cena 3

In Ancient Roman culture, cena or coena was the main meal of the day. The grammarian, Sextus Pompeius Festus, preserved in his De verborum significatione that in earlier times, cena was held midday but later began to be held in evenings, with prandium replacing the noon meal. Cena would occur after work was completed for the day and was a focal point of social life, along with the public baths, the frequenting of which often preceded the meal. Seating during dinner was in the triclinium, three couches for reclining arranged as three sides of a square, with a small table for food in the middle of all these, although masonry dining areas have been found in Pompeian gardens for out of doors dining during warmer weather. Whether inside or out, the couches would have been cushioned by mattresses and pillows while the diners reclined on their elbows. Ancient Romans believed that having more than one meal per day was unhealthy.