Mosaic in the impluvium in the Casa dels Dofins. Pohot by Antonio Guillén, Museum of Badalona.
The rainwater that entered through the central opening in the atrium or compluvium was gathered in a pond paved with mosaic, the impluvium, under which there must have been a cistern. Over time, when the water supply system was refined and the cistern was eliminated, the impluvium became a decorative feature. In the middle of it there probably used to be a fountain that was fed water through a lead conduit, which is currently missing. It is paved with a mosaic made of white and black marble tesellae. The one visible today is a reproduction; the original is in the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona.
