In Ancient Rome most people were dependant on their local produce. So, farming was a necessity. Cicero once said,” Farming is the best of all roman occupations.” Farming required hard physical labor, but it payed off.
In about 753 b.c. Rome was founded. It is said that farmers were the first people in Rome. That makes sense because in Rome there were fertile valleys and rocky hillsides. In the fertile valleys wheat, rye, and barley were grown. On the hillsides olives and grapes were grown. In early Rome, landowners planted crops in the spring, and harvested in the fall. Later, the Romans learned to rotate crops, and irrigate the valleys.
Most farmers lived in simple houses. The wealthier ones lived in large houses, larger than houses in the