History of Architecture - Roman History (Facts)

Via dell’Abbundanza 150 BC

• also known as the street of abundance

• paved in lava stones and volcanic ash

• every 20 feet there are blocks so people can avoid stepping in horse poop and water

Stabian Baths 150 BC

• there was a bath on every block of the empire

• workdays were early and ended by noon, so people spent their day in the baths

• the baths were provided to citizens for free due to them being good citizens

• water comes through the floor and is heated by furnaces

Villa of the Mysteries 150 BC

• large agricultural villa outside Pompeii

• surrounded by a moat with tunnels underneath

• there is a painting room filled with famous fresco paintings

Ampitheater 80 BC

• mostly used for gladiator fights (fights between men, or men and animals)

• central area is called an arena while the shape is called an ellipse

• used prisoners/criminals for entertainment (had them fight to the death)

House of the Vettii 50

• roof was covered with terracotta

• sloped roofs allowed rain to slide off

• did business in the front while business was typically done outside of houses

Villa at Boscoreale 50 BC

• means “royal woods”

• transported from metropolitan museum (50 ft from kouros)

• romans always ate lying down

Piazza della Consolazione Relief 100 BC

• found in a plaza in Rome

• sculpted out of marble

• patron goddess of Rome (goddess of war on shield)

Statue of Livia 14

• Latvia is the wife of the first emperor of Rome, Augustus

• carved out of marble

• she was a ruler for 20 years

Perfectio Scene 93

• next line of emperors after Nero committed suicide

• built next to the colosseum

• war theme (preparing for war)

Bust of Julius Ceaser 100

• glass eyes, green slate

• greatest Roman in History

• started the roman empire

Nero and Agrippina 150

• direct descent from first emperor

• murdered her husband, Claudius so that Nero could be emperor

• Nero had his mother killed and also murdered his wife and mistress

Diana and Acteon Sarcophagus 150

• Diana is sister of apollo

• Christian belief of the afterlife

• commissioned by wealthy Roman aristocrat

Ara Pacis 13 BC

• altar of peace

• carved out of uni marble

• 2 registers, lower filled with plants, upper filled with structural figures

Augustus of Primaporta 20

• won the war against Mark Anthony

• son of Julius Ceaser

• mouth was closed because he had bad teeth

Arch of Titus 81

• very first triumphal arch

Column of Trajan, Trajan’s Forum 106

• Trajan was a great military conqueror

• Rome reached its largest expanse under Trajan’s rule

• Spanish, first non-Italian empire

Marcus Aurelius 176

• greatest roman emperor, philosopher, and king

• great soldier and warrior

• wrote a book about philosophy called the meditations

Commodus as Hercules 191

• son of Marcus Aure

• worst emperor (received none of his father’s qualities)

• participated in gladiator games but was only allowed to fight midgets

Tetrarchs 300

• carved out of a purple Egyptian marble

• emperor decided Rome was too large for him to remain the emperor, so he divided Rome into 4 sections and hired 3 friends to be co-emperors

• they were successful until two of their sons went to war which ended the Roman empire

Arch of Constantine 312

• sculptures come from stolen/ruined monuments

• located next to the colosseum

• only modern part of the monument is the horizontal band

• archaic styled sculptures

Pont du Gard 20

• made of cement and concrete

• how romans supplied water to the city

• everything the Romans built they used a module which ensured aesthetic harmony

Basilica Aemelia 13

• basilica is a kind of building made by the Romans

• designed to house markets and courts

• combined things they saw in other countries

Colosseum 80

• located in Rome, largest structure

• not used for anything anymore, filled with cats and tourists

• created by Flavian and his sons

• made with Tribulus motifs

• 80 enterances

Flavian Palace 92

• the word palace comes from palatine which is the name of the hill

• largest foundation walls (only thing that remians)

• same layout as houses in Italy/Pompeii

Markets of Trajan 100

• largest market in Rome

• has a road on top

• marble no longer remains

Pantheon 125

• pantheon means “all the gods”

• building was destroyed and replaced with a rotunda

• original columns were imported from Egypt

Hadrian’s Villa 135

• established a university

• the water is a recreation of a section of water from the Nile River

• features a statue of Antinoos (Hadrian fell in love with him at the end of his career, considered to be the most beautiful boy in the world, he drowned in the Nile River so the pond was a memorial to him)

Baths of Caracalla 217

• used to be popular during summers to listen to the opera but the sound was damaging the walls

• goal of the building was to be “paradise on earth”

• had statues of emperors inside

Palace of Diocletian 300

• Diocletian was the only king to quit

• instead of having 1 large rotunda there was a smaller rotunda on every corner

• laid out like a mini city

Basilica of Maxentius 312

• largest basilica

• started by Maxentius and finished by Constantine

• has a large statue of Constantine inside

Good shepherd 300

• before Christianity was legalized, they built underground caves for Christianity

• painted the ceiling, good shepherd fresco

• features Christ with sheep, scenes from the bible, and Christian preachers

Old St. Peter’s Basilica 320

• first Christian Basilica in Rome

• made of brick and timber

• in the current building you can go down a few floors to see the original brick

Santa Constanza 338

• daughter of emperor, Constantine

• lived in Rome and had architects sent to build her the building

• 12 pairs of columns (represents the 12 zodiacs signs)

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus 359

• by now Christianity was legal and state religion

• carved out of marble

• features scenes from the bible

Santa Sabina 422

• doors have wooden relief carvings of the crucifixion of Christ

• Cosmati tiling (colorful and geometrical)

• the church has good acoustics

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia 425

• has flat arcades (arches built into walls)

• bottom part is plain, representing material world

• pendentive domb

Baptistery of the Orthodox 450

• baptized in the font in the center of the room

• roof has a mosaic of the baptism of Christ

• has 3 main levels (top level is mosaics, second level is relief sculptures, bottom level is arches)

Church of San Vitale 547

• women were never allowed into the worshipping room during the middle ages

• 3 windows for the trinity in the main atrar room

• Christian images were never intended to be realistic

Emperor Justinian and His Attendants

• has a golden halo and a purple robe to show royalty

• holding bread for eucharist

• shield has first and last letters of Christ’s name in Greek

• features bishops holding different things

Empress Theodora and Her Attendants 547

• considered to be the greatest rags to riches story

• wearing purple robe to show royalty

• shells are symbols of Christ

• background is symbol of heaven

• fountain is symbol of baptism