Invidia status и imperium maris: к вопросу об интерпретации визуальных осей на древнеримских villae maritimae

Вестник Новосибирского государственного университета. Серия: История, филология. 2025. Т. 24. № 1. С. 9–28.

Telminov V.

The article takes a new look at the concept of visual axes in ancient Roman representative residential architecture, employing villa San Marco as a case for the study of typical seaside villas of the nobility.

The private estates of the roman nobility, incl. domus, villa suburbana and villa maritima, were not only places of retreat, but also venues for receiving guests and spaces for political discussions and decisions. These residences were thus suitable for receiving a large number of guests and serving as a status instrument, in order to demonstrate the taste and wealth of the owners. A public, representative space, and a private space inside the villa coexisted not in a random manner, but following several structural principles, including that of a visual axis. Wallace-Hadrill set forth the concept of a frontal visual axis which united almost all public and private spaces of a domus and thus demonstrated a certain prospect of social and loyalty mobility. The author of the current article argues for the presence of lateral perspectives that could evoke other meanings and associations among visitors (i.e. suggestions). All identified axes are classified into groups according to their location and possible suggestions as invidia - “claim to a new status”, and imperium - “control over nature”. These two new types of perspectives add to the previously formulated concept of a single axis and thus enhance our understanding of the public-private landscape of a Roman seaside villa.

Keywords: политическая коммуникация, political communication, Древний Рим, Ancient Rome, villae maritimae, Spatial Studies, villae maritimae, Spatial Studies