Ancient Roman architecture

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"Roman architecture" redirects here. For the architecture of the city, see Architecture of Rome.


The Colosseum in Rome, Italy
Ancient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a
new architectural style. The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied
them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics in the
construction of arches. Later they absorbed Greek and Phoenician influence, apparent in many aspects closely
related to architecture; for example, this can be seen in the introduction and use of the Triclinium in Roman
villas as a place and manner of dining. Roman architecture flourished throughout the Empire during the Pax
Romana.
Roman Architecture covers the period from the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509BC, to about the
4th century, after which it becomes reclassified as Late Antique orByzantine architecture. Most of the many
survivals are from the later imperial period. Roman architectural style continued to influence building in the
former empire for many centuries, and the style beginning in Western Europe about 1000 is
called Romanesque architecture to reflect this dependence on basic Roman forms.
Contents
[hide]
1 Context
2 The arch and the dome
o 2.1 Housing
3 Common building types
4 Materials
5 Modern influence
6 List of buildings, features and types of buildings
7 Further reading
8 References
9 External links
Context[edit]
Factors such as wealth and high population densities in cities forced the ancient Romans to discover new
architectural solutions of their own. The use of vaults and arches, together with a sound knowledge of building
materials, enabled them to achieve unprecedented successes in the construction of imposing structures for
public use. Examples include the aqueducts of Rome, the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla,
the basilicas and Colosseum. They were reproduced at smaller scale in most important towns and cities in the
Empire. Some surviving structures are almost complete, such as the town walls of Lugo in Hispania
Tarraconensis, or northern Spain. The Ancient Romans intended that public buildings should be made to
impress, as well as perform a public function. The Romans did not feel restricted
by Greek aesthetic axioms alone in order to achieve these objectives.
[citation needed]
The Pantheon is an example
of this, particularly in the version rebuilt by Hadrian, which remains perfectly preserved, and which over the
centuries has served, particularly in the Western Hemisphere, as the inspiration for countless public
buildings
[citation needed]
. The same emperor left his mark on the landscape of northern Britain when he built a wall
to mark the limits of the empire, and after further conquests in Scotland, the Antonine Wall was built to
replace Hadrian's Wall.
The arch and the dome[edit]


Dome of the Pantheon, inner view


The Aqueduct of Segovia, Spain
Main articles: Roman aqueduct, Roman bridge, and List of Roman domes
The Roman use of the arch and their improvements in the use of concrete and bricks facilitated the building of
the many aqueducts throughout the empire, such as the Aqueduct of Segovia and the eleven aqueducts in
Rome itself, such as Aqua Claudia and Anio Novus. The same concepts produced numerous bridges, some of
which are still in daily use, for example the Puente Romano at Mrida in Spain, and the Pont Julian and the
bridge at Vaison-la-Romaine, both in Provence, France.
The dome permitted construction of vaulted ceilings without crossbeams and provided large covered public
space such as public baths and basilicas. The Romans based much of theirarchitecture on the dome, such as
Hadrian's Pantheon in the city of Rome, the Baths of Diocletian and the Baths of Caracalla.
The use of arches that spring directly from the tops of columns was a Roman development, seen from the 1st
century AD, that was very widely adopted in medieval Western, Byzantine andIslamic architecture.
Art historians such as Gottfried Richter in the 1920s identified the Roman architectural innovation as being
the Triumphal Arch. This symbol of power was transformed and utilised within the Christian basilicas when the
Roman Empire of the West was on its last legs: The arch was set before the altar to symbolize the triumph of
Christ and the afterlife. The arch is seen in aqueducts, especially in the many surviving examples, such as
the Pont du Gard, the aqueduct at Segovia and the remains of the Aqueducts of Rome itself. Their survival is
testimony to the durability of their materials and design.
The Romans first adopted the arch from the Etruscans, and implemented it in their own building. An arch
transmits load evenly and is still commonly used in architecture today.
Housing[edit]


Insula in Ostia Antica
Main article: Insula (building)
The Ancient Romans were responsible for significant developments in housing and public hygiene, for example
their public and private baths and latrines, under-floor heating in the form of thehypocaust, mica glazing
(examples in Ostia Antica), and piped hot and cold water (examples in Pompeii and Ostia).
Multi-story apartment blocks called insulae catered to a range of residential needs. The cheapest rooms were
at the top owing to the inability to escape in the event of a fire and the lack of piped water. Windows were
mostly small, facing the street, with iron security bars. Insulae were often dangerous, unhealthy, and prone to
fires because of overcrowding and haphazard cooking arrangements
[citation needed]
. There are examples in the
Roman port town of Ostia, that date back to the reign of Trajan. External walls were in "Opus Reticulatum" and
interiors in "Opus Incertum", which would then be plastered and sometimes painted.
To lighten up the small dark rooms, tenants able to afford a degree of luxury painted colourful murals on the
walls. Examples have been found of jungle scenes with wild animals and exotic plants. Imitation windows
(trompe l'oeil) were sometimes painted to make the rooms seem less confined.
Ancient Rome is known to have had elaborated, massive and beautiful houses and buildings. These houses
and buildings belonged to those in higher social status. The average house of a commoner or Plebe did not
contain many luxuries. There were members of the upper class that attended to flash their wealth into their
design and architecture of their house. Many Romans perceived this morally wrong and considered to be
luxuria or vice to makes people squander their money (wealth).They showed more regard towards convenience
than expense. Domus, or single-family residences, were rare, with most having a layout of the closed unit,
consisting of one or two rooms. Between 312 to 315 A.D. Rome had from 1781 domus and 44,850 of
insulae.
[1]
Insula has been the subject of great debate for historians of Roman culture, as they argued over the
various meanings of the word.
[2]
Insula was a word used to describe apartment buildings, or the apartments
themselves,
[3]
meaning apartment, or inhabitable room, demonstrating just how small apartments for Plebes
were. Urban divisions were originally street blocks, and later began to divide into smaller divisions, the word
insula referring to both blocks and smaller divisions. The insula contained cenacula, tabernae, storage rooms
under the stairs, and lower floor shops. Another type of housing unit for Plebes was a cenaculum, an
apartment, divided into three individual rooms: cubiculum, exedra, and medianum . Common Roman
apartments were mainly masses of smaller and larger structures, many with narrow balconies that present
mysteries as to their use, having no doors to access them, and they lacked the excessive decoration and
display of wealth that aristocrats houses contained. Luxury in houses was not common, as the life of the
average person did not consist of being in their houses, as they instead would go to public baths, and engage
in other communal activities.
1. Jump up^ Hermansen, G. The Medianum and the Roman Apartment, Phoenix, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter,
1970), pp. 342-347.
2. Jump up^ Storey, Glenn R. Regionaries-Type Insulae 2: Architectural/Residential Units at Rome,
American Journal of Archaeology 2002 pp.411-434.
3. Jump up^ Storey, Glenn R., The Meaning of "Insula" in Roman Residential Terminology, Memoirs of the
American Academy in Rome , Vol. 49, (2004), pp. 47-84
Common building types[edit]
Main articles: Thermae, Roman temple, Amphitheatre, List of Roman amphitheatres, Roman theatre
(structure), Roman Forum, and Forum (Roman)
All Roman cities had at least one Thermae, a popular facility for public bathing, exercising and socializing.
Exercise might include wrestling and weight-lifting, as well as swimming. Bathing was an important part of the
Roman day, where some hours might be spent, at a very low cost subsidized by the government. Wealthier
Romans were often accompanied by one or more slaves, who performed any required tasks such as fetching
refreshment, guarding valuables, providing towels, and at the end of the session, applying olive oil to their
masters' bodies which was then scraped off with a strigil, a scraper made of wood or bone. Romans did not
wash with soap and water as we do now.
Roman bath-houses were also provided for private villas, town houses and forts. They were normally supplied
with water from an adjacent river or stream, or by aqueduct. The design of thermae is discussed
by Vitruvius in De Architectura.


Roman theatre of Aspendos, Turkey
Roman architecture was often at its most beautiful and impressive when adapted to the needs of Roman
religion. The Pantheon in Rome has survived structurally intact because it has been continuously used for
worship since it was built, over 2000 years ago
[citation needed]
. Although its interiors were altered when worship
changed from paganism to Christianity, it is the finest and largest example of a dome built in antiquity still
surviving.
Some of the most impressive secular buildings are the amphitheatres, over 220 being known and many of
which are well preserved, such as that at Arles, as well as its progenitor, theColosseum in Rome. They were
used for gladiatorial contests, public displays, public meetings and bullfights, the tradition of which still survives
in Spain.
Every city had a forum of varying size. In addition to its standard function as a marketplace, a forum was a
gathering place of great social significance, and often the scene of diverse activities, including political
discussions and debates, rendezvous, meetings, etc. The best known example is probably in Rome,
Italy,
[1]
and is the site of the earliest forum of the empire.


Panoramic view of the Forum Trajanum with the Trajan's Column on the far left.


Tower of Hercules
Many lighthouses were built around the Mediterranean and the coasts of the empire, including the Tower of
Hercules at A Corua in northern Spain, a structure which survives to this day. A smaller lighthouse at Dover,
England also exists as a ruin about half the height of the original. The light would have been provided by a fire
at the top of the structure.
Materials[edit]


Frigidarium of Baths of Diocletian, todaySanta Maria degli Angeli
Tile covered concrete quickly supplanted marble as the primary building material and more daring buildings
soon followed, with great pillars supporting broad arches and domes rather than dense lines
of columns suspending flat architraves. The freedom of concrete also inspired the colonnade screen, a row of
purely decorative columns in front of a load-bearing wall. In smaller-scale architecture, concrete's strength
freed the floor plan from rectangular cells to a more free-flowing environment
[citation needed]
. Most of these
developments are described by Vitruvius writing in the first century AD in his work De Architectura.
Although concrete had been used on a minor scale in Mesopotamia, Roman architects perfected Roman
concrete and used it in buildings where it could stand on its own and support a great deal of weight. The first
use of concrete by the Romans was in the town of Cosa sometime after 273 BCE. Ancient Roman concrete
was a mixture of lime mortar, sand with stone rubble, pozzolana, water, and stones, and stronger than
previously-used concrete. The ancient builders placed these ingredients in wooden frames where it hardened
and bonded to a facing of stones or (more frequently) bricks.
When the framework was removed, the new wall was very strong with a rough surface of bricks or stones. This
surface could be smoothed and faced with an attractive stucco or thin panels of marble or other coloured
stones called revetment. Concrete construction proved to be more flexible and less costly than building solid
stone buildings. The materials were readily available and not difficult to transport. The wooden frames could be
used more than once, allowing builders to work quickly and efficiently.
On return from campaigns in Greece, the general Sulla returned with what is probably the most well-known
element of the early imperial period: the mosaic, a decoration of colourful chips of stone inset into cement. This
tiling method took the empire by storm in the late first century and the second century and in the Roman home
joined the well known mural in decorating floors, walls, and grottoes in geometric and pictorial designs.
Though most would consider concrete the Roman contribution most relevant to the modern world, the Empire's
style of architecture can still be seen throughout Europe and North America in the arches and domes of
many governmental and religious buildings
[citation needed]
.
Modern influence[edit]
During the Baroque and the Renaissance periods, Roman and Greek architectural styles again became
fashionable, not only in Italy, but all over Europe.
Today we still see those influences all around us, in banks, government buildings, great houses, even small
houses, perhaps in the form of a porch with Doric columns and a pediment
[citation needed(doric columns not mentioned in article)]
,
or in a fireplace or a mosaic shower floor copied from an original in Pompeii or Herculaneum. The mighty
pillars, domes and arches of Rome echo in the New World too, where in Washington DC not only do we see
the Capitol Building, the White House and the Lincoln Memorial, but there exists a Senate and the same (in
name) Republican and Democrat parties, who ran the Roman Empire. All across the US the seats of regional
government were normally built in the grand traditions of Rome, with vast flights of stone steps sweeping up to
towering pillared porticoes, with huge domes gilded or decorated inside with the same or similar themes that
were popular in Rome.
In wealthy provincial parts of the US such as the great plantations of 18th and 19th century Louisiana, there too
are the pillars and porticoes, the symmetrical faades with their pilasters, the domes and statuary that would
have seemed familiar to Caesar and Augustus.
In Britain, a similar enthusiasm has seen the construction of thousands of neo-Classical buildings over the last
five centuries, both civic and domestic, and many of the grandest country houses and mansions are purely
Classical in style, an obvious example being Buckingham Palace.