Las calles milenarias contemporáneas

Es increíble, pasearse por las calles de Pompeya, ver sus casas, sus locales comerciales, la panadería, el prostíbulo y el anfiteatro donde tocó Pink Floyd hace unas cuantas decadas, y darte cuenta cómo el ambiente milenario y escombroso, te trasmite un aire de contemporaneidad que no logras aceptar o entender. Pero es que sucede que nuestra actualidad, no es más que la secuencia espontánea de miles de historias y siglos, en la que cabe destacar a la Antigua Roma y luego al Imperio Romano como una de las más importantes influencias en la civilización occidental. Para hablar sobre la casa y los hábitos, me gusta la idea de empezar por el domus romano.

Texto de DOMUS by Wikipedia

Fotografía por Rosana Fernández / Texto sobre DOMUS por Wikipedia.

A domus was the form of house that wealthy and some middle class families owned in ancient Rome and could be found in almost all the major cities of the Roman Empire. The poor and many middle class Romans were housed in crowded apartment blocks, known as insulae, while the country houses of the wealthy were known as villas. The domus included multiple rooms, and an indoor courtyard and garden, it was elaborately and beautifully laid out. The vestibulum (entrance hall) led into a large courtyard: the atrium, which was the focal point of the domus and contained an altar to the household gods. Leading off the Atrium were cubicula (bedrooms), a dining room triclinium where guests could lie on couches and eat dinner whilst reclining, a tablinum (living room or study) and tabernae (shops on the outside, facing the street).