What is an ALA in a Roman house?

The open rooms on each side of the atrium were called alae (alae are the plural of ala, the word ala means ‘wing’). Their use is largely unknown today. However, with the introduction of the open roof above the atrium and the general abandoning of windows in the Roman house, the alae became largely obsolete.

What were the two types of Roman homes called?

Housing in Rome was primarily of two types. The vast majority of common Roman citizens or people from lower sections of society lived in apartment complexes called ‘Insulae’ and the rich and influential Romans resided in large and luxurious complexes called ‘Domus’.

What are the two types of Roman villas?

According to Pliny the Elder, there were two kinds of villas: the villa urbana, which was a country seat that could easily be reached from Rome (or another city) for a night or two, and the villa rustica, the farm-house estate permanently occupied by the servants who had charge generally of the estate.

What is a cavalry Ala?

See also: Ala (Roman cavalry unit) An Ala (Latin for “wing”, plural form: alae) was the term used during the mid- Roman Republic (338-88 BC) to denote a military formation composed of conscripts from the socii, Rome’s Italian military allies.

How many men are in Ala?

Alae were divided into turmae (squadrons) of 30 (or 32) men, each under a decurio (literally: “leader of ten”).

What did Roman homes look like?

They were single-storey houses which were built around a courtyard known as an atrium. Atriums had rooms opening up off of them and they had no roofs. A rich Roman house had many rooms including kitchen, bath, dining, bedrooms and rooms for slaves.

How many rooms are in a Roman villa?

They often only contained one or two rooms. There was no running water. How did the Romans get their running water? Lead pipes brought water to the rich people houses.

What are the three major parts of a Roman villa?

The villa-complex consisted of three parts:

  • the pars urbana where the owner and his family lived. This would be similar to the wealthy-person’s in the city and would have painted walls.
  • the pars rustica where the chef and slaves of the villa worked and lived.
  • the villa fructuaria would be the storage rooms.