FIRE!!

One of the greatest enemies of the buildings of Rome was: Fire. Fires were frequent and given the widespread use of flammable materials were highly destructive. Nero's burning of Rome (64 A.D.) is a vivid memory of this but many many more fires actually beset the city both before and after Nero.

Because of this a special corps of fire fighters was set up to act as sorts of vigilantes who patrolled their areas, always on the lookout for social unrest or other potential causes of fire and to act to the best of their means to put them out.

The poorer areas of the city were built more or less without planning and streets and alleys were tight, uneven and tortuous - at least before the reconstruction of Rome which followed the great fire of Rome in the time of Emperor Nero. The great fire acted as an impulse for legislation regarding urban planning and building techniques aimed at reducing the risk of fire: streets were made wider, fewer flammable materials were to be used in construction and fire prevention corps were set up all over the city.

Sitting in Style

In Chapter 28, we read that Cornelia and Aurelia will travel into the city in sellae -- sedan chairs.

A SEDAN CHAIR is an enclosed chair that is borne on poles by two bearers. Usually, the luxury of being carried by others was reserved for emperors and high nobility. There is an annual sedan chair race in Hong Kong to raise money for local charities.
Here is a drawing:

Dormice...mmm, mmm, GOOD!

In Chapter 28, we read about dormice (glires) being sold to slaves of Aurelia by merchants (mercatores) in the city of Rome.  Here is a little info (from Wikipedia) about the  edible dormouse.

It was farmed and eaten by the ancient Romans (usually as a snack), hence the word edible in its name. The dormice were kept and raised either in large pits or (in less spacious urban surroundings) in terra cotta containers, the gliraria, something like contemporary hamster cages.
To this day, wild edible dormice are consumed in Slovenia, where they are considered a rare delicacy and dormouse trapping an ethnic tradition. Use of dormice for food and fur and of dormouse fat as a medicament is documented there since the 13th century. Seasonal dormice feasts were welcome protein supplements for the impoverished peasantry.

Here is a photo.