A Concise Overview of Roman Art and Architecture
Roman Art and Architecture
Roman art and architecture assimilated and incorporated multiple elements from Etruscan and Greek traditions, as well as from the architecture of conquered territories.
Rationality and order were key principles in all Roman buildings, as emphasized by Vitruvius.
Materials used included marble, brick, opus latericium, stone, clay molding, and concrete, often covered with stone slabs and opus caementicium.
Architectural Orders
The Romans adapted the Greek orders, creating two variations:
- Tuscan Order: A Romanized version of the Doric order, featuring a smooth or grooved shaft, bases with two tori (bulls), a Scottish astragalus capital, and three circular rings.
- Composite Order: A combination of Corinthian and Ionic elements.
In multi-story buildings, the orders were often arranged as follows: Doric on the first level, Ionic on the second, and Corinthian or Composite on the third. Arches were commonly used, and roofs were constructed with stone for cannon vaults, boveda roofs, round or square domes, and semi-spherical domes. Walls were vertical, and apses often featured dome shafts with longitudinal axes.
Urban Planning
The Romans were adept developers of civil and religious works.
City Planning
Conquered cities followed the geometric layout of military camps (Greco-Hellenistic), using a checkerboard layout, as described by Vitruvius.
- Wastewater systems (sewage) were implemented.
- The plebs and middle class lived in insulae (apartment blocks), often made of wood, without running water, and with communal latrines.
- Wealthy individuals resided in domus (houses) with mosaic floors and frescoed walls.
The structure of Roman houses was copied from the Greek style, featuring elements such as:
- Fauces (entrance passage)
- Atrium (courtyard)
- Lararium (altar)
- Tablinum (reception room)
- Impluvium (pond)
- Peristylium (colonnaded garden)
- Triclinium (dining room)
Gardens were important, featuring plants such as oleander, cypress, ivy, laurel, and bananas. Importance was attached to pleasure gardens and villas.
Water was supplied through aqueducts.
Necropoleis (cemeteries) were located outside city walls.
Infrastructure
The Roman Empire was known for its extensive road network.
Forums were central public spaces, with the first dating to the Republican period and the second to the empire under Julius Caesar. The Emperor Augustus opened a unified forum designed by Apollodorus of Damascus.
Other important structures included libraries, praetoria (military headquarters), and nymphaea (ornamental fountains).
Architectural Works
Bridges
Bridges were crucial for communication, crossing rivers and other obstacles. The Romans employed arches extensively. Examples include the bridges at Alcántara, Mérida, and Córdoba.
Aqueducts
Aqueducts carried water to cities, often underground, covered by slabs with sillar stones. Channels were used to span valleys, supported by arches. Notable examples include the aqueducts at Segovia and Mérida.
Curia
The Curia was the senate house, where the Senate held its meetings. It typically had a rectangular or square platform.
Basilica
The Basilica served as a stock exchange, meeting room, and court. It typically had three naves separated by columns and a central apse.
Temples
Temples followed a Greek layout but with variations, such as a podium replacing the krepis (stepped platform), and were often pseudoperipteral or prostyle in design. They included a cella (inner chamber). Circular temples, such as the Temple of Vesta in Rome, were also built.
Sculpture
Portraits
Portraits, particularly of male citizens, were common. They were often created from plaster masks taken from the face of the deceased.
Greek sculptors also served Roman clients.
Bust portraits were popular, depicting figures such as Pompey, Cicero, and Agrippa.
Statue portraits depicted military leaders, priests, and senators, such as Tiberius and Claudius.
In the second century, colossal figures, such as Nero, were created.
Emperors were often idealized in their portraits.
Reliefs
Reliefs often depicted military triumphs and were frescoed. They were made of marble and stone.
Sarcophagi were richly decorated with reliefs.