Caseggiato del Larario

Panel 63 - Location

The complex, built in around AD 120, was probably used for the sale of luxury goods as suggested by its position in the immediate vicinity of the Forum and its particularly well cared for appearance.

Occupied on the south and west sides by a row of tabernae (shops) facing the street, it was arranged around a central courtyard with a basin and well (B).

Panel 63 - Figure 1Reconstruction of the Caseggiato del Larario
(F.O. Lawrence)
Panel 63 - Figure 2Well in the Caseggiato del Larario with a dedication to Ceres and the Nymphs by Q. Caecilius Onesimus
(G.A. Guattani)

The courtyard was embellished by a polychrome shrine, which can be identified as a lararium (C), a space dedicated to the cult of the gods who protected the household or the community.

Panel 63 - Figure 3Polychrome shrine in the Caseggiato del Larario (C)

On all sides of the courtyard were rooms arranged on two storeys: those on the ground floor were used as shops whilst those on the mezzanine floor served as apartments.

The discovery of a marble wellhead bearing the name of the patronus of the college of the mensores suggests that the seat of the association itself might also have been in this area.

See also:

The Central Area and the Official Complexes