STRATEGIE DECORATIVE IN AMBIENTI DI RAPPRESENTANZA IN POSIZIONE PLANIMETRICA INUSUALE

Abstract

Th e natural conditioning of the plateau of Herculanum determines dwellings with a particular plan, impossible to relate to a well-defi ned type.
Th erefore, the decorative strategies adopted for some environmentes, diff er from the usual norm that we see in the traditional system homes.
For example, we fi nd rooms in a noncanonical planimetric position that exhinit refi ned wall and fl oor decorations, thus playing a decisive role
in the determination of a larger system of environments, that have the task of communicating a series of images and values of the social status
of the dominus. Or we fi nd included in narrow bulding lots, halls of representation and living room, typical of large suburban villas, unsusual in
middle-class houses. A starting point for refl ection in Herculanem is represented precisely by the occurrence of these opposing situations, that
involve system of reference diff erent from the canonical one in which the privileged visual axis of fauces-atrium-alae-tablinum constitutes a path
through images created, thanks to a whole series of architectural and decorative references, to draw attention to the dominus fi gure: on one side
the loggia / solarium-diaeta system, in which the fulcrum of the house moves from the majesty of the atrium or tablinum to the open spaces on
the surrounding landescape, embellished with elegant decorations and highlighted by skillfull openings to the sorrounding nature, is applied
tu the houses facing the marina: on the other hand, in the middle-class houses, often the result of an undefi ned architectural project, the same
functional relationships found in the stately homes are traced with lasser evidence, but varied according to the contingent need.
Keywords: Herculanem, domus, painting, decoration, architecture