Accommodation in Rome

[Trethiwr]

Where would visitors stay in Rome assuming they had money but not high status?

Is there the equivalent of an inn where horses could be stabled and rooms and food be bought?

I'm referring to late republic rather than say Christian era

when I'm guessing there would have been monasteries etc.

 

I did a bit of googling first and have come up with tavernae

but I'm getting the impression these were more "wayside" inns rather than in cities and towns.

[Nephele]

Within the city of Rome a visitor would probably rent a room for himself within the many insulae (apartment blocks). That's if he didn't already have a hospes, a friend offering him hospitality by accommodating him with a room in his private town house.

 

-- Nephele

[Trethiwr]

Ah, that's going to give me a problem.

They have two horses in particular which they would rather die than lose.

They have to be able to stable them securely.

 

They have got quite a bit of pure gold and silver on them if it helps.

 

I haven't written them a contact in Rome.

Due to some unfortunate circumstances in Ostia they are trying to keep a low profile.

[Lost_Warrior]

Well, with 'quite a bit of pure gold and silver', as you say, I imagine it wouldn't be too hard for them to "rent" from one of the townspeople, even if they didn't know them.

[Trethiwr]

I might be seeing this from a 21st century perspective but I can't imagine them renting a town house from a private citizen unless they already knew them.

Since they are trying to be anonymous having caused a lot of trouble in Ostia I was really hoping that there was some kind of hotel system in existence.

I know horses were not as fundamental to the Romans as they were to the Celts but surely they must have had people arriving in Rome in need of stables and a bed?

 

I have this rather vague idea lurking in the back of my mind that horses and wheeled vehicles were practically non existent in Rome. But did I just imagine that?

 

Again, maybe my image of the insulae is faulty. I sort of imagine something that vaguely resembles the apartments built in converted wharves by the Thames in London. Big crumbling brick buildings with very little space for anything.

[caldrail]

Julius Caesar banned daylight deliveries of goods to businesses, so until his reign as dictator, the streets had plenty of carts and draught animals. Afterward, deliveries were made at night when the streets were clear of citizens going about their business.

 

Horses? Not for pulling wagons. Horses are relatively rare and expensive to keep. Your heroes, travelling with them, are going to attract attention. I don't actually know about stabling. For the purposes of your story, I doubt anyones going to mind too much if your heroes find a stableman willing to look after the animals for a few sestercii. A rich mans slave making money on the side? Would that be the source of the big argument? The rich man thinks the horses are his?

 

Your image of insulae isn't far wrong. They were cramped buildings, often jerry-built on the cheap, prone to fire, rat infested. The cheapest quarters (and given the extortionate rents usually demanded, that's an exaggeration) were the loft. Freezing cold in winter, blistering hot in summer. People were sharing rooms to save money. No cooking facilities, you took your dough to the baker to have baked for you (he very kindly stamped your name in the loaf to ensure the right bread was handed back). Water needed to be carried upstairs from an outside source, a well or a fountain.