The Architecture of Ancient Rome

Рецензент: Щербина Л.Д.

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Architectural Priorities of Ancient Rome

3. Architectural Advances: Arches & Concrete

4. Types of architecture of Ancient Rome

o Housing and Apartments

o Public architecture

o Thermae

o Forum

5. Civil engineering

o Aqueduct

o Bridges

o Walls

6. Impact of Politics and Religion on Roman Architecture

Roman Architecture

Unlike the more creative and intellectual Greeks, the Romans were essentially practical people with a flair for engineering, construction and military matters. In their architecture, as in their art, they borrowed heavily from both the Etruscans (eg. in their use of hydraulics for swamp-clearing and in the construction of arches), and also the Greeks, whom they regarded as their superiors in all visual arts. However, without Roman art - with its genius for copying and adapting Greek styles - most of the artistic achievements of Greek antiquity would have been lost.

Architectural Priorities of Ancient Rome

Roman architecture served the needs of the Roman state, which was keen to impress, entertain and cater for a growing population in relatively confined urban areas. Social elements such as wealth and high population densities in cities forced the ancient Romans to discover new (architectural) solutions of their own. Drainage was a common problem, as was security. This, together with Rome's growing desire to increase its power and majesty throughout Italy and beyond, required public buildings to be imposing, large-scale and highly functional. This is exemplified by Roman architectural achievements in drainage systems, aqueducts, bridges, roads, municipal structures like public baths, sports facilities and amphitheatres, even central heating systems. Numerous temples and theatres were also built. Later, as their empire spread, the Roman architects seized the opportunity to create new towns from scratch, designing urban grid-plans based on two wide streets - a north-south axis (the cardo) and an east-west axis (the decumanus). The town centre was located at the intersection of the two roads. They also built upwards; for example, Ostia, a rich port city near Rome, boasted a number of 5-storey apartment blocks.

Roman buildings were then built in the commercial, political, and social grouping known as a forum, that of Julius Caesar being the first and several added later, with the Forum Romanum being the most famous. The greatest arena in the Roman world, the Colosseum, was completed around 80 A.D. at the far end of that forum. It held over 50,000 spectators, had retractable fabric coverings for shade, and could stage massive spectacles including huge gladiatorial contests and mock naval battles. This masterpiece of Roman architecture epitomizes Roman engineering efficiency and incorporates all three architectural orders--Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Less celebrated but just as important if not more so for most Roman citizens, was the five-story insulaor city block, the Roman equivalent of an apartment building, which housed tens of thousands of Romans.

It was during the reign of Trajan (98-117 A.D.) and Hadrian (117-138 A.D.) that the Roman Empire reached its greatest extent and that Rome itself was at the peak of its artistic glory-- achieved through massive building programs of monuments, meeting houses, gardens, aqueducts, baths, palaces, pavilions, sarcophagi, and temples.

Architectural Orders. The Romans preferred more ornate columns to the simple Doric and Ionic. The name of the column was also the name of the architectural order. Columns were used to support structures as well as for decoration. A word like octastyle refers to the number (8) of columns on the front row of the porch.

Columns could be made by stacking drums, but many of the Roman columns were made of single pieces with the fluting left off. If made of porphyry or other hard materials, these columns would be polished. The Romans also increased the height of the columns by mounting them on pedestals. Romans also used columns as buttresses.

Architectural Advances: Arches & Concrete

During the Republican era, Roman architecture combined Greek and Etruscan elements, and produced innovations such as the round temple and the curved arch. As Roman power grew in the early empire, the first emperors inaugurated wholesale leveling of slums to build grand palaces on the Palatine Hill and nearby areas, which required advances in engineering methods and large scale design.

Roman architecture was assisted by major advances in both design and new materials. Design was enhanced through architectural developments in the construction of arches and roof domes. Arches improved the efficiency and capability of bridges and aqueducts (fewer support columns were needed to support the structure), while domed roofs not only permitted the building of larger open areas under cover, but also lent the exterior an impressive appearance of grandeur and majesty, as in several important secular and Christian basilicas, like the Pantheon.

The use of vaults and arches together with a sound knowledge of building materials, for example, enabled them to achieve unprecedented successes in the construction of imposing structures for public use.

Developments in materials were also crucial, as chronicled by Vitruvius in his book De Architectura. This is exemplified by the Roman invention of concrete (opus cementicium), a mixture of lime mortar, sand, water, and stones, in the 3rd century BC. This exceptionally strong and convenient substitute for stone revolutionized Roman engineering and architecture. As tile-covered concrete began to replace marble as the main building material, architects could be more daring. Buildings were freed from the rectangular Greek design-plan (with its undomed roofs and lines of pillars supporting flat architraves) and became less geometric and more free-flowing.

Because of these methods, Roman architecture is legendary for the durability of its construction; with many buildings still standing, and some still in use, mostly buildings converted to churches during the Christian era. Many ruins, however, have been stripped of their marble veneer and are left with their concrete core exposed, thus appearing somewhat reduced in size and grandeur from their original appearance, such as with the Basilica of Constantine.

The Roman use of the arch, the use of concrete building methods, the use of the dome all permitted construction of vaulted ceilings and enabled the building of these public spaces and complexes, including the palaces, public baths and basilicas of the “Golden Age” of the empire.

Like their Egyptian and the Greek predecessors, architects in ancient Rome embellished their public buildings with a wide range of artworks, including: Roman sculpture (especially reliefs, statues and busts of the Emperor), fresco murals, and mosaics. The concrete core was covered with a plaster, brick, stone, or marble veneer, and decorative polychrome and gold-gilded sculpture was often added to produce a dazzling effect of power and wealth.

Types of architecture of Ancient Rome

o Housing and Apartments

Although less visible level to the modern observer, ancient Romans developments in housing and public hygiene are impressive, especially given their day and age. Clear examples are public and private baths and latrines, and under-floor heating in the form of the hypocaust, double glazing (examples inOstia Antica), and piped water(examples in Pompeii).

Possibly most impressive from an urban planning point of view are the multi-story apartment blocks called insulae that catered to a wide range of residential situations. These buildings, solely intended for large scale accommodation, could reach several floors in height. Insulates were often dangerous, unhealthy, and prone to fires. There are examples in cities like the Roman port town ofOstia, that date back to the reign of Trajan and show how Roman architects met residential needs in a variety of situations.

As an example, consider the housing on Via della Focette: a large-scale real estate development that catered to up-and-coming middle class entrepreneurs. Rather like modern semi-detached housing, these residences had repeated floor plans intended for easy, economical, and repetitive construction. Internal spaces were designed to be relatively low-cost, yet functional and with decorative elements reminiscent of the detached houses and villas to which the buyers might aspire later in their lives. Each apartment had its own terrace and private entrance. External walls were in "Opus Reticulatum" and interiors in "Opus Incertum", which would then be plastered and sometimes painted. Some existing examples show that a popular choice of interior decor was to paint panels in alternating red and rainbow.

Early Roman houses were huts, of course, much like primitive peopleґs everywhere. Modern archaeological excavations have revealed foundations of similar huts dating to the eighth century BC.

What is generally considered the typical Roman house, or domus, was a plan adopted from the Etruscans, the people who dominated central Italy before the Romans. The Etruscans may have received elements of their style from Greece and Mesopotamia, or they may have developed it independently. The house of a wealthy man might consist of a dozen or so rooms arranged around a partially roofed court, one or two stories high, called an atrium. A rectangular opening in the center of the atrium roof was positioned over a pool, the impluvium, and surrounded by a peaked roof covered with terra cotta tiles. The arrangement allowed rainwater to be collected for household use, as well as providing a pleasant interior space. Water was vital to the lifestyle of the Romans, as witnessed by the aqueducts that remain from the time.

In ancient Rome most city people lived in several story-high fire traps. In the city of ancient Rome, only the wealthy could afford to live in a domus (in this case, house, like a mansion). For most of Rome apartments (or the back rooms of their ground floor shops) were the affordable alternative, making Rome the first urban, flat-based society. The Rome apartments were often in buildings called insula.

The Rome apartments may have contained 3 types of rooms:

1. cubicula (bedrooms)

2. exedra (sitting room)

3. medianum corridors facing the street and like the atrium of a domus.

o Public architecture

Temple. Roman architecture was sometimes determined based upon the requirements ofRoman religion. For example, the Pantheon was an amazing engineering feat created for religious purposes, and its design (the large dome and open spaces) was made to fit the requirements of the religious services.

Amphitheatres. In 50 B.C., C. Scribonius Curio built the first amphitheater in Rome to stage his father's funeral games. Curio's amphitheater and the next one, built in 46 B.C., by Julius Caesar, were made of wood. The weight of the spectators was at times too great for the wooden structure and, of course, the wood was easily destroyed by fire. Some of the most impressive public 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, the Colosseum in Rome. Elliptical in shape, the circus had a fixed central divider called a spina down the middle, which was useful in chariot races, but got in the way during fights. In addition, the spectators' view was limited in the circus. The amphitheater put spectators on all sides of the action. They were used for gladiatorial contests, public displays, public meetings and bullfights, the last of which survives in Spain. They are among the most impressive remains of the Roman empire at its height, and many of them are still used for public displays and performances.

Circus. The first and biggest circus in Rome, the Circus Maximus was located between the Aventine and Palatine hills. Its shape made it particularly suitable for chariot races, although spectators could also watch other stadium events there or from the surrounding hillsides. Each year in ancient Rome, from the early legendary period, the Circus Maximus became the venue for an important and popular celebration.

The Ludi Romani or Ludi Magni were held to honor Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Jupiter Best and Greatest) whose temple was dedicated, according to tradition, which is always shaky for the early period.

Basilicas. Before they became Christian buildings, basilicas were civil and administrative gathering places that could hold large numbers of people and were located in the town's forum. They would serve as courts of Roman law throughout the Empire. Rectangular in shape, the standard basilica had wooden ceilings and ended with semicircular niches called apses.

The Basilica of Maxentius or the Basilica of Constantine was the last non-Christian basilica built on the Roman forum. It was built for commercial and administrative purposes. Parts of the Velia ridge between the Esquiline and the Palatine hills had to be leveled for the basilica. The Basilica of Maxentius was built with arches of both the barrel and groined variety, but only three of the barrel vaults remain standing. The rectangle that formed the basilica was 100Ч65 m, which was divided into a central nave (80Ч25 m) and aisles to either side. Three groined vaults covered the nave, with a maximum height of 35 m. Eight Corinthian columns 14.5 m high supported them. There may have been large windows on the upper walls of the nave. Floors were marble and the roof was covered with gilded bronze tiles.

The Severan Basilica (and forum) in Leptis Magna was begun in 196 by Severus but completed in 216. The basilica was the chief administrative building in Leptis Magna. Its columns were red granite. It was 160 m long and 69 m wide with a 3-aisled colonnade. At either end of the rectangular structure was a decorated apse.

The triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus stands in the Roman Forum. Built in 203, it commemorates the emperor's victories in the east. The arch is 23m high, 25m wide and 11.85m deep. The middle archway is 12x7m; the side archways are: 7.8x3m. The style of the four columns is composite. The columns stand on high bases on which bas relief scenes of Severus' legionaries leading prisoners. There are scenes from the war across the top, as well.

Pentelic marble monument (13.5m wide, 15.4m high, and 4.75m deep; with archway 8.3x5.36m) in A.D. 85, 4 years after Titus' death. There was originally a bronze quadriga on the top. The arch was damaged and then rebuilt/restored in 1822. Napoleon commissioned triumphal arches made in imitation of the Arch of Titus.

Arch of Constantine located in Rome between the Colosseum and the Palatine, commemorates Constantine's victory over Maxentius in A.D. 312 at the Milvian Bridge. It was probably finished in 315/16 as a celebration of the 10th year of the reign of Constantine. The Arch of Constantine is white marble 21m high, 25.7m wide, and 7.4m deep; the central archway is 11.5x6.5m and the side arches are 7.4x3.36m. There were 8 fluted Corinthian columns of giallo antico (yellow marble), of which 7 remain.

The Arch of Trajan at Benevento (Latin, Beneventum) was a triumphal arch built in 114 at the entrance to the city of Beneventum from the Appia Trajana, connecting Rome with Brundisium. This arch is one of about two dozen commemorative monuments to Trajan. The Arch of Trajan was known in the Middle Ages as the Golden Gateway.

Trajan's Column. Trajan's Column was dedicated in A.D. 113, as part of Trajan's Forum, and is remarkably intact. The marble column is almost 30m high resting on a 6m high base. Inside the column is a spiral staircase leading to a balcony along the top. The outside shows a continuous spiral frieze depicting events of Trajan's campaigns against the Dacians.

Baths. The Roman baths were another area where Roman engineers showed their ingenuity figuring out ways to make hot rooms for the public social gathering and bathing centers. The Baths of Caracalla would have accommodated 1600 people.Roman Baths might incorporate healing properties of native springs as they did at Aqua Sulis, known as Bath, in England.

Baths of Caracalla. The Roman Emperor Caracalla built baths for the public on a grand scale. The bath complex known as Thermae Antoninianae (Latin for the Baths of Caracalla), built between A.D. 212 and 216 (although the porticoes were completed later), covered about 13 hectares and could probably accommodate 1,600 bathers. It was built on a man-made terrace near the Via Appia 'Appian Way'.

The baths included:

o a hot bath (caldarium),

o a warm bath (tepidarium),

o the cold bath (frigidarium), and

o a swimming pool (natatio).

There were also changing areas (apodyteria), exercise areas (palaestrae), and a sauna in the bath complex.

Frigidarium. The frigidarium was the place to take a cold plunge after having enjoyed the hottest soak in the caldarium, followed by a somewhat cooler dip in the tepidarium.