign civilizations, the use of gardens expanded.
The Roman garden's history, function, and style is investigated through archaeological and archaeobotanical research, famously conducted at Pompeii, literary sources, and wall paintings and mosaics in homes. [2]
Roman gardening was influenced by Egyptian and Persian gardening techniques, through acquaintance with Greek gardening. The gardens of Ancient Persia were organized around rills, known from Pasargadae and other sites. Although archaeological evidence of rills have yet to be found in classical Greek gardens, scholars believe that the Romans learned this technique from the Greeks. [3]
Persian gardens developed in response to the arid climate. Gardens were enclosed to gather winter warmth, protect them from drying winds, and differentiate them from the barren and glaring Persian terrain. The soil was cultivated to became rich and fertile. When Alexander the Great conquered parts of Western Asia, he brought back with him new varieties of fruits and plants that prompted a renewed interest in horticulture. [4] 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. Even before Alexander, Cimon of Athens is said to have torn down the walls of his garden to transform it into a public space. [5]
Roman pleasure gardens were adapted from the Grecian model, where such a garden also served the purpose of growing fruit, but while Greeks had "sacred grove" style gardens, they did not have much in the way of domestic gardens to influence the peristyle gardens of Roman homes. Open peristyle courts were designed to connect homes to the outdoors. Athens did not adopt the Roman style that was used to beautify temple groves and create recreational spaces in the less traditional Grecian cities of Sparta, Corinth and Patras, which adopted the Western peristyle domestic gardens. [6]
Roman gardens were built to suit a range of activities. Initially, lower class Romans used kitchen gardens as a source of food to provide for their families and mainly grew herbs and vegetables. [7] In Ancient Latium, a garden was a part of every farm. According to Cato the Elder, in his text De agri cultura every garden should be close to the house and should have flower beds and ornamental trees.
Later, the different influences of Egyptian, Persian, and Greek gardens became a part of Roman horticulture, producing villa and palatial pleasure gardens, [8] 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. [9] 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 in Africa, Gaul and Britannia.
Gardens were usually built in one of six structures:
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.[ citation needed ] Toward the back of the house was often a hortus (garden) or peristylium (an open courtyard). These gardens are common in urban dwellings, such as those within the walls of Pompeii. [10]
The Roman villa was typically a country house for wealthy people, that was accessible from the city, and served as a retreat from urban living. Villas and their gardens are categorized by location: maritime, suburban, and country villas being the most common kinds. [11] A notable example is the maritime villa at Laurentum, which Pliny the Younger describes at length in his letters. [12] Villa gardens were lavishly decorated, and could include private spaces for exercise, known as gymnasiums, and larger open areas for hunting game. [13]
A villa rustica was a villa set in the countryside, often the hub of a large agricultural estate. Gardens at these sites were planted at a large scale, and often are found with processing equipment, suggesting that the Villas were producing goods for profit. These gardens could be technologically complex, incorporating irrigation, grafts, and cross pollination. [13] Notable examples include Villa Boscoreale in Herculaneum, where extensive pollen analysis has been conducted to identify the flora cultivated. [14]
Reserved for imperial families alone, very large and extravagant. Imperial gardens could be constructed in various places. [15] Palace gardens, in cities were transformed as power shifted from one ruling family to another, while imperial villa gardens were largely the same as a typical country villa, though more elaborate. [16]
A non-residential garden refers to a garden either planted and maintained for public use, or one dedicated to the people after the death of the owner. These consisted of temple gardens, sacred groves–collections of trees established in honor of a specific deity, parks, etc. [17] Non-residential gardens were constructed and dedicated to the people by the elite, and attached to other buildings or monuments constructed for public use, such as theaters or baths, in a practice commonly referred to as euergetism. [18] Additionally, commercial gardens, that typically specialized in growing produce or flowers, also fall into this category. [19]
Roman gardens are typically divided into two categories: the enclosed garden and the open garden. [13] However, all Roman gardens were generally made up of the same basic elements. Depending on the formality, function, or type of garden, elements may be added or embellished more, or may be omitted altogether.
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, pergolas, shrines, nymphaea , and other garden features that would personalize the garden, such as statues. [20] 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 off all the features of the garden.
Peristyle – from a Greek word, where "peri" means "around" and "style" means "column" – denotes a type of open courtyard, which is surrounded by walls of columns supporting a portico (porch).
Terrace gardens were constructed when a hilly landscape made it difficult to enjoy a typical garden layout. These gardens consisted of stepped levels, often designed to contrast the other levels. [21]
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. [22]
Even though an atrium is found inside the house, it is considered part of the garden because it has an opening that would allow Romans to collect rain water, known as an impluvium. [23]
The garden walls had both aesthetic and practical value. Walls were decorated with statues, paintings, and design elements to enhance the theming of the garden. [24] More practical gardens, such as the shop garden at Pompeii excavated by Wilhelmina Jashemski, contained fragments of pottery embedded into the perimeter walls, to prevent vandalism and theft. [22]
The plants that were grown ranged from flowering plants to herbs and vegetables for everyday culinary and medicinal use, as well as trees. Types of plants in Roman gardens can be determined from historical sources, wall frescoes depicting garden scenes, as well as pollen and root cavity analysis. Romans cultivated both local and imported plant species. [25] The most popular plants found in a typical Roman family's garden were pine trees, roses, cypress, rosemary, and mulberry trees.[ citation needed ] Also possibly included were a variety of dwarf trees, often pruned for ornamental purposes, [26] tall trees, marigolds, hyacinths, narcissi, violets, saffron, cassia, and thyme.[ citation needed ] The types of plants in a specific garden often depended on the purpose, location, and scale of the garden, but were commonly planted in size order, with the smaller plants at towards the front of the bed, and the larger at the back. [25]
A variety of flowers would have been found in a Roman garden. Rose, violet, geranium, and buttercup pollen samples have been uncovered at garden sites, and lilies, irises, daisies, and other common flowers feature prominently in garden frescoes. [27] [28] Large scale, commercial flower gardens have also been excavated, such as the Garden of Hercules at Pompeii. [19] Flowers and other plants such as parsley were cultivated for aesthetic purposes, as well as to be used in perfume or ceremonial garlands. [19] [29]
Trees were used to provide shade, structural support for vining plants, [22] as well as harvested for fruit. More elaborate gardens could also include more formally planned orchards, while more simple gardens would intersperse trees amongst the other plants[ citation needed ]. Common tree varieties in Roman gardens included olive, chestnut, cypress, pine, almond, and mulberry trees, as well as imported citrus trees. [30] [29] [31] Pliny the Elder writes, in the Natural History, that certain trees were planted in honor of various gods. [32]
Herbs were a common feature of a Roman kitchen garden, cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes. Species such as garlic, basil, coriander, dill, parsley, rosemary, onion, and mustard were grown across the Empire, as far as Britain. [33]
Vining plants were often planted in terracotta pots and trained to grow up garden structures for decoration and shade. [28] Grapes were frequently interspersed throughout the garden. A villa rustica, for example, might additionally contain equipment for processing grapes into wine. Additional vining plants found in gardens include bean varieties, as well as vining flowers. [22] Additionally, ivy, native to the area, has been found in gardens. [25]
The common practices and elements of Roman gardens spread alongside the Roman Empire itself, simultaneously influencing and being influenced by the conquered territories. The garden design was typically altered to match the climate of its new setting. [34] Much of the influence of the Roman garden on later eras passes through the gardening practices of the Byzantine Empire. This preserved version of Roman garden designs led to the Italian garden, elements of which were adopted by Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, and even 20th century landscape architects. Further, gardening implements and technologies in Italy are very similar: modern Italian gardens feature interplanting of various species, and the use of terracotta pots. [2]
The cuisine of ancient Rome changed greatly over the duration of the civilization's existence. Dietary habits were affected by the political changes from kingdom to republic to empire, and Roman trading with foreigners along with the empire's enormous expansion exposed Romans to many new foods, provincial culinary habits and cooking methods.
The early history of gardening is largely entangled with the history of agriculture, with gardens that were mainly ornamental generally the preserve of the elite until quite recent times. Smaller gardens generally had being a kitchen garden as their first priority, as is still often the case.
In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön is a rarely used archaic term for this feature. The peristyle in a Greek temple is a peristasis. In the Christian ecclesiastical architecture that developed from the Roman basilica, a courtyard peristyle and its garden came to be known as a cloister.
The Villa of the Papyri was an ancient Roman villa in Herculaneum, in what is now Ercolano, southern Italy. It is named after its unique library of papyri scrolls, discovered in 1750. The Villa was considered to be one of the most luxurious houses in all of Herculaneum and in the Roman world. Its luxury is shown by its exquisite architecture and by the large number of outstanding works of art discovered, including frescoes, bronzes and marble sculpture which constitute the largest collection of Greek and Roman sculptures ever discovered in a single context.
Nerium oleander, commonly known as oleander or rosebay, is a shrub or small tree cultivated worldwide in temperate and subtropical areas as an ornamental and landscaping plant. It is the only species currently classified in the genus Nerium, belonging to subfamily Apocynoideae of the dogbane family Apocynaceae. It is so widely cultivated that no precise region of origin has been identified, though it is usually associated with the Mediterranean Basin.
A nymphaeum or nymphaion, in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs.
A distinction is made between Greek gardens, made in ancient Greece, and Hellenistic gardens, made under the influence of Greek culture in late classical times. Little is known about either.
The Getty Villa is an educational center and art museum located at the easterly end of the Malibu coast in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. One of two campuses of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Villa is dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The collection has 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD, including the Lansdowne Heracles and the Victorious Youth. The UCLA/Getty Master's Program in Archaeological and Ethnographic Conservation is housed on this campus.
The Villa Poppaea is an ancient luxurious Roman seaside villa located in Torre Annunziata between Naples and Sorrento, in Southern Italy. It is also called the Villa Oplontis or Oplontis Villa A as it was situated in the ancient Roman town of Oplontis.
Wilhelmina Mary Feemster Jashemski was an American scholar of the ancient site of Pompeii, where her archaeological investigations focused on the evidence of gardens and horticulture in the ancient city. She is remembered for her contributions to archaeobotany at Pompeiian sites, as she developed methods for preserving the remains of roots from antiquity, known as root casting.
The House of the Tragic Poet is a Roman house in Pompeii, Italy dating to the 2nd century BCE. The house is famous for its elaborate mosaic floors and frescoes depicting scenes from Greek mythology.
The House of Loreius Tiburtinus is renowned for well-preserved art, mainly in wall-paintings as well as its large gardens.
Villa Boscoreale is a name given to any of several Roman villas discovered in the district of Boscoreale, Italy. They were all buried and preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, along with Pompeii and Herculaneum. The only one visible in situ today is the Villa Regina, the others being reburied soon after their discovery. Although these villas can be classified as "rustic" rather than of otium due to their agricultural sections and sometimes lack of the most luxurious amenities, they were often embellished with extremely luxurious decorations such as frescoes, testifying to the wealth of the owners. Among the most important finds are the exquisite frescoes from the Villa of Publius Fannius Synistor and the sumptuous Boscoreale Treasure of the Villa della Pisanella, which is now displayed in several major museums.
Pompeii was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and many surrounding villas, the city was buried under 4 to 6 m of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Stabiae was an ancient city situated near the modern town of Castellammare di Stabia and approximately 4.5 km southwest of Pompeii. Like Pompeii, and being only 16 km (9.9 mi) from Mount Vesuvius, it was largely buried by tephra ash in the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in this case at a shallower depth of up to 5 m.
Herculaneum is an ancient Roman town located in the modern-day comune of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under a massive pyroclastic flow in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
The House of the Centenary was the house of a wealthy resident of Pompeii, preserved by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The house was discovered in 1879, and was given its modern name to mark the 18th centenary of the disaster. Built in the mid-2nd century BC, it is among the largest houses in the city, with private baths, a nymphaeum, a fish pond (piscina), and two atria. The Centenary underwent a remodeling around 15 AD, at which time the bath complex and swimming pool were added. In the last years before the eruption, several rooms had been extensively redecorated with a number of paintings.
Foodscaping is a modern term for integrating edible plants into ornamental landscapes. It is also referred to as edible landscaping and has been described as a crossbreed between landscaping and farming. As an ideology, foodscaping aims to show that edible plants are not only consumable but can also be appreciated for their aesthetic qualities. Foodscaping spaces are seen as multi-functional landscapes that are visually attractive and also provide edible returns. Foodscaping is a method of providing fresh food affordably and sustainably.
The Pompeii Lakshmi is an ivory statuette that was discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, a Roman city destroyed in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius 79 CE. It was found by Amedeo Maiuri, an Italian scholar, in 1938. The statuette has been dated to the first-century CE. The statuette is thought of as representing an Indian goddess of feminine beauty and fertility. It is possible that the sculpture originally formed the handle of a mirror. The yakshi is evidence of commercial trade between India and Rome in the first century CE.
Several non-native societies had an influence on Ancient Pompeian culture. Historians’ interpretation of artefacts, preserved by the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79, identify that such foreign influences came largely from Greek and Hellenistic cultures of the Eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt. Greek influences were transmitted to Pompeii via the Greek colonies in Magna Graecia, which were formed in the 8th century BC. Hellenistic influences originated from Roman commerce, and later conquest of Egypt from the 2nd century BC.