The new houses of the rich, in the Augustan age, when the Empire was strong and secure borders, were the patrician villas. The new important Domus, mostly builded out of the City, was larger and very comfortable. It was not fortified because there was no enemy to face. Its large porches were not enclosed by walls, as in the first Domus, but by columns. In the back, there was the Peristyle. Externally, the villa was surrounded by extensive gardens and its architecture followed different and complex patterns. The Roman Emperor Hadrian’s Villa is the most famous: vast, varied and very articulated, it is the combination of several buildings: the Greek Theatre, the Gymnasium, the great Peristyle frescoed with a Pool, the Fountains, the terraces, the Praetorians’ House, the Maritime Theatre, the Latin and Greek Libraries, the stadium, the second Peristyle, the Golden Square, the Servants’ Houses, the big swimming Pool, the Temple of Serapis, the many Courtyards, the Doric Atrio, the small Temples and many other structures.
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