Architecture in Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome architecture were diverse from Greek architecture

Ancient Rome architecture took on the external language of classical Greek architecture for their own intentions, which were very diverse from Greek structures as to craft a new architectural style.The two styles are frequently considered one body of classical architecture, which sometimes is a productive approach, and at times it hinders understanding through judging Roman buildings by Greek standards.

Ancient Rome architecture symbolizes a mixture of Greek and Etruscan elements, particularly the trabeated orders, with innovative structural principles based on the advancement of the arch and of new building material, the concrete.

For the entire republican period, ancient Rome architecture was almost the exact duplicate of Greece architecture, apart from the arch Etruscan contribution, and its later three-dimensional equal, the dome. The Romans attained originality in architectural construction late in their existence.

The only two significant developments were the Composite and Tuscan orders, where the first is a basic variant on the Doric order, and the latter being a tall order with floral decorations of the Corinthian and the Ionic scrolls. Modernizations began in the 1st century BC, with the discovery of concrete, a stronger and readily replacement for stone.

Marble was quickly replaced by tile-covered concrete as the primary building material, thereby more bold buildings soon followed, with great pillars sustaining broad domes and arches rather than thick lines of columns hanging flat architraves. The freedom also inspired a row of purely decorative columns in front of a load-bearing wall, the “colonnade screen”.

Excellent architecture of Ancient Rome: Colosseum, Roman Catacombs, Curia Hostilia

In a smaller scale in ancient Rome architecture, the concrete’s strength liberated the floor plan from the customary rectangular cells, to a more free-flowing surrounding.General Sulla’s return from campaigns in Greece brought with him what is possibly the most famous element during the early imperial times, the mosaic, which was a decoration of multicolored chips of stone inset into the cement.

The tiling technique took ancient Rome architecture by storm in the late 1st century and the 2nd century, which gave Roman homes a popular mural in beautifying walls, floors, and grottos in pictorial and geometrical designs.

Although many would deem concrete to be the most relevant contribution of the Romans to the modern world, ancient Rome architecture though no longer often used, can still be seen throughout Europe and North America in the domes and arches of a lot of religious and governmental buildings.

Some of the great evidences of excellent ancient Roman architecture can be seen in magnificent structures such as the Colosseum, Roman Catacombs, Curia Hostilia, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, Temple of Castor and Pollux, Temple of Jupiter, Temple of Romulus, Temple of Saturn, Temple of Vesta, Basilica Aemilia, Basilica Julia, Arch of Septimius Severus, Arch of Titus Rostra, and many more.