Tetrastyle are defined as Greek or Roman buildings which have four columns on the front. Try to imagine this site that adds the sublime expertise of the mosaics to the scenographic ability of the columns. Let's talk about Nora's Tetrastyle House.
Nora is located on the promontory of Capo Pula, on the southern coast of the island of Sardinia, an Italian region of superb natural beauty. Close to the Nuragic settlements, Nora it is rich in history, archaeological finds and ancient places of worship.
What better occasion to combine vacation and culture? Capo di Pula is detached from the mainland by an isthmus that forks in two: Punta del Serpent to the West, and Punta del Coltellazzo to the East.
A Roman house in Sardinia
In Roman times Nora was among the largest centers in Sardinia, so it could show all the architectural wonders and typical services of a Roman city, which united them in this civilization, including two symbols: thermal baths and theater.
The house of the Tetrastilo Atrium is located proceeding towards the Punta del Serpente, it is one of the domus larger ones found in Nora. Archaeologist Gennaro Pesce took care of the excavations in the XNUMXs. The Casa dell'Atrio Tetrastilo rises along the road to the south, the "cardo maximus", probably built at the beginning of the third century. A.D
The four-column atrium remains visible from different points of the city. So try to imagine the magnificence, even at first glance, of the House of the Tetrastyle Atrium. This attention to the authority expressed through construction methods, the search for perspectives and fusion with panoramas.
The mosaics of the house of the Tetrastilo Atrium
In the entrance (even if it has not yet been identified with certainty) of the house of the Tetrastilo Atrium there is also a cistern, a jewel that has come down to us, of a useful and daily engineering: in fact it was used for the collection of rainwater. If you proceed through the corridors you will discover some rooms, and here is the wonder: the floors a mosaic. Making the soil that is trampled in the house, in the private area, a work of art capable of overcoming the centuries. A characteristic of Sardinian mosaics is the geometric shape. They have been the subject of long and accurate restorations, until recently. A mosaic known for poetic composition portrays a woman, a nereid, riding a dolphin or an ancient marine animal. It is located in what was probably the bedroom. Just in front of it another ancient water cistern was recovered which in all probability dates back to the Punic period or the third century BC.
The mosaics are colorful, a feast for the eyes. Like the landscape that extends towards the sea.
Photo source: Jpmourez - Own work CC BY-SA 4.0
