Prehistoric Periods- Rome

 Today, people with higher income generally own their own homes and families who do not make as much money tend to rent out apartments for shelter.  In Rome in the past, the higher class people would live in a  domus which was a private townhouse. If not a domus, for shelter a villa was desired which was a country house. If you were not fortunate enough to have either of these, you were more than likely to reside in a insula which was a block of buildings surrounded by streets and can be compared to apartments that serve as residential quarters today.


domus





insulacurrent apartments

 

Characteristics of an insula include 5-6 stories with balconies above the first floor. We can see this in almost every apartment complex that exists today. What differed from today's apartments and the insula were the poor light, no plumbing, dangerous conditions, and the fact that higher the level, worse the conditions. At an insula, there were shops on the ground floor, We can see this similarity in some of the apartments on campus here at ISU. The Flats apartments hold numerous businesses on their ground level.  A domus on the other hand, held private rooms much like a house. Although, there was a blank wall on the exterior or shops.