Banqueting among the fishes. Halls and fishponds in Roman maritime villas

In the private dimension of ancient Roman élite, the organisation and living of the domestic space were of central importance. The favourite places of the rich urban dwellings and villas included triclinia, oeci and cenationes, which are fundamental elements for understanding the way convivial moments were conceived. Numerous narratives and descriptions that reached us through ancient sources, and, even more so, archaeological remains, either in their entirety or through reconstruction, show us the architectures that hosted banquets and feasts. These rooms constitute a particular example of the organisation and significance of space in the luxurious maritime villas that began to appear on the coast of the ancient Italic regions of Latium, Campania and Etruria from the 1st century B.C. In numerous examples, the relationship between villa and landscape is one of the main challenges for the conception of living spaces for the owner and his guests. Triclinia, oeci and cenationes became the architectural elements that unite the domestic dimension with the landscape and the man-shaped surrounding nature. These rooms were built not only in function of sea view but also in close relation to the piscinae; these outdoor fish-breeding ponds are, in fact, an admixture between the architecture and the natural landscape. The use of banqueting in closed or semi-open structures, surrounded by sea and fishponds, is presented as the main theme. Therefore, we propose, through the analysis of the phases of certain archaeological contexts, to return an image of the conception of space in maritime villas.