Aristocratic Romans need not swelter on hot days, despite the humid funk of the Tiber in the summer. They had a variety of decadent solutions for living large during heat waves, and this one was the epitome of indoor-outdoor living…
It is a fantastic wrap around, trompe l’oeil fresco from a massive underground dining room with barrel vaulted ceilings, commissioned by none other than Livia, wife of Octavian/Augustus and first First Lady of the Roman Empire. The whole complex at Prima Porta (some 12 km outside of Rome) was a splash enterprise – built for this formidable woman and her extensive retinue to escape the city in the warmer months.
The fresco is a wonder, relocated from its subterranean context at Prima Porta and currently displayed in the Palazzo Massimo in Rome (one of my top 5 favorite museums in the world). It shows a lush garden scene, part wild, part tamed, and full of illusionistic detail at every turn with remarkable fidelity in depicting various species of flora and fauna.
Pompeian wall paintings provide a robust base from which to understand Roman wall painting of the 1st century B.C. until 79 A.D because of the sheer volume of well-preserved material and that fateful terminus ante quem. But when compared with this fresco, the comparative wealth and quality of artists available to the imperial family in metropolitan Rome becomes abundantly clear.
Any claustrophobia inspired by descending into a fully enclosed underground vault to recline and dine, would be countered by wonder at the flourishing garden brought inside.
