WORLD HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In the Latin language, insula (plural insulae) means “island” and the term has been connected to the high-rise apartment dwellings of the Roman world, presumably since they rose like islands from the built landscape of the city. The insulae of ancient Roman cities provided housing for the bulk of the urban populace.

Detailed explanation-2: -Most people in the cities of Ancient Rome lived in apartments called insulae. The wealthy lived in single family homes called domus of various sizes depending on how rich they were. The vast majority of the people living in Roman cities lived in cramped apartment buildings called insulae.

Detailed explanation-3: -Often made of concrete-covered brick, insulae usually contained five or more stories. They were sometimes so flimsily built, thanks to poor craftsmanship, foundations, and building materials, that they collapsed and killed passersby. As a result, emperors restricted how high landlords could construct insulae.

Detailed explanation-4: -Generally, insula is treated as a synonym for a Roman apartment building, although sometimes it can refer to the Rome apartments themselves or tabernae (shops), etc. The individual apartments in the insula were called cenacula (sg.

Detailed explanation-5: -The solution was a novel one: the insulae, the forerunner of modern apartment buildings. Each insula consisted of around half a dozen living spaces for Rome’s middle class and poorer citizens, the plebs, as well as shops and businesses on the ground floor.

Detailed explanation-6: -CITY PLANNING. The ideal Roman city plan was based on a regular grid of streets, dividing up square building plots or insulae. In the central insula was the forum, or market square – with a basilica, or great hall, running the length of one side of the square, and the council chamber and civic offices adjoining it.