Roman house
The ancient Roman dwelling consisted of a quadrangular court (atrium) which was entered by the door of the house and which served as the common meeting place for the family. An opening (compluvium) to the sky provided light and served as a chimney and as an inlet for rain which fell into the impluvium, a tank sunk in the floor beneath. The tablinum served as the master’s office. In some homes a garden surrounded by side buildings and covered colonnades was added at the back of the house; it was called the peristylium and usually was entered through corridors (fauces) located near the tablinum. Great houses had a kind of entrance hall (vestibulum) raised above the street and approached by stairs. In the ordinary house, there was only an indication of one; the door led directly into the ostium, which opened directly into the atrium. In later Roman houses, a second story became usual. As the dining room was generally in the upper story, all the rooms in the upper story were called coenacula. There were three-story houses in Rome as early as the end of the Republic. (Harris, 1977)