<P> In a domus , a large house in Ancient Roman architecture , the atrium was the open central court with enclosed rooms on all sides . In the middle of the atrium was the impluvium , a shallow pool sunken into the floor to catch rainwater from the roof . Some surviving examples are beautifully decorated . The opening in the ceiling above the pool ( compluvium ) called for some means of support for the roof , and it is here where one differentiates between five different styles of atrium . As the centrepiece of the house , the atrium was the most lavishly - furnished room . Also , it contained the little chapel to the ancestral spirits ( lararium ) , the household safe ( arca ) and sometimes a bust of the master of the house . </P>
<P> In a domus , a large house in Ancient Roman architecture , the atrium was the open central court with enclosed rooms on all sides . In the middle of the atrium was the impluvium , a shallow pool sunken into the floor to catch rainwater from the roof . Some surviving examples are beautifully decorated . The opening in the ceiling above the pool ( compluvium ) called for some means of support for the roof , and it is here where one differentiates between five different styles of atrium . As the centrepiece of the house , the atrium was the most lavishly - furnished room . Also , it contained the little chapel to the ancestral spirits ( lararium ) , the household safe ( arca ) and sometimes a bust of the master of the house . </P>
what feature occupied the center of a roman domus
what feature occupied the center of a roman domus
atrium
atrium