Date of Graduation

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

World Languages, Literatures and Cultures

Advisor/Mentor

Vennarucci, Rhodora

Committee Member/Reader

Vennarucci, Rhodora

Committee Member/Second Reader

Fredrick, David

Committee Member/Third Reader

Allen, Spencer

Committee Member/Fourth Reader

Rulli, Richard

Abstract

Previous scholarship has designated Roman gardens into otium or negotium designations; however, this research on Roman gardens suggests that these concepts often exist in the spaces simultaneously. To address this issue, I compiled catalogs of garden spaces identified at Regio I and Regio VI of Pompeii. This methodology cuts across traditional public and private or productive and aesthetic designations, which will allow me to draw connections between the gardens found in different types of settings. This new catalog methodology of Roman gardens presented in this thesis allows for an integrative analysis of garden spaces, which reveals that these commercial gardens have coinciding qualities and functions with private elite gardens.

This research challenges the assumption that non-domestic, commercial gardens only have qualities indicative of negotium. My research reflects that these gardens were combining elements of otium and negotium, which suggests that non-elite Romans used non-domestic, commercial gardens for otium just as elite members of society did in their own gardens. My work highlights that a new, inclusive, and multifunctional approach to commercial gardens is needed in order to consider the role they had in shaping the urban experiences of the non-elite class. This re-evaluation of non-domestic gardens in this thesis contributes to a more holistic understanding of the urban experience in Roman society by focusing on how the businesses used and democratized commercial gardens in Pompeii during the 1st c CE.

Keywords

Roman Gardens, Pompeii, Roman Art and Archaeology, Commercial, Non-Domestic, Shop-House, Service learning

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