Download Roman Architecture NOTES

Notes:
Roman Architecture
COLOSSEUM
History:
• Roman Colosseum or Coliseum, originally known as the Flavian
Amphitheatre, was commissioned in 72 by Emperor Vespasian. It was
completed by his son, Titus, in 80, with later improvements by Domitian. !
• Vespasian ordered the Colosseum to be built on the site of Nero's palace,
the Domus Aurea, to dissociate himself from the hated tyrant, as well as
addressing his own (growing) unpopularity among Romans. His aim was to
gain popularity by staging deadly combats of gladiators and wild animal fights
for public viewing.
Design:
• The Colosseum is located just east of the Roman Forum and was built to a
practical design, with its 80 arched entrances allowing easy access to 55,000
spectators, who were seated according to rank in one of the four levels – 1.
Wealthy Patricians/Politicians; 2. Military & Middle Class; 3. Ordinary
Plebeians; 4. Slaves
!
• The Coliseum is huge, an ellipse 188m long and 156 wide. Originally 240
masts were attached to stone corbels on the 4th level.
Purpose:
• Roman gladiators were usually slaves, prisoners of war or condemned
criminals. Most were men, but there were a few female gladiators. These
combats were attended by the poor, the rich, and frequently the emperor
himself. As gladiators fought, vicious cries and curses were heard from the
audience around the Roman Colosseum. !
• One contest after another was staged in the course of a single day. Massacre
was on a huge scale: at inaugural games in AD 80, over 9,000 wild animals
were killed.
!
• Should the ground become too soaked with blood, it was covered over with
a fresh layer of sand and the performance went on. The gladiatorial games
continued until Christianity progressively put an end to those parts of them
which included the death of humans.
PANTHEON
!
History:
• The Pantheon – the Temple to ALL gods – was originally built in 27-25 BC by
the magistrate Marcus Agrippa (his name appears on the inscription
outside), to commemorate the victory of Actium over Antony and
Cleopatra. This original temple burned down in 80 AD. • The Pantheon was completely reconstructed in 125 AD by Hadrian, a
cosmopolitan emperor who had traveled widely in the East. The second
temple was dedicated to every known god, from which the Pantheon gets its
name. Hadrian himself is credited with the basic plan, an architectural design
that was unique for the time. • The Pantheon was maintained and restored by various emperors. During its
two centuries as a functioning temple, statues of gods filled the niches.
Animals were sacrificed and burned in the center; the smoke escaped
through the only means of light, the oculus. • After Christianity replaced paganism in Rome, the Pantheon was abandoned
for a time. Public pagan worship was prohibited in 346 and most pagan
temples were closed in 356. Fortunately, a decree of 408 ordered that
temples were to be put to new use; thus some have been preserved and
were used as secular buildings. Design:
• The Pantheon is widely praised for its feats of architecture and concept of
space. At 43m (142 ft) wide and 43m (142 ft) high, it is a perfect sphere
resting in a cylinder. • The Pantheon's huge dome is a perfect hemisphere of cast concrete, resting
on a solid ring wall. Outside, the dome is covered in almost weightless
cantilevered brick. • With a span of 43.2 m (142 feet), it was the largest dome in the world until
Brunelleschi's dome in Florence of 1420-36. • The portico (porch) is made of 16 monolithic Corinthian columns topped
by a pediment. The inscription M·AGRIPPA·L·F·COS·TERTIUM·FECIT
means: "Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, during his third consulate, built this."
• The bronze doors leading into the building (which are original and were
once covered in gold) weigh 20 tons each. The walls of the Pantheon are
7.5m (25 ft.) thick. • The oculus, the only source of natural light in the Pantheon, is a round
opening in the center of the dome. It is 27 feet in diameter and open to the
sky (the floor is gently sloped to allow for runoff of rainwater). !
• The main altar of the church is opposite the entrance, and the original 7thcentury icon of the Madonna and Child can be seen above it. This was
previously dated to the 13th century, but the 7th-century original was
recently recovered under layers of over painting. It is a rare survival of an
icon from a period when they were a common feature in Roman churches.
The apse is decorated with a golden mosaic featuring crosses.
Purpose:
• Monumental tombs are set into the walls of Pantheon, including that of the
artist Raphael (on the left side as you enter).Vittorio Emanuele II, first king
of a unified Italy, and his successor, Umberto I, are interred here as well.
• In the plaza outside the Pantheon is a lovely fountain topped by an ancient
Egyptian obelisk. The obelisk and its base were erected by Pope Clement XI. !
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Aqueducts
History of the Ancient Roman Aqueducts The first water supply to Rome was via the River Tiber and local natural springs.
However the population of Rome greatly increased and the problem of water
supply to all of the people of Rome was resolved through the development of
aqueduct technology by the Roman engineers. The date of the first recorded
aqueduct in Rome was in the year 312 B.C.E. A number of additional aqueducts
were built conveying water from distant springs and streams to Rome.
How Roman Aqueducts work
People are still fascinated by how Roman aqueducts work. The water in the
aqueducts ran gently through concrete channels. Multi-tiered viaducts were
developed by Roman engineers to cross low areas. Water from the ancient Roman
aqueducts passed into large, covered catch-basins in Rome designed to deposit
their sediment. The water from the catch-basins was distributed through freeflowing canals, lead and terra-cotta pipes to storage reservoirs and then through
lead pipes, called fistulae, to the people who inhabited the ancient city of Rome. A
waste-water collection system discharged the waste into the drains or sewer
system. The main outlet of the initial drainage system (Cloaca Maxima) was the
Tiber River.
Ancient Roman Aqueducts
The Romans expended immense sums of money on the Ancient Roman aqueducts
and baths. One of the most remarkable aqueducts was the Claudian aqueduct,
which was completed by the emperor Claudius although started by Caligula. They
featured high arches and beautiful and stately pillars. The first invention of
aqueducts, is attributed to Appius Claudius, four hundred forty-one years from the
foundation of the city of Rome, who brought water into the city, by a channel of
eleven miles in length—but afterwards several others of greater magnitude were
built: several of them were cut through the mountains, and all other impediments
for about forty miles together, and of such a height that a man on horseback might
ride through them without the least difficulty. But this is meant only of the
constant course of the channel, for the vaults and arches were in some places one
hundred and nine feet high. It is said that Rome was supplied with five hundred
thousand barrels every twenty-four hours by means of these Ancient Roman
aqueducts. The cloacae or sewers were constructed by undermining and cutting
through the seven hills upon which Rome stood. The Cloaca Maxima was the
main sewerage system of Ancient Rome.
!
Ancient Roman Aqueducts - the Aqua Claudia
The Colosseum Amphitheatre was provided with water via the Aqua Claudia
aqueduct and distributed through free-flowing canals, lead and terra-cotta pipes to
storage reservoirs and then through lead pipes. A waste-water collection system
discharged the waste into the drains or sewer system. The main outlet of the
initial drainage system (Cloaca Maxima) was the Tiber River.
The Importance of Ancient Roman Aqueducts
The importance of the ancient Roman aqueducts cannot be emphasized enough.
The final destruction Rome occurred in 537 AD during a siege on Rome by the
Goths. The aqueducts which supplied Rome with water were destroyed. The
people of Rome could not survive without water and the population of Rome fell
by 90%.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta (Aedes Vesta) was one of the most ancient Roman
sanctuaries in the forum. It was dedicated to Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. The
much restored remains of the temple stands between the Temple of Castor and
Pollux, the Temple of Caesar, the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins.
The temple underwent many changes through the centuries, maybe because of the
inherent danger of fire in the cult, and very little is known about the oldest
buildings on the site. They did, however, have some common, immutable features.
All the buildings on the spot followed the circular ground plan and the entrance
was always to the east.
The current temple dates from 191 BCE, when Julia Domna, wife of the
emperor Septimius Severus, ordered a thorough restoration.
The circular cella was surrounded by twenty Corinthian columns and rested on a
marble covered podium in opus caementicium with a 15m diameter. The outer wall
of the cella was decorated by semi-columns. The inside of the cella only housed
the sacred hearth where the Vestal Virgins kept the eternal fire burning.
The temple was closed by Teodosius in 394 BCE, when all non-Christian cults
were definitively banned.
The vestal virgins were selected from distinguished patrician families at an age
from three to ten. A vestal virgin served thirty years. The first ten years as novices,
then ten years as vestal virgins proper, and at last ten years as supervisors. After
the thirty years of duty they were free, also to marry. Marrying a former vestal
virgin was highly prestigious.
The Order of the Vestal Virgins was led by the senior member, the Virgo Vestalis
Maxima. The vestal virgins were under the protection of the pontifex maximus.
The vestals vowed to live in chastity for the thirty years their tenure lasted. As
compensation they had many privileges not given to ordinary Roman women. The
vestals were not subject to the pater potestas of their father, they could handle
their own property and write a legally binding testament, they had special seats in
the front row at the games where women normally were relegated to the back
seats and they were allowed to move around in the city in a carriage. Their
persons were inviolable and sacred and their blood could not be spilt. If a person
sentenced to death, met a vestal virgin on his way to the execution, he was
automatically pardoned.
The punishment for breaking the vow of chastity was death by burial alive—the
only way to kill a vestal without shedding her blood—in a place known as the "Evil
Fields", or Campus Sceleratus, just outside the Servian Wall. Their lover would be
flogged to death on the Comitium. The execution of one or more vestal virgins
was carried out several times, but very infrequently.
The vestal virgins lived in the House of the Vestal Virgins on the Forum Romanum,
near the Temple of Vesta.
The temple was partially rebuilt in 1930 using ancient fragments.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Arch of Titus (Triumphal Arch)
The Arco di Tito (Arch of Titus) stands in a slightly elevated position on a spur
of the Palatine Hill at the entrance to the Roman Forum in Rome. Its religious
significance lies in its depiction of the sacking of Jerusalem and its sacred temple
by the Romans in 70 AD.
History
The arch was erected in 81 AD, shortly after the emperor's death, to celebrate the
70 AD sack of Jerusalem after the great Jewish revolt. This event was highly
significant, marking the beginning of the Jewish Diaspora throughout Europe. The
Temple has never been rebuilt, and all the remains of the original is theWestern
Wall, the holiest site in Judaism. The monument has been cleaned and restored.
What to See
The view of the Colosseum from the arch is superb, which is fitting since it was
Emperor Titus (39-81 AD) who helped finish the vast amphitheater begun by his
father Vespasian.
The Arch of Titus is articulated with a massive order of attached columns. The
capitals are Corinthian, but with prominent volutes of the Ionic order scrolling out
above the acanthus foliage, the earliest example of the Composite order. Above
the main cornice rises a high weighty attic on which is a central tablet bearing the
dedicatory inscription:
SENATVS
POPVLVSQVE·ROMANVS
DIVO·TITO·DIVI·VESPASIANI·F(ILIO)
VESPASIANO·AVGVSTO
The Senate and People of Rome to the divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of the
divine Vespasian.
Two panel reliefs line the passageway. Both commemorate the joint triumph
celebrated by Titus and his father Vespasian in the summer of 70 AD. One of the
panels depicts the spoils taken from the Temple, including a huge seven-branched
menorah, being carried in triumph down Rome's Via Sacra. The other panel
depicts the triumphant Titus attended by various genii and lictors.
The deeply-coffered soffit of the arch depicts the apotheosis (transformation into
a god) of Titus in the center. The sculpture of the outer faces of the two great
piers was lost when the Arch of Titus was incorporated in medieval defensive
walling. The attic of the arch was originally crowned by more statuary, perhaps of a
quadriga pulled by elephants.
The Arch of Titus has provided the general model for many of the triumphal
arches erected since the 16th century.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Trajan’s Column
!
The Column of Trajan was, when it was built, the most impressive tower in the
world. The column itself stood 100 feet tall, supported by a massive rectangular
base and topped with a gilded statue of Trajan seated on a horse. The entire
column was covered in friezes depicting Trajan's victory in the Dacian wars. The
wars are shown as a series of vignettes which each illustrate specific events. The
scenes cover the entire range of Roman military activity: fighting, collecting food,
marching, and building. They also show many details of the land the Romans passed
through and of the enemies they fought. The figures in the carvings (over 2,000
appear) are about 2/3 life size, and they are so detailed that they cannot be easily
viewed from the ground. This attention to detail has created a conundrum for
modern archaeologists - how could ancient Romans have fully appreciated the
entire column? This riddle remains to be solved.
Another unique characteristic of Trajan's Column is the winding staircase that
exists inside the marble tower itself. The precision and workmanship displayed in
the staircase is incredible; one researcher deemed it "looks like it could be a
modern addition." Also present are a series of windows (merely holes in the
column), strategically placed on the outside of the column to give light to
someone walking up the stairs. For the climber, the windows would be the only
source of light, yet they were placed high enough such that the only thing a
climber would be able to see looking out of them would be the sky. At the top of
the stairs was the viewing platform. Here, the climber's journey ended: after
experiencing the bright rectangles of light inside the column, the visitor would be
thrust into an epiphany of daytime on the viewing platform, which gave in ancient
times a spectacular view of the Markets of Trajan, Trajan's Forum, Capitol Hill, and
the Campus Martius. The visitor would be viewing the splendor of Rome from
over 120 feet in the air, which must have been simply breathtaking for the ancient
Romans, even as it is for us today.
A final interesting fact about Trajan's Column lies in its base. When Trajan died, his
ashes were ceremoniously buried beneath the column which would allow his
name to live on forever. The Romans actually carved a small chamber into the
base for their Emperor to rest there forever. However, they have now been lost in
time. !
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum (Forum Romanum) was the central area of the city around
which ancient Rome developed. Here was where commerce, business, prostitution,
cult and the administration of justice took place. Space where religious activities
were conducted and the communal hearth of the city.
The Roman Forum was designed by the architect Vitruvius with proportions 3:2
(length to width). For centuries, the Forum Romanum was the site of the city's
most important public buildings, such as the Arch of Septimius Severus, built in
AD203 and the Roman Forum Rostra or platforms for public speeches. The reliefs
on the triple arch represented many of Rome's victories over oriental tribes and
the Rostra was decorated with prows of warships captured during battles. The
Roman Forum became the spectacular showcase of the Roman Empire filled with
beautiful statues and architecture.
The main sight of the Forum includes the Arch of Titus (Arco di Tito), the Temple
of Saturn, Temple of Vesta, and the church of San Luca e Martina. These are all
linked by the Sacra Via, the main road through the Forum.
!