In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle (/ˈpɛrəˌstaɪl/; from Greek περίστυλος) is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court which contains an internal garden. Tetrastoon (from Greek τετράστῳον, "four arcades") is another name for this feature. In the Christian ecclesiastical architecture that developed from Roman precedents, a basilica, such as Old St Peter's in Rome, would stand behind a peristyle forecourt that sheltered it from the street. In time the cloister developed from the peristyle.
In rural settings a wealthy Roman could surround a villa with terraced gardens; within the city Romans created their gardens inside the domus. The peristylium was an open courtyard within the house; the columns or square pillars surrounding the garden supported a shady roofed portico whose inner walls were often embellished with elaborate wall paintings of landscapes and trompe-l'oeil architecture. Sometimes the lararium, a shrine for the Lares, the gods of the household, was located in this portico, or it might be found in the atrium. The courtyard might contain flowers and shrubs, fountains, benches, sculptures and even fish ponds. Romans devoted as large a space to the peristyle as site constraints permitted; even in the grandest development of the urban peristyle house, as it evolved in Roman North Africa, often one range of the portico was eliminated, for a larger open space.
On the bus back from Bristol, we talked about death
And we talked about a friend that I'd spent some time
with
Once or twice a year
We got to your house, all cold and out of breath
Your child was asleep
We sat down and you offered us a beer
You said : "Do you know what happened today ?"
And I said : "No"
He was family to millions
All over the evening news
But I tend to keep away from the press, the TV and the
radio
I like to keep my mind clean
When I can I always choose
To focus on what's here and
Not know what the world wants me to know
You said : "Would you want some tea or another drink ?"
And I said : "No"
We'd had sun in Bristol and
Fun with friends in London
And an awesome time as usual on tops of hills
In Leeds
We listened to Fred Neil
It sounded dark with the loudness on
You whispered to me
People whisper when a baby sleeps
You said : "Will you need an extra blanket ?"