Need help from Roman experts

[peregrina2000]

Today @C clearly and I took a great 45 minute tour through the Roman ruins at Noheda. The mosaics are stunning. The guide kept referring to the site we were visiting as the “triforio” or something like that.

It is not the residence, just an opulent party place. They are hoping to find the villa but for now they have found the baths, this “party venue” and they are working on what they think is sone palatial entry building. Maybe this is the Mar-a-lago of the Roman Empire in Spain.

But what had stumped me is finding the name of the “party room.” We’re both sure that it started with “tri”. And it’s the largest one ever found in Spain. but we can’t find the name anywhere.

I’m hoping some of the forum Roman experts will come to our rescue with the name of what we saw today. Beautiful mosaics, really beautiful. Thanks!!

 

[Bradypus]

Triclinium?

Triclinium - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Bradypus]

Just looked the place up online. Impressive!

Roman villa of Noheda: the largest Roman mosaic in the world is in Spain | Fascinating Spain

The mosaics in the Roman villa of Noheda, in Cuenca, are among the best preserved in all of Spain. A place to discover in Castilla-La Mancha.

fascinatingspain.com

 

[henrythedog]

Try ‘triforium’

Edit; I think @Bradypus has it.

 

[David]

Triclinium. Roman dinner room was three couches, each of which held three people. They were arranged in an open three sided square, both inside and outside in the gardens of larger properties. They ate lying down on the couches, the ends towards the low table were raised, and they lay 'spoon' style. During the Republic women didn't lie on the couches with the men but sat on stools at the open end of the square. Placing of guests was set by prestige - which couch, which position, and so on. Romans believed that nine was the perfect dinner number as it was the maximum that could talk as one without splitting up into groups.

The Wikipedia photo posted further up were actually private household meeting rooms, not dining tricliniums, as each couch could only take one person and the tiny tables could only hold snacks and some wine, not full meals. A proper triclinium held nine, three on each of three couches, with a large low table that filled the space between them. Larger events had more three-couch sets.

(I wrote a Roman cookbook from the Apicius some years ago, only the 5th ever written in the English language - so if you want some wonderful recipes let me know!!)

As an aside - the story of the last supper states that the young John rested his head on the chest of Jesus. He could only have done this if they were eating in the Roman rather than Jewish style, which suggests that either he was in a wealthy high status Jewish house or his description was written late and not in Judea. Also, that John's placing, in front of Jesus - allowing him to lean back and rest his head on his breast, was the second highest guest placement on the couches so gave him the second highest status at the meal.

.

 

[C clearly]

Triclinium?

I think that was it. The guide spoke very fast, obviously reciting explanations for the umpteenth time, so I missed a lot. However, it was quite clear that there was considerable debauchery going on! The mosaics were quite impressive.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks to all!!!

Our guide told us it was the largest triclinium in the world? Or maybe in Spain. There was even a special room for “private interactions.” One of the clues that the archaeologists used to identify the purpose of that room was the fact that there was a mushroom prominently displayed in tiles at the room entry. Maybe others can explain the connection if it doesn’t get too lewd.

 

[David]

Thanks to all!!!

Our guide told us it was the largest triclinium in the world? Or maybe in Spain. There was even a special room for “private interactions.” One of the clues that the archaeologists used to identify the purpose of that room was the fact that there was a mushroom prominently displayed in tiles at the room entry. Maybe others can explain the connection if it doesn’t get too lewd.

Mushrooms? Who knows. They smoked opium so I wouldn't be surprised if they also took magic mushrooms!
But the side rooms? Possibly private dining rooms.
Don't get carried away by Hollywood versions. Most dinner parties were just that.

 

[zenofmatthew]

Thanks!!

 

[An Tincéir]

Today @C clearly and I took a great 45 minute tour through the Roman ruins at Noheda. The mosaics are stunning. The guide kept referring to the site we were visiting as the “triforio” or something like that.

It is not the residence, just an opulent party place. They are hoping to find the villa but for now they have found the baths, this “party venue” and they are working on what they think is sone palatial entry building. Maybe this is the Mar-a-lago of the Roman Empire in Spain.

But what had stumped me is finding the name of the “party room.” We’re both sure that it started with “tri”. And it’s the largest one ever found in Spain. but we can’t find the name anywhere.

I’m hoping some of the forum Roman expert will come to our rescue with the name of what we saw today. Beautiful mosaics, really beautiful. Thanks!!

Found this on fascinating Spain.com “More than 230 square meters is the space occupied by the mosaic of the Roman villa of Noheda. That is a good part of the room of about 14 by 18 meters that contains it, which has about 300 square meters of surface. A major work developed with a careful technique. The room is the triclinium and is known as the triabsiada or tricora room. This comes from the fact that it has three exedras or apses, semi-circular extensions that were used for meeting and sitting.”

 

[El Cascayal]

Maybe this is the Mar-a-lago of the Roman Empire in Spain.

Kill me now, Laurie! Are you and Clare wandering off the Camino into some naughty Roman baths?

 

[Keith H]

Amazing find! What Camino are you on at the mo?

 

[CWBuff]

OK nothing has to do with the subject per se, but a little big of self-pat on the back and... interesting coincidence
Just finished tiling a wall in my sun room. The name of the motif is Barcelona Montjuïc, and as you can see it is done to resemble a worn-out wall of some XII-XIII house

 

[JabbaPapa]

Today @C clearly and I took a great 45 minute tour through the Roman ruins at Noheda. The mosaics are stunning. The guide kept referring to the site we were visiting as the “triforio” or something like that.

It is not the residence, just an opulent party place. They are hoping to find the villa but for now they have found the baths, this “party venue” and they are working on what they think is sone palatial entry building. Maybe this is the Mar-a-lago of the Roman Empire in Spain.

But what had stumped me is finding the name of the “party room.” We’re both sure that it started with “tri”. And it’s the largest one ever found in Spain. but we can’t find the name anywhere.

I’m hoping some of the forum Roman expert will come to our rescue with the name of what we saw today. Beautiful mosaics, really beautiful. Thanks!!

There's not necessarily an attendent villa --- some Roman feast locations were completely independent of anything else. As some Catalan ones were in my own childhood in the early 1970s !!

 

[C clearly]

There's not necessarily an attendent villa --- some Roman feast locations were completely independent of anything else.

Yes.The guide said (or at least, I understood her to say) that they didn't know how often such feasts may have taken place there.

 

[Keith H]

It’s stunning how much history there is yet to find resting just beneath the surface. Coming from the new world and living in the old it’s hard to really wrap my head around it

 

[David and Theresa]

Today @C clearly and I took a great 45 minute tour through the Roman ruins at Noheda. The mosaics are stunning. The guide kept referring to the site we were visiting as the “triforio” or something like that.

It is not the residence, just an opulent party place. They are hoping to find the villa but for now they have found the baths, this “party venue” and they are working on what they think is sone palatial entry building. Maybe this is the Mar-a-lago of the Roman Empire in Spain.

But what had stumped me is finding the name of the “party room.” We’re both sure that it started with “tri”. And it’s the largest one ever found in Spain. but we can’t find the name anywhere.

I’m hoping some of the forum Roman expert will come to our rescue with the name of what we saw today. Beautiful mosaics, really beautiful. Thanks!!

Why would you inject politics into your post, not all on here are liberals

 

[CWBuff]

Why would you inject politics into your post, not all on here are liberals

I think the reference to Mar-a-Lago here could very well be along the line of "Biltmore Estate", "Peterhoff Palace" and\or Alhambra - merely a reference to luxury and opulence.

 

[Philtration]

OK nothing has to do with the subject per se, but a little big of self-pat on the back and... interesting coincidence
Just finished tiling a wall in my sun room. The name of the motif is Barcelona Montjuïc, and as you can see it is done to resemble a worn-out wall of some XII-XIII house

I think you should wear a toga as you enjoy your new room!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Marjorie Merriweather Post's home Mar-a-lago was donated to the US government which gave it up as too expensive to maintain.

Inside Donald Trump's Palm Beach house Mar-a-Lago

Trump's Palm Beach estate was intended as a 'winter White House', long before his presidency was on the cards - step inside Mar-a-Lago.

www.houseandgarden.co.uk

 

[antepacem]

Well, I'm delighted to find fellow Roman nerds on here (Classics professor, reporting for duty)! I had never heard of Noheda! Thank you for the tip!!!

 

[falcon269]

The gite used to be in a barn on part of the bath, the red roof farm buildings on the right of the planned development photo. You could doze off imagining Centurions bathing next to you. It is just a tourist park now.

Elusa, Capitale Antique

Elusa - Elusa, Capitale Antique

www.elusa.fr

 

[David Tallan]

The article that Bradypus links to says:

"The room is the triclinium and is known as the triabsiada or tricora room. This comes from the fact that it has three exedras or apses, semi-circular extensions that were used for meeting and sitting."