The Peristyle Garden

        In many of the Roman villa they commonly had a peristyle in their house layouts. Striving from the Greeks the peristyle means an open space with a garden surrounded by colonnades. (Sibelius, 15.) This became a common concept in the ancient Pompeii villas. An excellent example is the House of Vettii or the Villa of Diomede, with its opulent garden in the middle of the complex. Each at different levels of detail, whether it be the central feature of the garden or the types of plants that were planted. Many of the plants that are in the garden vary between shrubs and plants. Especially in the Villa of Diomede you can see the variety from Palm trees to the flowering shrubs of the Oleander. There is also a grand water feature/ pool in the centre. Fun fact the garden at this site is the most evocative area (Archaeological Park of Pompeii.) 

Figure 1: Section of the peristyle at the House of Vettii (Pompeii) (photo by author) 

Figure 2: Ground view of the garden at Villa of Diomede (photo by author)

Figure 3: Plan view of the garden of the Villa of Diomede (photo by author)

        Many of the gardens would include art with sculptures and wall paintings (frescos) and also to what I mentioned other features like pools and fountains (Sibelius.) Many of the fresco that are around the gardens depict scenes of their surroundings. The fresco would be painted in second Pompeian style, meaning that it would be an image of an actual scene in real life. It would project scenes of nature and lounging gods and goddesses. Many of the colours used would be cool tones such as green and blue. In saying that there would be pops of color, especially red to showcase the roses or other various flowers. Many of the gardens in homes were cared for by the slaves of the home. They would also have gardens that assisted the kitchen, producing herbs and vegetables. The shapes that the gardens were placed in made it so that it followed a rectangle. The gardens would be groomed into well-trimmed hedges. These immaculate gardens provided a place for the people living there to have relaxation while they walk, eat, drank, and visited on the daily. 

References: 

Simelius, Samuli. Pompeian peristyle gardens. Taylor & Francis, 2022.

Parco archeologico di Pompei. 2024. “Villa of Diomede - Pompeii Sites.” Pompeii Sites. March 28, 2024.             https://pompeiisites.org/en/archaeological-site/villa-of-diomede/.