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While the atrium and tablinium appear,
both in the roots of their names and their functions, to be
Roman in design, the peristylium appears to be
directly influenced by Greek architecture, and its name
is Greek in origin. As the atrium was the focus of
the front part of the Roman house, rooms in the back part were
grouped around the peristylium.
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, in his book, De
Architectura, gives the dimensions of the
peristylium: "The cloister (peristylium) is
transversely one third part longer than across. The columns
are to be as high as the width of the portico; and the
intercolumniations of the peristylia are not to be
less than three nor more than four diameters of the columns.
But if the columns of a peristylium are of the Doric
order, modules are taken, and the triglyphs arranged thereby,
as described in the fourth book."
Simililar to the atrium, the peristylium
was open to the elements, but rainfall watered the garden
plantings instead of falling into a pool or
impluvium. The gardens might be decorated with
statues, frescoes and an elaborate fountain, or
piscina.
Several rooms opened into the colonnades surrounding the
peristylium, including triclinia,
cubiculae, pantries, store-rooms, and an
oecus, which served as a second tablinium or
state-room.
References: Handbook to
Life in Ancient Rome, Lesley Adkins
and Roy A. Adkins (Oxford University Press, 1998); The
Romans, their Life and Customs , E. Guhl and W. Korner,
Senate Press, 1994
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