Roman Architecture: Weeks 11 & 12

Dancing Faun, Pompeii

The online course from Yale University Department of Classics on Roman Architecture is finally over and
done and what an informative course it was! The fact that a course of this depth and quality is offered free to the public is amazing. I'm looking to enroll for another course soon on Greek and Roman mythology. I soon recognized in this course that it was impossible to separate the study of Roman architecture from their mythology. The elaborate ornamentation of Ancient Rome was rich in symbolism. Roman ornament not mere decoration but an act of sympathetic communication collectively understood by a cultured community. I've decided to conclude the series by highlighting a few examples of Roman ornamentation, a pervasive theme throughout the course.

Fauns

Faunus was the Roman god of the forest and the fields. Perhaps more intimately important to a Roman proud of his history, Faunus was said to have been an ancient king of the Latins, a forefather of Rome's founders Romulus and Remus. The patrician villa, the "House of the Faun" in Pompeii is so named for the dancing Faun excavated there.

Medusas

Perhaps I took my history lesson from Clash of the Titans as a child but I always thought of Medusa as a hideous monster. The truth is the gorgons were seen as simultaneously endowed with beauty and terror, the writhing snakes of their hair, a symbol of fertility. Furthermore, I was really impressed to learn that the word "medusa" literally means "protector". The head of the Medusa was utilized as a symbol of royal "aegis", shield or protection.

Arcade of the Severan Forum, Leptis Magna

Swans

 

Black Room, Boscotrecase

Swans were associated particularly with the god Apollo and are the subject of a number of legends of the metamorphosis of life, death and rebirth. Apollo was the patron god of the first emperor Augustus and his daughter Julia had swans for decoration at her villa in Boscotrecase.

 

 

Sacrificial Instruments

Ritual animal sacrifice was a major occupation of Roman religion. The blood, innards and organs were offered to the gods whilst the meat of the animals was shared communally. Only a flawless specimen was chosen and had to be quickly, cleanly dispatched. A number of Roman temple friezes record various implements utilized. In this example we see a priestly helmet, whip, pitcher, knife, libation dish and axe surrounded by two bucrania or ox skulls.

Temple of Divine Vespasian, Rome

Acanthus

Temple of Diana, Jerash

The acanthus plant was long held as a symbol of life, rebirth and immortality. That is quite understandable as, although attractive, the acanthus is really a weed that is hard to exterminate in its native climate. The acanthus leaf was developed as an ornamental motif for foliated scroll work and notably the Corinthian capital. Vitruvius relays the legendary origin of a young maiden upon whose grave a votive basket with some her personal possessions was left, covered with a roof tile. An acanthus plant sprung up around it, creating a beautiful effect noticed by the famous Greek sculptor Callimachus which provided him inspiration for invention of the Corinthian capital.


Contributed by Patrick Webb 

The Form of Gothic

Tintern Abbey

Previously, I discussed the "Spirit of Gothic", highlighting the perspective of 19th century author, artist, naturalist John Ruskin from his treatise "The Stones of Venice" wherein he describes Gothic first in terms of its internal nature, the moral characteristic, the mental expression, the source of its power that he simply describes as its Spirit. Ruskin further elaborated on the external identifying physical features, what he describes as the "Form of Gothic". Likewise early 20th century architect and author Claude Fayette Bragdon contributed insightful commentary into what distinguishes the Gothic as a deeply humanistic yet unique architecture in a series of essays collectively entitled "The Beautiful Necessity". Drawing from these two sources I'll attempt to undertake an examination of the true Nature of Gothic, its Spirit as manifested in physical Form.

The Pointed Arch

Worcester Cathedral

Gothic was not the only architecture to have made use of the pointed arch; however, it certainly exploits the form to its fullest potential, particularly noteworthy in the vaulting of its interior ceilings. Western architecture specifically witnessed three developments in ceiling design: post and lintel exemplified by the Egyptians and Greeks, the rounded arch, including barrel vaults and domes reaching a pinnacle of achievement during the Lombardic and Byzantine Romanesque, and finally the myriad of possibilities associated with the pointed arch and resulting vaults of the Gothic. Closely associated with what Ruskin earlier identified as the spirit of Variety, he noted that "capable of perpetual variety, the pointed arch was not merely a bold variation from the round, but it admitted of millions of variations in itself; for the proportions of a pointed arch are changeable to infinity, while a circular arch is always the same." 

The Acute Gable

We can think of the Gothic ceiling itself really as a gable with curved sides as an arch is truly a continuous curve and can't actually be "pointed". The Gothic ceiling does not serve as the external roof of the structure as occasionally might occur in the domed roofs of the Romanesque. What distinguishes the Gothic gable however, it that the angle declining from its ridge is nearly always acute and severely acute in its best examples. In its natural home of the Northern climates this acute pitch of the roof serves the practical function of preventing heavy snow accumulation. So in a summary to this point we can identify the form of the Gothic roofing system as an acute gabled roof surmounted above a pointed arch or "curved gable".

Notre-Dame de Paris

Foliation

Palazzo Ducale

Aside from ornamental enrichment there are really two types of foliation that are manifest in Gothic architecture, both being associated with the pointed arch. The first is the general outline of the pointed arch itself, necessary as its greatest potential structural weakness is the possibility of giving way on the sides if receiving downward force upon the point above. The practical solution obtained was to integrate cusps on either side, although not intended precisely to imitate foliage, would imbue as Ruskin observed "the same characters of beauty which the designer had discovered in the leaf." Hence the architectural term "foliation" meaning "leafy or leaved" to describe this type of opening.

Bishop's Eye, Lincoln Cathedral

The spirit of Naturalism keenly expresses itself with second expression of foliation characteristic of the Gothic, that of foliated traceries filling windows and portals. Again, this was not in direct imitation of nature but drew upon her as a source of inspiration as Ruskin opines, "The idea that large Gothic structure, in arches and roofs, was intended to imitate vegetation, is, as above noticed, untenable for an instant in the front of facts. But the Gothic builder perceived that, in the leaves which he copied for his minor decorations, there was a peculiar beauty, arising from certain characters of curvature in outline, and certain methods of subdivision and of radiation in structure. On a small scale, in his sculptures and his missal-painting, he copied the leaf or thorn itself; on a large scale he adopted from it its abstract sources of beauty, and gave the same kind of curvatures and the same species of subdivision to the outline of his arches, so far as was consistent with their strength, never, in any single instance, suggesting the resemblance to leafage by irregularity of outline, but keeping the structure perfectly simple, and, as we have seen, so consistent with the best principles of masonry."  

Clustered Columns

In my previous post I had affirmed that Gothic architecture might very well be the most humanistic architecture ever conceived. I would point to the principal means of support, the system of columns to uphold this contention. Like the pointed arch the clustered column allows for a myriad of adaptations whereas the single shafts of the Classical orders (admittedly of anthropological origins and humanistic themselves) establish whilst constraining the proportional variations possible in the resultant architecture of which Ruskin provides the following critique, "we must no more expect to derive either pleasure or profit from an architecture...whose pillars are of one proportion, than we should out of a universe in which the clouds were all of one shape, and the trees all of one size." 

Amiens Cathedral

Gothic cathedrals are known for their ascending heights. However, whereas the Renaissance solution for a similar effect such as at St. Peter's was to enlarge the column, creating colossal orders, the Gothic masons found a means through the articulation of the clustered column to maintain a scale in relation to the individual, a point well articulated by Claude Bragdon, "architecture is not necessarily the most awe-inspiring which gives the impression of having been built by giants for the abode of pigmies; like the other arts, architecture is highest when it is most human. The mediaeval builders, true to this dictum, employed stones of a size proportionate to the strength of a man working without unusual mechanical aids; the great piers and columns, built up of many such stones, were commonly subdivided into clusters, and the circumference of each shaft of such a cluster approximated the girth of a man; by this device the moulding of the base and the foliation of the caps were easily kept in scale."

 
Balance

Amiens Cathedral

Symmetry, specifically bilateral symmetry certainly provides an obvious state of balance. This occurs vertically of course in the human body, at least if dividing facing its front or back. Nevertheless, nature provides numerous alternative states of equilibrium of which Bragdon highlights an example familiar to all of us, "If one were to establish an axial plane vertically through the center of a tree, in most cases it would be found that the masses of foliage, however irregularly shaped on either side of such an axis, just about balanced each other." He goes on to illustrate how that principle of balance was well understood by medieval builders and informed their work, "A far more subtle and vital illustration of the law occurs when the opposed elements do not exactly match, but differ from each other, as in the case of the two towers of Amiens, for example. This sort of balance may be said to be characteristic of Gothic."

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Contributed by Patrick Webb

Architectural Word of the Day; 61 - 70

ANGULAR, SCAMOZZI IONIC

The angular Ionic capital is a variation having all sides identical, manifesting volutes. It is particularly useful for resolving the aesthetic of outside corner conditions.

Taken from Roman precedent, Vincenzo Scamozzi successfully canonized the angular capital in his 1615 architectural treatise L’Idea della Architettura Universale.

PILASTER

Pilasters resemble rectangular columns but being in low relief (commonly one fifth projection) are strictly decorative applications providing no structural support of the entablature above.

Pilasters typically do not have entasis or diminution yet otherwise conform to the details of the main order.



ENGAGED COLUMN

An engaged column has at least half to three quarters of its shaft exposed. It maintains the entasis or diminution of a free standing column and likewise performs a functional role of support of the entablature.

ENTABLATURE

In Classical architecture the ‘entablature’ is the superstructure resting atop piers or columns that consists of, from bottom to top, the architrave, frieze and cornice. The name derives from the Latin ‘intavolare’ meaning to place on a table.

Courtesy of Palladio Mouldings

DENTIL

Could you guess that these rectangular ornaments come from the Latin term for tooth, ‘denticulus’? When dentils are a feature of a cornice the entablature is said to be ‘denticulated’.

Traditionally dentils have a height twice their width and are separated by a distance two thirds their width. A theory of their origin is that they represent the cantilevered ends of beams used to support a projecting upper storey.


TRIGLYPH

All of these ornaments are associated with the entablature frieze of the Doric architectural order.
The name ‘triglyph’ derives from Greek, meaning ‘three glyphs’ (γλύφω)or carvings. The two indentations in the middle are obvious and you can notice two half glyphs on either side making a total of three complete gylyphs. The design is thought to represent the ends of three hewn and chamfered wooden planks bound together to form a beam for support of the attic.

TAENIA

The ‘taenia’ is the thin strip below the triglyph, marking the separation of the frieze above and the architrave of which it is the top most member. ‘Taenia’ is also of Greek origin (ταινία) meaning ‘ribbon’ or ‘tape’. Some may recognize it as the medical term for tapeworm.

REGULA

The Latin word for ‘rule’ (like regulation), it the little bar directly below the taenia, aligned with the triglyph further above.

GUTTAE

These small conical shape elements under the regula are the ‘guttae’, Latin for ‘drops’. Architectural historians theorize they may be decorative vestiges of an earlier wooden architecture where pegs were driven into the beams above to secure them.

  

METOPE

In the Doric architectural order, the ‘metope’ are the square spaces situated between the triglyphs. The Greeks typically would fill them with sculptural representations of emblems of sacrifice in their temple architecture. The Romans continued this tradition and also would use them for displaying trophies or simple decoration in buildings of the state.

The term is of ancient Greek origin literally meaning the ‘hole’, ‘opē’ (ὀπή) that is ‘above or beyond’, ‘meta’ (μετά), meaning above the architrave.

In the Renaissance example of the Tempietto, we see that various items of the Catholic sacrament have replaced the pagan Greek emblems.

Contributed by Patrick Webb

Roman Architecture: Weeks 9 & 10

Arch of Septimus Severus
Leptis Magna

The online course from Yale University Department of Classics on Roman Architecture is coming to a conclusion. I've appreciated how the architectural development of Rome has been correlated to the political and cultural occurrences of the time. As Rome's ambitions grew and their Empire expanded they imposed their culture by means of military force on numerous conquered peoples of the Mediterranean and as far West as the Atlantic. Yet, at the same time these Roman provinces would begin to exert a collective cultural sway on Rome itself. A radical departure from the strictly traditional Roman architecture of Greek and Etruscan origins would occur during this period of expansion.

Rise of the Roman Baroque

Baroque is a term almost exclusively applied to the 17th century stylistic departure from the "Renaissance", the rebirth of the Classical, specifically the architecture of ancient Rome. I've come to realize that the introduction of Baroque forms can not be merely be attributed as a reaction against the constraints of the Classical, a predictable evolution in architecture or credited to the creative genius of a few artistic visionaries. An increasing number of Roman ruins were in fact being uncovered at this time both within Rome itself and among the far flung corners of the former empire. Much of this architecture was unquestionably what we would classify today as Baroque. I'll take this as a fine opportunity to explore features that characterize the Baroque by comparing Classical and 17th century examples.

St. Peter's Square

Ellipses

The accelerated curve of two foci with two corresponding radii. While ellipses and oval approximations became a fascination of 17th century design they certainly found their precedents in Roman Antiquity. Compare Gian Lorenzo Bernini's Baroque masterpiece at left with the Roman ruins of 2nd century Gerasa below.

Forum of Gerasa

Temple of Venus, Baalbek

Curves

Associated with the incorporation of ellipses was a general interest in the introduction of curvilinear movement. Francesco Borromini's façade of the church San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane is considered an icon of the Baroque, its serpentine entablature breaking with the Classical tradition. Nevertheless, we see several Roman examples manifesting a similar movement. A rather well preserved example is the Temple of Venus at Balek contrasts the concavity of the entablature with the convexity of the cella, again with concavity of the inset niches.

San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane

Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek

Colossal Orders

Bigger was better during the Renaissance Baroque. During this period massive façades were erected, the East front of the Louvre and the basilica at Saint Peter's being prominent examples. A solution often employed to conserve the system of proportion was a colossal order of columns that would break through two or more storeys to support the crowning entablature directly from the ground. It is interesting to note the close similarity of the façade of St. Peter's with that of the Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek some 1,500 years prior.

Saint Peter's Basilica

Broken Pediments

Al Khazneh, Petra

The pediment is nothing more than a formalized gable, the end of a pitched roof. By breaking it, there is a playful acknowledgement that the pediment is merely decorative, it serves no practical function. 17th century architects were having a lot of fun with broken pediments; however, they found numerous precedents from Roman Antiquity, not least of which is a collection of masterpieces in the tomb architecture at Petra.

Il Duomo di Siracusa, Sicily

Severan Forum Basilica

Dematerialization


Neither Classical Roman architecture nor that of the Renaissance were timid about ornamentation. However, what distinguishes the Baroque periods is the tendency of enrichment to break free from formalized architectural structure. In extreme cases this serves to dematerialize major supportive elements. Compare the Severan Forum Basilica at Leptus Magna and our own Baroque Revival Congress Theatre in Chicago where in each case the pilasters are overwhelmed, scarcely recognizable as architectural forms.

Congress Theatre, Chicago

Contributed by Patrick Webb

The Spirit of Gothic

Salisbury Cathedral

I have always adored Gothic architecture. From the high Gothic forms of the great medieval cathedrals to the vernacular examples of the Tudor, Jacobean and the Arts & Crafts periods. However, for many years it was a mystery to me as to why. It certainly lacks the regularity, the order of Classical architecture to which it at the same time seems indebted. During the Enlightenment a view would develop that Gothic was simply a derivative work, poor copies in a Dark Age from a brutish understanding of the ruined glories of Rome. Gothic became a term of unmitigated contempt.

Despite being indoctrinated in this history, my love for the Gothic never wavered. Why love an architecture at all? I recall from my childhood the 2nd commandment from Moses: "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them." Yet here I am, myself a maker of graven images, also an adorer of the work of the hands of men. And I've determined the source of my adoration! A sympathetic act of communication across place and time from one human being to another. The Gothic in its essence is a highly humanistic architecture, I would contend the most human architecture ever conceived.

In the 19th century author, artist, naturalist John Ruskin wrote a book entitled "The Stones of Venice" in which he devoted an entire chapter to "The Nature of Gothic". He described Gothic first in terms of its internal nature, the moral characteristic, the mental expression, the source of its power that he simply describes as its Spirit. Ruskin further elaborated on the external identifying physical features, what he describes as the Forms of Gothic. Let's consider the former, 6 of these moral elements that constitute the Spirit of Gothic.

Savageness

 

Rouen Cathedral

Ruskin contends that the origin of the term "Gothic" had little to do with any Gothic lineage but rather wholly conceived to express the barbaric character of the nations among whom the architecture arose, "a perpetual reflection of the Goth and the Roman at their first encounter." And so it is that while Renaissance architecture and the Greek and Roman architecture before it were works of order, reason and repose, the Gothic by contrast is savage and wild. This characteristic acknowledged, is it a motivation for reproach or for reverence? The allowance of imperfection, the acknowledgement of mortality and the rough hewn work of man endows a dignity, solemnity and honorableness all its own.

Variety

 

Rouen Cathedral

"Wherever the workman is utterly enslaved, the parts of the building must of course be absolutely like each other...the degree in which the workman is degraded may be thus known at a glance." I don't have to wonder what Ruskin would think of contemporary architectural practice, where the design process is entirely segregated from construction and workers are held to machine like tolerances from dictated, theoretical designs. Under such conditions, for a modern workman to be satisfied in his work he must be a complete dullard, incapable of independent thought, only monotonous obedience.

Order of course is vital. I would go so far as to say that love of order is a foundation for good architecture. But Ruskin was quite correct in stating, "Do not let us suppose that love of order is love of art. It is true that order, in its highest sense, is one of the necessities of art, just as time is a necessity of music; but love of order has no more to do with our right enjoyment of architecture or painting, than love of punctuality with the appreciation of an opera." There is a certain pleasure in the symmetry of a building, it can provide a rhythm just like melody; however, just as a pleasant rhythm can transform into a beautiful song with changes in verse, a building can tell a compelling story with a bit of variety. "Great art whether expressing itself in words, colors, or stones, does not say the same thing over and over again."

Naturalism

 

The Gothic period is the culmination of a progression most notably from the Byzantine then Romanesque traditions. As such it inherited the conventionalized system of ornamentation from these same traditions. However, there is a strong tendency in the Gothic to forego stylization in favor of veracity and vitality. This love of nature prevails over the idealized sense of beauty that the conventionalized forms attempted to capture, taking delight in the actual beauty nature has to offer even in imperfection. Ruskin noted how this naturalistic morality extended to human portraiture by "not exalting its kings into demi-gods, nor its saints into archangels, but giving what kingliness and sanctity was in them, to the full, mixed with due record of their faults." 

Palazzo Ducale

Grotesqueness

 

The Lincoln Imp

There is no shortage of the grotesque in Gothic architecture. It often appears hidden in the nooks and crannies, a bit of playful conversation that the masons had amongst themselves, perhaps anticipating the surprise to be discovered by the careful observer. In many examples monstrous images are a point of contrast and focus, intended to pass on an allegory, an instructional or warning example. These subtle reminders were understood by the collective understanding of the society at the time the cathedrals were built. What differentiates the Gothic from other grotesque is that they are never intended as simple decoration, devoid of meaning. The discovery of the little monsters and divining their meaning is one of the most pleasurable aspects of visiting a grand cathedral.

Obstinacy

 

Beauvais Cathedral

What is that peculiar character that makes lighting forked rather than curved, the limbs of the oak angular rather than bending? Resistance, the dynamic contra-position of force. This too distinctively characterizes the Gothic. Whereas Egyptian, Greek, Roman architecture and their later derivatives are typified by a static, superimposed system of post and beam or arch, the Gothic is marked by tension, opposition and the exposed, articulation of force from one member to another. It is this wild, defiant, obstinate spirit that pushed the cathedrals heavenward, opened up the walls and let in the light.

 Generosity

 

By generosity I mean an accumulation of ornament. That may sound strange in a world stripped of ornamentation, a modernist world that has aesthetically cleansed every form of enrichment in the name of good taste. I suppose the thinking is that a bland meal offends no one. I quite agree with Ruskin's sentiment regarding "clean" architecture, "No architecture is so haughty as that which is simple; which refuses to address the eye, except in a few clear and forceful lines; which implies, in offering so little to our regards, that all it has offered is perfect; and disdains, either by the complexity or attractiveness of its features, to embarrass our investigation, or betray us into delight."

Notre-Dame de Paris

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Contributed by Patrick Webb

Roman Architecture: Weeks 7 & 8

Trajan's Column

I signed up last autumn for an online course from Yale University Department of Classics on Roman Architecture. The last couple of weeks we have been focusing on the emperors Trajan and Hadrian, great patrons of architecture at a time when Rome was at the peak of its power. We also received our most challenging assignment yet: To put ourselves in the place of an architect of ancient Rome competing for the major commission of a lifetime, to design and build a newly founded Roman city. To obtain the commission we must submit a proposal to the patron describing our city including drawings and a letter to the patron. I'll share what I submitted in conclusion.

Trajan 98 - 117 C.E.

Grandiosity. The most fitting word I can think to describe the architecture that Trajan would commission for Rome. The world had not seen anything like it. His first order of business was to have a forum built as large as all of the existing imperial fora combined. Though much of it was later destroyed and pillaged for marble, remarkably the famous Column of Trajan stands virtually intact. What a masterpiece! A visual "scroll" unfurls as a spiraling frieze recounting in relief the conquest of the Dacians, a people from modern day Romania who fiercely and nobly opposed the Roman conquest. There is a stairway inside that can still be climbed to the very top, a height of 125 feet, marking the amount of soil removed from the Quirinal Hill for Trajan to build his forum!

An extension of the forum and a remarkable project in its own right were the Markets of Trajan. The shear size and complexity of them makes it hard to believe it approaches 2,000 years. Serving as an ancient shopping mall it would have accommodated hundreds of vendors, the Via Condotti or 5th Avenue of its day.

Markets of Trajan

Hadrian 117 - 138 C.E.

Canopus, Hadrian's Villa

Rome could not have asked for a better architectural patron than Hadrian. He was an architect himself! Both contemporary critics and those of his day try to diminish him as an amateur; however, the attributed Temple of Venus and Roma as well as several of the projects at his sprawling villa give testimony of a gifted sense of design, combined with formal studies. Notice the use of the "Serliana" or "Palladian" opening, the original design informing these Renaissance architects who rediscovered this form some 1,400 years later.

However, the undisputed champion of Roman architecture, representing the triumph of Roman concrete and engineering skill is the Pantheon. What a remarkable accomplishment. Aside from a myriad of remarkable features there is the signature unreinforced concrete dome 142 feet across, the oculus 27 feet across and 7 1/2 feet thick at the opening. I can imagine as the barbarians descended on Rome burning and pillaging centuries later they stayed their hand from the torch at the sight of the Pantheon. Even they could appreciate the excellence, the sheer majesty of her.

The Pantheon

Design Your Own Roman City

It is with utmost humility before your divine majesty, Imperator Augustus, that I present before you these plans for a new Forum for the town of Luna. As I bear witness, your great building program has turned Rome into a symbol of greatness for the world to observe and you have instructed humble servants such as I to share the greatness of Rome throughout the provinces. Luna indeed, is a fine beneficiary of your benevolence for our fellow citizens diligently oversee the quarrying of the finest marble in service of the Republic.

 

The selection of a very healthy site is proposed, elevated from the river Macra, away from the marshes, closer to the marble quarries. Much thought was also given to the dangers of unfavorable winds from the sea and mountains. The Decumanus Maximus has been laid from Solanvs (east) to Favonivs (west), granting access to the forum through the precinct wall whilst the Cardo Maximus runs from Septentrio (north) to Avster (south) and lead to Suburbia. Concerning materials for the building works the province is richly blessed with cypress and fir producing timbers felled in autumn, suitable clays for brick making and the finest marble for the cooking of lime. Just the pit sand of Baiae is lacking for the Opus Reticulatum and

Caementicium (concrete) works should your excellence deems these plans worthy of your patronage.

Mercury has indeed blessed our people with a fine economy so a prostyle, tetrastyle, pseudoperipteral Templum to honor him is raised upon a grand Podium against the precinct wall of the Forum manifesting the symmetry of god and man, duly proportioned in its whole as in its members, of the Ionic order as befits the statesman of the gods. I have taken note in its placement the wise observations of your servant Vitruvius, "the temple and the statue placed in the cella face the western quarter of the sky. This will enable those who approach the altar with offerings or sacrifices to face the direction of the sunrise in facing the statue in the temple, and thus those who are undertaking vows look toward the quarter from which the sun comes forth, and likewise the statues themselves appear to be coming forth out of the east to look upon them as they pray and sacrifice."

The Basilica adjoins the Forum, has its breadth exposed to the southern sun and its entrance situated to avoid a direct wind, a suitable orientation so that the discomforts of inclement weather will in no way hinder the matters of the Republic. For the citizens both a Theatrum and Thermae has been included. The theater follows the Greek model of concentric circles as the wave of the voice like the wave of water emanates in similar fashion while a vaulted passage allow the Decumanus to pass through. The Palaestra and Natatio provide for vigorous exercise, Apodyteria for changing, and the requisite Tepidaria, Caldaria, and Frigidaria.

May the gods continue to bless your valor and noble policies.
Your humblest servant Marcus Julius Patricius

DCCLXVI  (14 C.E.)


Contributed by Patrick Webb 

Roman Architecture: Weeks 5 & 6

Cornice fragment from
Temple of Venus Genetrix

I signed up last autumn for an online course from Yale University Department of Classics on Roman Architecture. The last couple of weeks we have been discussing how Rome politically transformed from a Republic into an Empire and the significant implications this had for its architectural development. It was always so difficult to recall the various emperors and when they ruled; however, tying them to innovations in construction and well known monuments make it much easier to remember. We'll cover one dictator, 8 emperors and about 150 years in this review.

Julius Caesar 49 - 44 B.C.E.

In the year 63 B.C.E. Julius Caesar campaigned fiercely for and seized the highest religious office, that of Pontifus Maximus. With his ascension to dictator in 49 B.C.E. he effectively became both the head of state and of religion, a precedent that would continue throughout Roman Imperial times. One of his first architectural commissions was the Forum of Julius anchored by a temple dedicated to Venus Genetrix, the goddess of motherhood and domesticity.

Augustus 27 B.C.E. - 14 C.E.

Procession scene on the
  Ara Pacis Augustae

Caesar's posthumously adopted son and eventual successor, Octavius took on the name and title of Augustus Imperator, the first Emperor of Rome. He followed his grand uncle's example by building his own forum, the Forum of Augustus, anchored by a temple dedicated to Mars Ultor or "Mars the Avenger". The capitals of the temple served as one of the finest examples of the Corinthian order developed by the Romans that would be used as a precedent in their later works and again much later during the Renaissance.  The historian Suetonius quotes Augustus as claiming to have, "found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble." It was in fact under his rule that marble from Luna, present day Carrera, was significantly exploited for many projects including the aforementioned Temple of Mars Ultor and the incredibly preserved Ara Pacis monument which celebrates the subsequent peace ushered in by Augustus' significant military conquests.

Tiberius 14 - 37 C.E.

Villa Jovis, Isle of Capri

Although Tiberius would make some contributions to temple building and civic architecture he manifested a
distinct preference for the country life. So much so that he essentially moved to the isle of Capri, establishing the first Imperial villa, a private estate from which he ran the empire.

Caligula 37 - 41 C.E.

Caligula did have a reputation as a wanton, hedonistic, irresponsible emperor. He took Tiberius' shift toward private architecture to the extreme, building one villa after another. This directly led to his reign coming to a swift end by assassination. Nevertheless, he did commission two major aqueducts into the city of Rome. Also, during his rule tufa and pumice began to be incorporated as aggregates for a "lightweight" Roman cement that would open up architectural possibilities for vaults and domes.

Aqua Claudia

Claudius 41 - 54 C.E.

Porta Maggiore

Now we arrive at my personal favourite, the late blooming Claudius. He didn't become emperor until 50 years of age and was only chosen after the assassination of Caligula because he had a terrible stammer. The Praetorian guard and others mistakenly assumed he was dimwitted and would be easy to control. In fact, Claudius had spent all those years in scholarly studies: history, antiquarianism, linguistics. He had written histories on Rome and Etruria, was the last known Roman scholar to be able to read and write Etruscan and proposed additional letters to the Roman alphabet that were adopted upon his becoming emperor. 

Claudius also had an interest in architecture and civic architecture specifically. He commissioned an amazing harbor to be constructed at the mouth of the Tiber river, at the town of Portus. "Porta" is Latin for "door" or "gate" and the town of Portus was so named as the Tiber river was considered the symbolic "gateway" to Rome. This is how the word "port" arrives to English today, meaning a constructed harbor. Heavy rustication contrasted with delicately carved elements typified public works under his rule, perhaps denoting a nostalgia for an Etruscan past.

Nero 54 - 68 C.E.

Octagonal room, Domus Aurea

With notorious Nero the party began anew. He began a campaign of building palatial complexes in the heart of Rome. His initial project, the Domus Tranistoria, burnt to the ground together with a large residential section of the city. After the fire, Nero appropriated the entire Esquiline hill, a good portion of the Palantine and Caelian hills for a total area of about 300 acres for himself. Several grandiose projects would arise from the ashes, the most of ostentatious of which was the Domus Aurea or "Golden House". This palace was the most ambitious construction work in Rome until that time. The walls abandoned the vulnerable opus incertum construction in favor of the more fire resistant opus latericium, brick facing over Roman concrete. This substrate was in turn clad with marble or rendered with lime stucco often to be finished in buon fresco. The full potential of concrete was being explored in the "Octagonal room". The departure from a rectilinear plans combined with the domed roof and huge oculus placed more emphasis on volumetric space and illumination. 

Vespasian 69 - 79 C.E.

Colosseum groin vaults

With the forced suicide of Nero, the Claudian line of emperors came to an end. After some civil strife, Vespasian would establish the subsequent Flavian line. He was quick to make amends with the people by initiating a popular campaign of public construction, the most notable of which was the Flavian amphitheatre better known as the Colosseum. The building is truly a wonder, elliptical in plan, stacked annular vaulting all in concrete. The annular vaults were crossed by vaults leading to the interior creating the arcades around the structure. The intersection produces "groin vaults", the intersection of two barrel vaults and the first known use of this system. 

Colosseum façade

Also of significant architectural interest is the hierarchical arrangement of the Classical orders on the façade: Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns are placed as a system one surmounted above the other. They serve no structural purpose as the load is carried entirely by the concrete system of vaulting. However, they visually reinforce the sense of vertical support and adorn and refine the façade with a logical system of proportion. The more geometric, austere Doric columns rest below, terminating with slender, delicate Corinthian pilasters at the very top. This precedent of superimposition of the orders continued to be used from antiquity through the Renaissance and into our time.

Titus 79 - 81 C.E.

Titus was best known for his conquest of Jerusalem, as a Roman general in 70 C.E. He also commissioned a magnificent public building, the first of the imperial bath houses, the so called "Thermae Titi" or Baths of Titus. Though only fragments survive today, enough of the building was remaining in the 16th century for Andrea Palladio to accurately survey and record the plan which made even more elaborate use of groin vaulting than the Colosseum. The famous triumphal "Arch of Titus" commemorating his victory in Jerusalem was actually erected in his honour by his brother and successor, Domitian.

Forum Transitorium

Domitian 81 - 96 C.E.

The last of the Flavian line, Domitian was an omnivore for architecture, commissioning his own grand palace, a new forum and an incredible stadium. A little known treasure is the Forum Transitorium. The entablature of the colonnade projects and recedes to form bays in a rhythmic pattern that conveys a movement and vitality that would be once again explored in the 17th century Baroque.

The "Circus Agonalis" or stadium of Domitian must have been a wonder with the arena floor at over 700 feet in length and the seats rising to 100 feet above. Not much is left of the structure; however, the footprint of the arena is occupied by the lovely Piazza Navona, one of the most cherished gathering places in Rome.

Piazza Navona

 
Contributed by Patrick Webb