Late Antique Domus in Aquileia: the “Casa dei Putti danzanti”

The “Domus dei Putti danzanti” is named after the polychrome mosaic with cupids found in the private dominus rooms. It is located in a very important area of the old city, right between the Forum and the river port. From a structural standpoint, it is possible to identify two main phases, which can be related to the beginning and to the end of the fourth century A.D.; the transition from the first to the second restoration phase of the domus corresponds to limited changes in the layout, essentially by reducing a few large rooms in smaller size ones. As for the characteristics of the individual rooms, it currently does not exist any of the apsidal, octagonal, or hexagonal areas that a luxury domus of this period should feature. The change in the representation room layouts seems to occur at the beginning of the fourth century A.D., therefore its absence in this residence may correspond to a conservatory attitude by the customer. We confirm anyways, in reading the layout of this domus, a typical tendency of the high-level residences of older age; for instance, the paratactic approaching of clusters of rooms around open backyards joint by corridors, and yet functionally autonomous.