- chapter 35: The architectural heritage of Etruria –
variety of traditions.^12 As living quarters for Etruscans, houses were built within cities and
in the countryside. Like other buildings, they were constructed from local stone, wood,
and clay, and for the most part only the foundation courses remain. Evidence of walls,
and, in particular, the well-developed system of terracotta roof tiles and architectural
revetments allow for a reasonably accurate reconstruction of the houses, large and small.
The interest in the Etruscan house as a phenomenon derives from two separate sources,
one modern and one ancient. The modern one, expressed by scholars such as Einar
Gjerstad and Axel Boëthius, is the relationship between the Oriental “liwan” house with
three rooms and the Etruscan domestic dwelling, also related to the temple plan, as the
house of the deities, with three rooms.^13 This emphasis on three rooms has infl uenced
much of Etruscan architecture, and has led to interpretations that highlight clusters
of three rooms that are either isolated or form part of courtyard buildings such as the
Archaic monumental building at Poggio Civitate (Murlo).^14
Linked to the modern discussion of the three-room concept is Vitruvius’ presentation
of the types of the Roman atrium house, of which the “Etruscan-inspired” one is described
as having a roof opening (compluvium) with four sides sloping down to allow rain water to
collect in basin in the fl oor of the interior courtyard (6.3).^15 Following the defi nition of
the different types of interiors depending on the slope of the roof, and the use of columns,
if any, is a description of the ideal proportions of the atrium, including the presence of
“alae” or wings, and of the tablinum and other rooms.
This passage and the brief reference that Greek houses lack atria (6.7.1) have created
much confusion as to the origin of the traditional Roman atrium house. If, as Vitruvius
suggests, the Etruscan-inspired house has an Etruscan origin, parallels may be found in
the Etruscan tombs that display, carved in the tufo rock, ceilings with fake openings
similar to the compluvia and courtyards of the atrium type.^16
Of course, the problem of tracing the heritage of the presumed Etruscan-inspired
house in domestic Etruscan architecture lies in the fact that we have no actual house
preserved to the full height of the walls and roof, other than those suggested by the
models of houses. A missing link may, however, exist in the House of the Impluvium
from the Etruscan site of Rusellae (Figure 35.4).^17 There we fi nd a sequence of dwellings,
of which the one from the Archaic period includes an atrium with impluvium, comparable
to what Vitruvius describes except for the fact that the reconstruction includes three
posts for supporting the roof.^18 Examples of atrium-style houses have also been uncovered
at Marzabotto, the northern Etruscan outpost near Bologna,^19 whereas Rome may provide
evidence of both courtyard buildings (for example, the Auditorium)^20 and atrium houses
(along the Velia; used as regal residences).^21
As our evidence for Etruscan domestic architecture increases it should be possible to
defi ne more clearly which features are distinctly Etruscan and which tend to be common
to the architectural traditions in central Italy.^22 The question of three-room structures,
whether for sacred or secular use, remains open-ended, and the relation between so-called
atrium houses and courtyard buildings needs to be documented more clearly. That both
are anchored in Etruscan architecture seems, however, certain, and the traditions continue
both in Rome and in other parts of Italy. Does this mean that the Etruscans were pioneers
in creating domestic architecture? Perhaps not, but they certainly experimented with a
variety of forms, and those that were successful were used extensively, even long after the
Etruscan political power had disappeared.