Like Ancient Greek city states, early Roman Empire settlements were surrounded by horti - pleasure gardens - that evolved from the hortus or vegetable garden into architectural statements and extensive parks. The Romans both introduced and absorbed the skills of their expanding empire, not least Hellenistic architecture and statues, and Egyptian horticultural practice. Written evidence, ranging from the practical to the poetic and epic, has survived from Pliny the Elder and his nephew Pliny the Younger, Varro, Columella, Dioscorides as well as Homer, Horace, Virgi and the ‘father of physic and prince of physicians’ Hippocrates, not forgetting the great cook Apicius. These accounts reveal how important real and imaginary gardens were to designs of both the villa urbana and villa rustica. Archaeology has provided a wealth of design and usage evidence: cloisters and cryptoporticus, terraces and statuary, water features and hydraulics as well as plantings.
This course will examine several sites to compare status, design and usage, and read the symbolism in mosaics and frescoes. The artistry in the latter provides insights into the contemporary and idealised campagna where mortals mix with the gods and heroes. They are also useful in identifying plants that were grown. Two key sites will be the Villa Adriana in Tivoli and England’s Fishbourne Roman Palace which evidence central and local power play respectively. In contrast, the commercial streets and varied dwellings found in Pompeii lack the elegance of Herculaneum, but both are witness to middle-class life. Statuary ranged from authentic Greek marble works of art to clumsy terracotta animals, carefully chosen and placed to symbolise links to myths or bringers of good fortune. One session will be spent in the Museum of Classical Archaeology identifying the role of the Olympian Pantheon and their acolytes. Small shrines often took the form of water features built for the household gods or lares. Plants and tools were exchanged across the Empire as was ingenuous technology. Lastly we will discuss how and where the Roman garden legacy survived across the centuries to the present day.
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