Roman architecture borrowed heavily from the Greeks, but the Romans eventually made a unique name for themselves in the architectural world with their innovative use of arches and vaulted ceilings.
I appreciate your writing style, photos, and historical acumen.The Pantheon is arguably the most well-preserved architectural marvel from the ancient Roman era.
Ancient Roman temples are among the most visible archaeological remains of Roman culture, and are a significant source for Roman architecture.
That’s peanuts compared with what the Romans built.The most spectacular use of the dome by the Romans is in the Pantheon, which was constructed in Rome during the reign of—and perhaps under the watchful eye of—the emperor Hadrian from 117-138 CE/AD.
Located in present-day southern France, it was built somewhere in the middle of the first century AD. With the imminent fall of the Roman Empire on the horizon, Maison Carrée was given a fresh lease of life when it was turned into a Christian church in the fourth century. It allows for much bigger floor space and reduces the likelihood of fires.© The Teaching Company, LLC. In that time, about 5,000 animals and 2,000 gladiators fought to their deaths in an unprecedented extravaganza of gladiatorial and bestiarius battles.In many ways, ancient Roman architecture is very different from the buildings and monuments of ancient Greece and Egypt. Most of the largest architectural structures in the Greek world were theaters, some of which could hold 20,000 to 40,000 people, depending on whether you counted the people who sat on the grassy slopes above the level where there was permanent seating.
The construction of this temple was completed in 125 AD during the rule of Hadrian.Located on the Iberian peninsula, the Aqueduct of Segovia still retains its structural integrity to this day, making it one of the best-preserved pieces of architecture from ancient Rome. Later, somewhere around 1863, the arena was remodeled into a huge bullring. The amphitheatre was, with the triumphal arch and basilica, the only major new type of building developed by the Romans.
The construction of the Colosseum, the largest and most popular ancient Roman monument, began during the reign of Emperor Vespasian in 72 AD. A low podium leads to a porch that is entered through Corinthian columns. First, a Greek temple can be approached up the steps from any side. It presents us with something entirely new in the history of architecture—a vast, uncluttered, interior space, which, in the words of Frank Sear, “creates the physical embodiment of the universal cosmos.”From the lecture series: Greece and Rome — An Integrated History of the Ancient MediterraneanThe Circus Maximus, where chariot races took place, could hold about 250,000. But unlike their predecessors, the Romans placed far more emphasis on the practicality of their architectural designs.
The Pantheon (the word, which is Greek, means “all the gods”) is an extraordinary building. A Roman temple, by contrast, looks its best from the front and can be entered only from the front.Although Roman architecture preserved the architectural conventions invented by the Greeks, it also developed them in completely new ways, notably after the introduction of concrete—that’s to say, mortared rubble. The lower sections are made of stone, the middle sections of brick, and the top section of concrete.
Roman temples were architecturally unique, but reflected a few influences from other cultures.
The architecture of cathedrals and great churches is characterised by the buildings' large scale and follows one of several branching traditions of form, function and style that derive ultimately from the Early Christian architectural traditions established in Late Antiquity during the Christianization of … These differences tell us a great deal about the differing functions of a temple in both societies. This aqueduct was constructed without the use of any mortar; Roman engineers built this three-story masterpiece by fitting together massive blocks of precisely cut stones.