In Stabiano. Exploring the ancient seaside villas of the Roman elite

English Text.Washington D.C., National Museum of Natural History, April 26 - October 24, 2004.Castellamare di Stabia, 2004; paperback, pp. 158, ill. col. b/n, 74 col. plates, cm 24,5x28. The Roman Empire was created in large part by an extremely talented and intensely competitive ruling class: the families of the 300 to 600 men of the senatorial order and the perhaps ten thousand of the 'equestrian', or businiss, class. Their houses in Rome and villas in various locations in the countryside were as much instruments of their social power as they were places of luxury and retreat.