Urban Life And Culture 249
Housing
One type of change in the Italian urban habitat that has received a lot of rather
inconclusive attention is the layout of houses.96 It seems clear that there were
dramatic changes in the layout and construction materials of wealthy resi-
dences between the 4th and the 10th centuries, based on archaeology of the
elite urban peristyle house for the early period and descriptions in documents
of multistorey wooden houses with the main rooms on the upper storey for the
latter.97 However, there is little evidence, written or archaeological, to explain
at what point in the period between the 3rd and the 10th centuries these
changes became significant. Gelichi has proposed that such structures were
being built in Classe in the 7th century.98 Discussions of houses in Ravenna
note that Roman house-types and building materials lasted “surprisingly late”,
that is into the 6th century.99 It seems, therefore, that the elites in Ostrogothic
cities continued to live in Roman-style elite houses, perhaps even more luxuri-
ous that in earlier centuries.
Certainly Theoderic (or Cassiodorus as the author of the letter) recognized
this as an issue, and was not necessarily in favour of it. Variae 4.51 satirically
praises the patrician Symmachus for his magnificent houses:100
Since you have taken such care for private building as to create public
works of a sort in your own dwelling, it is right that you should be known
as he who maintains in its wonders Rome, which you have embellished
by the beauty of your houses. You are are an oustanding founder and a
great adorner of buildings, since each springs from wisdom—good
design, and the tasteful decoration of existing works... Of antiquity you
are the most careful imitator, of modern works the noblest founder.In a way, this is something of a slap at Symmachus, accusing him of putting too
much time and effort into his houses; as a result, Theoderic gives him money
and asks him to supervise the repair of the Theatre of Pompey.101
96 Ellis, “The End of the Roman House”, Gelichi, “L’edilizia residenziale”, and Baldini-Lippolis,
La domus tardoantica.
97 See, e.g. Ortalli, “L’Edilizia abitativa”, Gelichi, “La città in Emilia-Romagna”, pp. 570–87,
Gelichi, “L’edilizia residenziale”, and Bavant, “Cadre de vie”, pp. 509–23.
98 Gelichi, “La città in Emilia-Romagna”, p. 585 and “L’edilizia residenziale”, pp. 161 ff.
99 Gelichi, “The Cities”.
100 Variae 4.51, trans. Barnish, p. 79.
101 See Arnold, Theoderic, pp. 224–5, and Bjornlie, Politics, pp. 170–1.