Thermopolium, the fast food of the ancient Romans
The thermopolium was a place of refreshment in ancient Rome, a sort of snack bar where drinks and hot food were served. At that time, in fact, like today, it was not unusual to have lunch outside the house.
The name has a Greek origine and thermopolium literally means “hot shop” (or “hot things”). Since, the term appears very rarely, in fact the word of Osco-Umbrian origin popina was used more commonly (whence popinarius and popinaria for the managers), widely attested by Latin literature and epigraphy. Another term associated with it was that of caupona, which however indicated more the inn, where, in addition to eating and drinking, you could also sleep and to shelter your horse.
Its structure of the thermopolium was very simple, it included a small room open on the street equipped with a masonry counter, decorated with marble slabs, in which large terracotta amphorae (dolia) were encased, suitable for containing food. Sometimes there were areas behind where you could sit and have your meal, just like in modern fast food restaurants.
The food that were served inside were often depicted in wall paintings, inside and also outside the room. These were legumes, vegetables, eggs, olives, onions, skewers of meat, sausages, game, fish, cheeses, dried or seasonal fruit, focaccia and sweets.
Several thermopolias have been found in Pompeii, where there are 89 of them, in Herculaneum and ancient Ostia. One of the most famous and well preserved is that of Vetutius Placidus (I, 8,8), characterized by a stucco lararium (sacred shrine), decorated with a fresco: on the sides of the master’s Genius there are the Lares (protectors of the house) and then Mercury (god of commerce) and Dionysus (god of wine). Acting as a cash, one of the doli still contained 1385 coins at the time of the discovery, today exhibited in the numismatic section in the Archaeological Museum of Naples, while in the house annexed to the shop, the discovery of a decorated triclinium was significant.
Triclinium
The triclinium was the place where lunch was served in the houses of the ancient Romans. The floor of the room had an inclination of about 10 ° on three sides of the room, towards the low table in the center. Only one side had a flat floor, used by servants to bring food to the table.
Also in Pompeii, on Via dell’Abbondanza, the thermopolium of Asellina was found, where in addition to the mix of hot and cold drinks, cooked foods, some rooms upstairs were used as meeting places. During the excavation operations, all the furnishings were found in their place: there were amphorae for wine, a funnel, a phallic-shaped lamp that illuminated the counter and kept the evil eye away and even a pot still on the stove.
Some graffiti found on the walls suggest that Asellina, in addition to refreshment for guests, also provided girls who offered them company, since people from all over the Mediterranean basin arrived in Pompeii. The astute owner of the thermpolium had probably procured foreign girls, as the other names Aegle, Maria and Zmyrina mentioned in the inscriptions painted on the facade suggest, so that foreign customers would be at ease with beautiful fellow countrymen.
The thermopolias of Ostia Antica were also famous, such as the one called “della via Diana”, with large rooms and internal rooms, with a small adjoining courtyard where customers could entertain themselves in various activities including gambling with dice.
Pompeii: Larario termopoly
The isicia omentata
Among the best-selling foods in thermopolias there is the isicia omentata, what we can consider as the ancestor of the hamburger.
His recipe included:
“Take minced meat with breadcrumbs soaked in wine. Crush together pepper, liquamen (replace it with nuoc guam and, failing that, with anchovy sauce) and, if you want, myrtle berries from which you will have removed the core. Shape the meatballs in which you will put peppercorns and pine nuts. Wrap them in the net and brown them in the caroenum (sweet red wine).”
- 1 dry bun,
- 500 g minced veal,
- 70 g of chopped pine nuts,
- 1 glass of Primitivo di Manduria wine
- 2 cucchiai di colatura di alici,
- a pinch of salt.
Here is a recipe for a closer version of the isicia omentata…
In a bowl, soften the dry bread in the wine. Mix the meat with the pine nuts, add the squeezed bread, the anchovy sauce and season with salt. Strain the remaining wine after wringing the bread and put it on the fire. Let it reduce until it becomes a liquid with a syrupy consistency. Form 10 small flat meatballs, spread a little wine syrup on them and cook them in the oven for about 8 minutes, until they are cooked. Remove from the oven and cover them with grape syrup.
If you try it, let us know!
On the discovery of the thermopolium of the Regio V found in 2019 in Pompeii, see the following article [Link].
Reading tips
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Trained at the University of Turin, where she obtained her three-year degree in Cultural Heritage Sciences and her master's degree in History of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Heritage, she specialized at the University of Milan, graduating in Archaeological Heritage. Freelancer, she deals with computer archeology and virtual heritage, museum displays, 2D graphics and multimedia products applied to cultural heritage. Collaborates with various public and private bodies in the field of projects related to the research, enhancement, communication and promotion of cultural heritage. She deals with the creation of cultural itineraries relating to the entire Italian Peninsula and the development of content (creation of texts and photographic production) for paper and virtual publications. Her study interests include the development of new techniques and means of communication for the enhancement of cultural heritage and the evolution of the symbolism of power between the Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages.
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