The courtyard (atrium) is doubtless the most convenient place to start your visit as this part of the
villa actually served as the entrance hall onto which some of the main rooms
opened. |
The floor of the Torre Llauder courtyard was extensively decorated with mosaics.
These were made of small rectangular black-and-white stones (tesserae) set in simple geometric patterns. |
In the centre of the atrium stands a basin (impluvium) that had the function of collecting rainwater coming from an opening in the roof
(compluvium) into an underground water tank. However, by the time the atrium of Torre Llauder
was built, this kind of basin had lost its original function and was still built
for ornamental purposes only. |
A passageway (fauces) led into the peristyle and the inner villa garden. |
The skirting of the impluvium was decorated with different kinds of coloured marbles. |
At the centre of the impluvium, there could well have been a jet of water like this, although only imprints of
its drain and base have been preserved. |