ROMAN

ARCHITECTURE
EGYPTIAN
Lotus, papyrus, palm capitals

NEO-BABYLONIAN
Heraldic animal figures

ASSYRIAN
Chiseled alabaster slab, crenellation

GREEK
Doric, Ionic, Corinthian order, trabeated system

ROMAN
Arch, vault, dome, Composite and Tuscan orders
GEOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE
 ETRUSCANS

- c. 1500-86 BC
- FIRST CIVILIZATION on the Italian
peninsula, now known as Tuscany
- declined with the expulsion of the
Tarquin dynasty from Rome in 510 BC
 ETRUSCANS

- were dominated by Greek colonies

- famed for their tombs
- religion involved gods who were
similar to those of the Greeks;
believed in life after death
 o wooden columns,
terracotta tiled roof,
walls of sun-dried brick
o narrow staircase at
center of front of
temple, temple sat on
a high stone podium,
columns in front, deep
porch
o 3 cellas

ETRUSCAN TEMPLE AT VEII

ETRUSCAN TEMPLE AT VEII
ROME
 ROMULUS
AND REMUS
- twin brothers and central characters
of Rome's foundation myth
- abandoned as babies and raised by a
she-wolf
- they quarreled and Remus is killed
- Romulus founds the new city and
names it Rome
 ROME

- located in Italy
- split into two eras
- Roman republic which began in 510
BC
- Roman empire which began in 27 BC
- Social Classes: Patrician and Plebian
THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

- c. 510 BC
- Romans were the
dominant force in
Europe for almost
1000 years
 THE FIRST TRIUMVIRATE

- c. 510 BC
- Romans were the
dominant force in
Europe for almost
1000 years

POMPEY CAESAR CRASSUS

 ROMAN EMPIRE

- c. 27 BC
- conquered most of Western Europe,
North Africa, and the Middle East
- government headed by emperors
THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Romans venerated more their emperors than their gods and because of this attitude;
there were fewer temples for worship
Rome at its peak
• System of roads and
shipping were
organized by Rome

• the Romans
promote the spread
of a common
culture derived
from Hellenism
(koine Greek).

• the rise of cities in

Roman Empire
around the
Mediterranean
GEOLOGICAL INFLUENCE
 CONCRETE

- made up of sand, water, lime and

pozzolana (binder)
- important ingredient was pozzolana,
derived from volcanic deposits
 ARCHITECTURAL
BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
 MONUMENTALITY

- highly important in representing the

power and prestige of the Roman
Empire
- Arch of Constantine, Rome
 ARCH

- able to span much wider distances

- defining feature of Roman
architecture
- Pont du Gard, France
 EXTRADOS
SPANDREL

ARCHIVOLT
(FACE)
RISE
INTRADOS

SPRING LINE
SPRINGER
SPRING

IMPOST
ABUTMENT

ARCH
HAUNCH
VOUSSOIR
KEYSTONE
ARCH
CENTERING
ARCH OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
 ARCH OF
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS
- among the best-preserved
monuments
- erected by the “Senate and people of
Rome” to celebrate the tenth
anniversary of the accession of
Emperor Septimius Severus and his
son Caracalla

SPQR – Senatus Populusque Romanus

 ARCH OF
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS

- faced with marble and bears profuse

relief decoration celebrating the
emperor’s victory over the Parthians
and Arabs
ARCH OF CONSTANTINE
 ARCH OF
CONSTANTINE
- largest and best preserved of Roman
war memorials
- adopts the triple archway model of
the Arch of Septimius Severus
- use of polychrome varieties of
marble
ARCH OF CONSTANTINE
 WALLS

- Romans generally ascribed less

importance to colonnades,
particularly on side elevations
- Maison Carrée, Nimes
 ORDERS

- adapted and augmented the Greek

orders to reflect changing
circumstances and new uses
- created their own version of the
Doric Order
- Temple of Saturn, Rome
 SUPERCOLUMNIATION

ROMAN ORDER
PEDESTAL
CORNICE or CAP
DADO
BASE MOULDING
PLINTH
Composite Order - Combination of Ionic & Corinthian Capital
 VAULTS AND DOMES

- vault was created by the extrusion of

an arch along an axis
- dome was formed by rotating the
arch 360 degrees through its center
- geometrical purity has important
symbolic connotations
- Pantheon, Rome
TYPES OF VAULTS
 BARREL VAULT

- semi-circular or wagon-headed,
borne on two parallel walls
throughout its length
 CROSS VAULT

- formed by the intersection of two

semi-circular vaults of equal span
(used over square apartment or bays)
 HEMISPHERICAL
DOME
- used over circular structures
OCULUS
 MOSAICS

- thousands of small stones or glass

tiles set in mortar to form a pattern
- showed pictures of roman life
OPUS INCERTUM OPUS RETICULATUM OPUS TESTACEUM

CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE
 OPUS INCERTUM

- rough stones surrounding a concrete

core
 OPUS RETICULATUM

- pyramidal stones with square faces

and their points embedded in the
wall
 OPUS TESTACEUM

- triangular bricks as the concrete

facing
- laying thin triangular shapes
- present a smooth exterior and an
irregular inner face
- maximum bonding surface with the
cement mixture
 OPUS QUASI
OPUS QUADRATUM OPUS VITTATUM
RETICULATUM

OTHER CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES

 STRETCHER

HEADER

ROWLOCK

SOLDIER

SAILOR

SHINER

BRICK ORIENTATION
 NEW BUILDING
TYPES

- Romans created many new building

types such as: the forum,
hippodome, villa and the town house
- also, created the amphitheatre
- Colosseum, Rome
FORUMS
 ROMAN FORUM

- open space used as a meeting place ,

market or rendezvous for political
demonstrations
FORUM ROMANUM
FORUM ROMANUM
TEMPLES
 TEMPLE OF
PORTUNUS
- example of rectangular temple
- half of the columns were attached to
the naos wall
- raised in a podium
- oriented towards the south
- constructed of tuff and travertine and
was once entirely covered in stucco
TEMPLE OF PORTUNUS
 TEMPLE OF
VESTA

- circular temple, oldest building in

Rome made entirely of marble
- now Temple of Hercules Victor
- most sacred shrine & source of
Roman life & power
TEMPLE OF VESTA
PANTHEON
 PANTHEON
- 27 BC by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
- temple to all the gods (pan – all;
theos – god)
- largest dome of the ancient world
made of concrete
- most famous and perfect
preservation
- now converted into a Catholic
church named Sta. Maria Rotonda
 OCULUS

COFFERS

PANTHEON
 INTERIOR DOME

- best preserved, large-scale Roman

interior
- niches and semi-domes both elegant
and are key components to support
the weight of the dome
PANTHEON
PUBLIC BUILDINGS
 - served as both a market
and a law court, and
always followed the same
pattern: a broad, roofed
area was divided into
several aisles by rows of
columns; the central area
was taller than the side
aisles and had large
windows in its clerestory

BASILICA
BASILICA AEMILIA
TRAJAN’S BASILICA
PUBLIC BATHS
Thermae - a luxurious public bath
Thermae - a luxurious public bath
 PARTS OF A
THERMAE

- Main Building with chief apartments

- Tepidarium – warm room
- Caldarium – hot room or with hot
water bath
- Frigidarium – cooling room
- Sudarium – dry sweating room
 PARTS OF A
THERMAE

- Apodyteria – dressing room

- Palaestra – for physical exercise
- Unctuaria or untoria – place for oils
& perfumes
- Spaeresterium – game room
PUBLIC BATH HOUSES
 FURNACE

HYPOCAUST
FRIGIDARIUM APODYTERIA SUADARIUM
WARM ROOM

PUBLIC BATH HOUSES

HYPOCAUST
THEATERS
 THEATERS

- plays were performed in open-air

auditoriums
- based on the Greek model, but
instead of being circular, they were
semi-circular or D-shaped
- Theater of Marcellus

THEATER OF MARCELLUS
 THEATER OF
MARCELLUS

- plays were performed in open-air

auditoriums
- based on the Greek model, but
instead of being circular, they were
semi-circular or D-shaped especially
in the orchestra.
 THEATER OF
MARCELLUS

- dedicated to Augustus’ nephew, son-

in-law, and designated successor
- semi-circular travertine building was
free-standing
COLOSSEUM
 COLOSSEUM

- initiated by Emperor Vespasian and

competed in AD 80
- name derives from an outsized statue
of Nero that stood nearby
- Setting for spectacular games,
including mock sea battles
VOMITORY

PODIUM

PARTS OF THE COLOSSEUM

PARTS OF THE COLOSSEUM
VELARIUM
SUPERCOLUMNIATION
MONUMENTAL PILLAR/TOWER
TRAJAN’S COLUMN
 TRAJAN’S COLUMN

- only monument in the Forum that is

still almost intact today
- rises on a cubic plinth, consists of
seventeen drum-shaped marble
sections, and can be climbed by a
spiral staircase inside the column
 TRAJAN’S COLUMN

- was intended to show “the height of

the mountain that was removed with
so much labor
- both a victory monument and a
funerary memorial
 TRAJAN’S COLUMN

- frieze seems to translate Trajan’s own

account of the campaigns
- described the major events in two
wars against the Dacians, shown with
the figure of a goddess of victory
recording them in writing
PALACES, VILLAS AND HOUSES
PALACE OF DIOCLETIAN
PALACE OF DIOCLETIAN
 PALACE OF DIOCLETIAN

- retirement residence of Emperor

Diocletian,
- resembles a large fortress than a
palace: about half of it was for
Diocletian's personal use, and the
rest housed the military garrison
GOLDEN HOUSE OF NERO
ROME ON FIRE
 DOMUS
DOMUS - type of house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen in the city
 PROTHYRUM
(ENTRANCE) -
The entrance-
hall of a Roman
house, being a
small passage
between the
street-door
(ianua) and the
house-door
(ostium).

PARTS OF A DOMUS
 IMPLUVIUM
was a pool
that captured
rainwater from
the opening in
the roof.

PARTS OF A DOMUS
 ALAE -
The Alae were
the open rooms
on each side of
the Atrium. Their
use is mainly
unknown today.
The Alae had
windows to allow
light to enter
the house.

PARTS OF A DOMUS
 OECUS - An
apartment,
room, or hall in
an ancient
Roman dwelling
house.

PARTS OF A DOMUS
 TABLINUM -
An anteroom in a
house of ancient
Rome, opening
out of the atrium
opposite the main
entry and often
containing the
family statues and
archives.

PARTS OF A DOMUS
 KITCHEN

PARTS OF A DOMUS
 TRICLINIUM is a formal dining room in a Roman
building.

PARTS OF A DOMUS
PERISTYLE

PARTS OF A DOMUS
CUBICULA
- A small
room,
especially a
bedroom,
typically
those small
rooms
found on the
upper floor
of a Roman
house.

PARTS OF A DOMUS
DOMUS
VILLA - house built for the upper class in the countryside
HADRIAN’S SUMMER VILLA
VILLA
 XYSTUS

- (Roman) garden walk in front of the

porticoes, which was divided into
flower beds with borders of box, and
to a promenade between rows of
large trees
INSULA - a kind of apartment building that housed most of the urban citizen population
AQUEDUCTS AND BRIDGES
 AQUEDUCTS

- supply of running water brought in

from distant sources through
channels and pipes were supported
on aqueducts
- typically built with three layers of
ballast and surfaced with stone
HOW AQUEDUCTS WORK
 PONS

- Also ponte
- stone bridges built in the Roman
period
 PONS AEMILIUS

- oldest Roman stone bridge in Rome,

Italy
- spanned the Tiber, connecting the
Forum Boarium with Trastevere; a
single arch in mid-river is all that
remains today, lending the bridge its
name Ponte Rotto ("Broken bridge")
 LACUS

- designed similar to a large basin

of water
 SALIENTE

- similar to a large basin of water

with spouting jets
- simply fountains
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
GENERAL INFORMATION
 - GEOGRAPHY: Greece, Europe
- GEOLOGY: Plain soil form,
mountainous
- CLIMATE: Hot and dry summer, mild
and rainy winter
- CULTURE: Greek Mythology

GREEK
- GEOGRAPHY: Rome, Europe
- GEOLOGY: Plain soil form, near
volcanoes
- CLIMATE: Hot and dry summer, mild
rainfall on winter
- CULTURE: Supremacy of emperors,
Norse Mythology

ROMAN
CHARACTERISTICS
 - WALLS: Made of cut stone blocks
TRADEMARK FORMS: Rectangles,
straight lines
SUPPORT SYSTEMS: Post and Lintel

GREEK
WALLS: Concrete with ornamental
facing
TRADEMARK FORMS: Circles, curved
lines
SUPPORT SYSTEMS: Rounded arch

ROMAN
SITE PLAN
 USED FOR COMMERCIAL
PURPOSES

GREEK
 POLITICAL AND
RELIGIOUS IN NATURE

ROMAN
TOMB
 MYCENAEAN TOMB

GREEK
MAUSOLEUM OF
AUGUSTUS

ROMAN
WORSHIP BUILDING
 TEMPLES TO
GLORIFY GODS

GREEK
CIVIC BUILDINGS TO
HONOR EMPIRE

ROMAN
COLOSSAL STATUE WORSHIP, VENERATION OR ORNAMENT
 IDEALIZED GODS AND
GODDESSES

GREEK
 REALISTIC HUMANS,
IDEALIZED OFFICIALS

ROMAN
MONUMENTAL PILLAR/TOWER
 STELE

GREEK
EMPERORS’
COLUMNS

ROMAN
MONUMENTAL GATEWAY
 MYCENEAN
LION GATE

GREEK
TRIUMPHAL ARCH
OF EMPERORS

ROMAN
COLUMN: CAPITAL, SHAFT AND BASE
 MYCENEAN DORIC, DORIC,
IONIC, CORINTHIAN

GREEK
COMPOSITE AND
TUSCAN

ROMAN
PAINTINGS AND SUBJECT OF ART
 STYLIZED FIGURES FLOATING IN
SPACE; MYTHOLOGY

GREEK
 REALISTIC IMAGES WITH
PERSPECTIVE; CIVIC LEADERS,
MILITARY TRIUMPHS

ROMAN
 REFERENCES
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