Pliny the Younger

Pliny was a Roman senator and provincial governor whose letters offer a detailed view of elite Roman society. They include accounts of the eruption of Vesuvius and correspondence with Emperor Trajan about governing a province.

The day shown

Tuscan villa · 109 CE

Letter 9.36 describes summer days at Pliny’s Tuscan villa: composing, dictating, exercise and meals accompanied by reading. This is a country retreat, not his public working life in Rome. The year 109 CE is representative, and every modern clock time is an estimate.