Domus, plural domus, is a private family dwelling of modest to palatial sizes, most commonly found in ancient Rome and Pompeii. In contrast to the insula (q.v.) or tenement block, which housed many families, the domus was a single-family home separated into two main parts: the atrium and the peristyle. The atrium was the primary living area and usually had windows on three sides. It contained furniture such as couches and chairs for relaxing after a day's work and watching entertainment such as games and dances being performed by slaves or freedmen. The peristyle was an open space with gardens where the owner could enjoy the sun and fresh air when not indoors. It contained only the necessities - a washing line, some pots and tools - because the rest was done by servants. The domus was the principal house in small towns as well as in old Roman settlements such as Colonia Augusta Felixium. There were often several of these houses built together, usually around a central atrium. Sometimes there were no other houses near by so the inhabitants of each domus would leave themselves exposed to danger if need be. However, in larger cities like Rome there were usually sufficient numbers of these dwellings to provide shelter for everyone even if they didn't know everyone else. Also, since most owners were rich enough to hire out workers to do all the physical labor involved in building and maintaining a domus, it wasn't necessary for all its occupants to be homeowners.