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Development of Roman gardens (horti) was greatly influenced by Greek culture. The impact of the Greek style was first due to the gardens of Magna Graecia and Sicily. Then the East began to play a role, along with conquests and numerous contacts. Territorial gains under the Republic led to the accumulation of wealth in the hands of an influential elite who developed their great estates, including gardens.
Romans took from the conquered nations (Greeks, Sicilians or Egyptians) gardening techniques and the skills of setting up gardens. It is worth noting that these acquired skills perfectly complemented the traditional agricultural approach to life of the Romans.
The greatest bloom of vegetation, both at home and in public space, can be noted during the reign of the emperor Octavian Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE). At that time, the importance and role of Roman garden assumptions were consolidated. These assumptions manifest themselves in private life, associated with residential houses and villas outside the city, as well as in public life: temples, and public places for education and recreation.
A great source of information about Roman gardening is the remains of the city of Pompeii, which was destroyed and “preserved” for centuries as a result of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE. Quite an important help in discovering the assumptions of Roman gardening is wall paintings and mosaics. A large portion of information about Roman gardens was also left by the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder in his work “Natural History”. Thanks to this position, we know, for example, that in Roman times the plane tree was especially worshipped when planting public locations. Also valued were pine, cypress, laurel and myrtle (its leaves were used for wreaths). Mention is also made of boxwood, oleander and many varieties of roses. Among the flowers, the following were popular: irises, hyacinths, violets, narcissi, anemones, poppies, crocuses, verbena, evening flowers, and ferns. Most of the plants bloomed in the spring, due to the hot climate of Italy. Of the green plants, it is worth mentioning ivy and periwinkle.
What made Roman gardens stand out?
Roman gardens were characterized by a love of the landscape surrounding vast residences. The main inspiration was the religious cult of nature – a world inhabited by deities and filled with their statues. Tombs, chapels and sanctuaries were located in the gardens.
The set of plants consisted of: platon, poplar, oak, date palm, Spanish pines, cypresses, hornbeams, mimosa, acacia, citrus, laurel, fig, rhododendron, juniper, vine, boxwood and myrtle trees. Some of them were cut, giving them the most sophisticated shapes. Flowers of anemones, lion horses and carnations were planted in abundance. Hydraulic devices played a large role – in addition to numerous channels, water began to be used to move automatons. Pliny the Younger had water organs in his gardens.
Private gardens
The gardens were closely related to the peristyle and atrium of the dwelling house. It was in Pompeii that a number of houses were discovered that took into account such a spatial arrangement. The garden is enclosed in architectural frames of walls and colonnades, which constitute a compositional whole. A typical Roman dwelling house has an atrium – a small rectangular square, usually with a swimming pool (impluvium) in the centre – which is surrounded by living rooms. These rooms are well-lit and have access to an outdoor space. Opposite the street entrance, the middle room behind the atrium (the tablinum) was used as a guest and social room. Behind it was a small, fenced garden with ornamental, medicinal and spice plants grown for personal use.
Along with the larger dimensions of the house, the garden, which was surrounded by a colonnade, grew in size – thus it was transformed into a peristyle. It is worth mentioning that the rich Romans allowed themselves as many as three open spaces: the atrium, the garden and the peristyle. They had different functions, locations and sizes, and in practice, such a house plan can be found in Pompeii (Pansa’s house). The individual elements of the building are arranged in a particular chronology: from the entrance from the street, a small vestibule leads to the atrium, from which you can get to the garden peristyle, behind which we found the proper garden. Each successive square was separated by passage rooms. The atrium was separated from the peristyle by the aforementioned tablinum, which marked the boundary between the social and intimate spheres of the apartment. Between the peristyle and the cultivated garden, there was a room like a living room open to the garden, accentuated from the garden side by a portico or sometimes an exedra.
The atrium contains the fewest garden elements. It was a