Roman Blinds

Have you ever been to Rome?  No?  I haven’t either, but  from looking at television, photos and movies I do have some idea of what Italy and the other Mediterranean countries are like.  I love Italian food and Italian wines, and I love Roman Blinds too!

Mediterranean climate is warm and dry.  In ancient times, before there were modern paved roads and when people rode on horse or donkey, or walked on foot the air was often filled with dust.  Imagine, all those carts rolling down an unpaved road in the heat of summer, with a light breeze blowing and picking dust up into the air.  Yes, it would have been dusty and dry during summer.  Dust would get everywhere, on clothing and it would also find its way inside of people’s houses, inside meeting placed and other buildings.  It would most likely even get into their food and their water or wine pitchers.

Not only did travel churn up dust, but buildings were made those days out of stones and stones were carved, creating even more dust especially in heavily populated areas or in cities.  With all that dust in the air, what did people do to keep the dust out of their homes and inns, and out of their food too? They invented blinds!

Yes, historians believe that the Roman Blinds were invented for such a reason, to hang over open windows and prevent dust from coming into their houses.  They soon realized that the blinds kept out the sun and the heat too and thus they became a regular sight in the average Roman houses and villas.  Of course, women will go to any length to decorate their houses, and make them look attractive and Roman women were no exception.  In fact, Romans delighted in richly decorating their houses and so they decided to decorate their blinds. Soon blinds were richly and lavishly decorated and the Roman blinds became a regular part of Roman home decor.

Roman blinds today are vastly different than blinds from ancient Rome.  Nowadays the blinds have a string or cord attached on the side of the blind so that it can easily go up and down.  And rather than only being made of cloth, they  are now made from a variety of different materials including bamboo, wood and other material. But the basic reason for having blinds remains the same. They are used to keep out sun and dust, and to decorate houses just as they were in Roman times.