Pangasinan State University

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

COLLEGE / DEPARTMENT: CEA / DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

SUBJECT: HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 01

TIME SCHEDULE: TUESDAY 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

FRIDAY 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

RESEARCH WORK NO.: RSW-01

RESEARCH WORK TITLE: ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

RESEARCH WORK DUE: JANUARY 10, 2023

STUDENTS: CACAYORIN, EDEN JULES M.

MAIQUEZ, SHEENA MAE P.

PARAGAS, LADY JAZEEL F.

SILAROY, MHIA

TALINIO, DAN ANGELO F.

BS ARCHITECTURE 1C GROUP 6

INSTRUCTOR: AR. RUTHER E. DAOANA

 Pangasinan State University

College of Engineering and Architecture

Department of Architecture

ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

I. INFLUENCES

GEOGRAPHICAL
The comparative simplicity of the long coastline of the Italian Peninsula forms
a strong contrast to the complexity of the indented coastlines of Greece and the
innumerable islands of the Archipelago. The central and commanding position of
Italy in the Mediterranean enabled Rome to act as an intermediary in spreading art
and civilization over Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa. In their Empire-building,
the Romans first conquered by war, dominated by force of character, and civilized
by arts and letters. It was also natural that, under different geographical conditions,
the methods adapted by Rome for extending her influence should have differed
from that of Greece. The Romans were not a seafaring people like the Greeks, and
did not send out colonists in the same way to all parts of the then-known world; they
depended for the extension of their power, not on colonization, but on conquest.
The Roman Empire was ultimately not confined to Italy, but included all those parts
of Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia which constituted the then-known world.

GEOLOGICAL
The geological formation of Italy differs from that of Greece, where the chief and
almost the only building material is marble; whereas the Romans had marble, terra-
cotta, stone, and brick, all of which they used even for important buildings. The
building material, however, which led to great structural innovations, was concrete
formed of pozzolana, a clean sandy earth which has the property, when mixed with
lime, of forming exceedingly hard and cohesive concrete which rendered possible
some of the finest examples of Roman architecture. Roman architecture, as it
spread over the Empire, was naturally influenced by the materials found in the
widely differing localities where it planted itself; but concrete, which in conjunction
with brick and stone facing was the favourite material, helped to give uniformity of
style to Roman architecture throughout the Empire.

CLIMATIC

Ancient Rome was located on the Mediterranean Sea and had warm
summers and mild winters. This type of climate is referred to as a Mediterranean
climate. At first, the Roman kingdom was just located near where the modern city of
Rome is. As the kingdom expanded, it acquired more and more land. Soon the
Roman Empire stretched all over Europe.
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HISTORICAL AND SOCIAL

Etruscan Period

The Villanovan civilisation, thought to be the first phase, and marks as the
beginning of the Etruscan civilization. The Etruscans assigned a date for the nation's
founding that corresponds to the 11th or 10th century BC. The late Bronze Age
"Proto-Villanovan" culture, a part of the central European Urnfield culture system,
gives rise to the Villanovan civilization through the process of regionalization. In the
last Villanovan phase, known as the recent phase (roughly 770-730 BC), the
Etruscans developed relationships with the first Greek immigrants in southern Italy (in
Pithecusa and then in Cuma), to the point where they initially absorbed techniques
and figurative models and soon more appropriately cultural models, with the
introduction, for example, of writing, of a new way of banqueting, of a heroic
funerary ideology, that is, a brand-new aristocratic lifestyle that would significantly
alter the physiognomy of Etruscan society. The Etruscans started what is known as
the Orientalizing period as the number of Greek encounters increased. Greece, the
majority of Italy, and some regions of Spain were heavily influenced by the most
developed parts of the eastern Mediterranean and the ancient Near East during this
phase. Additionally, directly Phoenician, or otherwise Near Eastern, craftsmen,
traders, and artists helped Near Eastern cultural and artistic elements spread
throughout southern Europe. Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic are the names given
to the final three stages of Etruscan culture, which closely correlate to the
corresponding stages of classical Greek civilization.

Villanovan I 900–800 BC
Villanovan period Villanovan II 800–720 BC
(900–720 BC) Villanovan III (Bologna area) 720–680 BC
Villanovan IV (Bologna area) 680–540 BC
Early Orientalizing 720–680 BC
Orientalizing period
Etruscan Middle Orientalizing 680–625 BC
(720–580 BC)
civilization Late Orientalizing 625–580 BC
(900–27 BC)
Archaic period
Archaic 580–480 BC
(580–480 BC)
Classical period
Classical 480–320 BC
(480–320 BC)
Hellenistic period
Hellenistic 320–27 BC
(320–27 BC)
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Roman Period

 753 BC: The “foundation of Rome” - The story was that the twins Romulus and
Remus, sons of the god Mars, were left to die by being put in a basket, set adrift
on the river Tiber. The name Romulus clearly was made up from that of Rome
itself, and archaeology has revealed evidence of settlement on the Palatine Hill
as early as 1,000 BC.

 509 BC: The creation of the Roman Republic - The beginning of the Republic: 509
BC, when the seventh and last king of Rome, the tyrannical Tarquinius Superbus,
was thought to have been ousted by an aristocratic coup.

 338 BC: The settlement of the Latin War - Between 341 and 338 BC the Romans
faced a rebellion by their neighbouring Latin allies. After Rome emerged
victorious, the settlement they imposed underpinned subsequent Roman
conquests of Italy and overseas territories.

 264–146 BC: The Punic Wars - Rome fought three wars against the great North
African city of Carthage. These are known as the Punic Wars, from the Latin
name for Carthaginians, Poeni. The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was fought over
control of the island of Sicily, and many of the crucial clashes were naval battles.

 The second and first centuries BC: the Hellenisation of Rome - During the last two
centuries BC, Rome conquered the Eastern Mediterranean by defeating the
Hellenistic [ancient Greek] kingdoms founded by the successors of Alexander the
Great. These conquests had profound implications for Roman society.
 67–62 BC: Pompey in the East - The exploits of Pompey in the eastern
Mediterranean were more significant in the expansion of Rome. Pompey initially
went to the east in 67 BC as part of his campaign against pirates who were
infesting the Mediterranean. Pompey established two new Roman provinces
(Syria and Bithynia-Pontus), vastly expanded a third (Cilicia), and conducted
diplomacy that turned numerous local rulers into clients of Rome.

 31 BC–AD 14: Augustus reintroduces monarchy to Rome - The expansion of the

empire destroyed the Roman Republic. Institutions designed for a small city-state
could not rule a world empire. Above all, vast military campaigns required
generals who commanded armies over wide territories for several years. By the
last century BC, these generals would lead their armies against Rome and each
other.

 AD 235–284: the third century crisis - In the 50 years between AD 235 and 284, the
Roman Empire suffered chronic political and military instability. Amid endemic
civil wars and defeats at the hands of barbarians, emperors came and went with
bewildering rapidity.

 AD 312: Constantine converts to Christianity - At the battle of the Milvian Bridge in

AD 312, the emperor Constantine sent his troops into combat with crosses
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painted on their shields. By the end of his life, he claimed that before the battle
he had experienced a vision in which he was given the divine command: “in this
sign conquer”. Constantine’s conversion to Christianity had a profound effect on
European, and world, history.

 AD 410: The fall of Rome - Goths sacked the city of Rome. Sixty-six years later
Romulus Augustulus (the ‘Little Emperor’) was deposed, and the Roman empire in
the west was at an end.

Ancient Rome Social System

In Rome, the society was highly class conscious and hierarchical. Even, there
were multiple social hierarchies present and mobility was also possible between the
classes. As per ancient Rome social hierarchy, the whole society of Rome was
divided into six classes:

1. Patricians: At the time, when Rome was under monarchic rule, all the official and
the advisories position of the king were occupied by the members of the
wealthiest families known as the patricians.
2. Senators: This class of ancient Rome social hierarchy got its position due to the
political power that it possesses. The power is although less than that of the
Patrician class.
3. Equestrians: This class got its position due to its tendency towards the economic
aspect. A man was entitled to belong to the Equestrian class along with his/her
family, if s/he possessed a stable minimum wealth worth 400,000 sesterces.
4. Commons: The Commons were all other freeborn Roman citizens. The special
trademark of the Roman citizens was their dress called as Toga.
5. Freed people: The men and women belonging to this class were slaves in the
early days but have now recovered their freedom. However, they were not fully
freed and they have had various restrictions regarding their legal rights.
6. Slaves: This was the lowest class of the Ancient Roman Hierarchy and they don’t
have any freedom of their own. They used to be the property of their masters.

RELIGIOUS

Romans had a polytheistic religious system,

which means they believed in many different
gods. There were major deities and secondary
figures. Some of the main gods were Jupiter (the
king of gods and god of the sky), Neptune (the
god of water), Mars (the god of war), Minerva (the
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goddess of wisdom), and Venus (the goddess of fertility). Much of the Roman
mythology was influenced by Greek and Etruscan beliefs.

The most important part of Roman religious’ architecture was the temple. The
area next to the building where the rituals were performed was known as a temple.
Notwithstanding, over the long haul, the word sanctuary became related with the
actual structure. The structure, which was considered the deity's residence, was only
accessible to priests.

II. ETRUSCAN ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

 Their tombs were tightly packed in NECROPOLI throughout Tuscany (in Italy)
named after the Etruscans
 Most tombs-round with door leading to large interior chamber
 Interior chamber is brightly painted to reflect interior of a house
 Tombs have symbols of Etruscan lifestyle on walls
 Entire families (w/ servants) are buried in one tomb
 Architect Vitruvius wrote about their temples a lot
 Etruscan buildings made of wood and terra-cotta, not stone
 Single flight of stairs leading to main entrance (not steps Inspired by Greeks-
pediments, columns, cella surrounding whole building)
 Sculptures put on rooftops to announce presence of deity within.

Vitruvius described Etruscan temples as having a floor

plan with proportions that are 5:6, just a bit deeper than
wide. One of the best explored and known of these is the
Portonaccio Temple dedicated to the goddess Minerva
(Roman=Minerva/Greek=Athena) at the city of Veii about 18
km north of Rome. The temple is roughly divided into two
parts—a deep front porch with widely-spaced Tuscan
columns and a back portion divided into three separate
rooms.

Materials

Etruscans built their temples of wood, with terracotta roofs and ornaments.
Etruscan tombs were seemingly built to last for centuries using stone or rock-cut
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chambers, everyday domestic architecture was built from more perishable

materials: wood, sun-dried mud brick, or waddle and daub for the walls.

Column

The Tuscan Order, derived

from Latin, Ordo Tuscanus,
originated from two main sources. Its
influences lay in the ancient
Etruscan civilization, located in what
is now Tuscany, and to a lesser
extent Greek architecture. Tuscan
Architecture was created from the
total assimilation of the conquered
Etruscan culture by the Romans. The
Tuscan order is unique to its
proportions. Tuscan columns tend to be proportioned differently than Classical ones,
making them feel wider and more grounded.

Arches and Vaults

 Construction of wedge-
shaped blocks called
voussoirs, catch pointing to
the center
 Round arch discovered by the
Egyptians, but used mainly
underground and never in
temples
 Used in Mesopotamia for city
gates
 Greeks confined its use to
underground structures and
gateways
 Etruscans and Romans were the first to make widespread use of arches and
vaults
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Mouldings and Ornaments

The Etruscan round moulding decorated with a painted upright scale pattern can
be documented on several sixth-century BCE terracotta roofs employing revetment
plaques with figured friezes in relief, known as the First Phase style of Etruscan
terracotta roofs.

EXAMPLES

Tomb of the Seats and Sheild

Cerveteri, Italy

Tomb of the Seats and Sheild at

Cerveteri dates ca. 520 - 500 B.C. The
organization of this tomb is similar to
that of the Tomb of the Capitals and
the Tomb of the Cornice. It has a short
dromos and a large vestibule. In the
vestibule are two seats carved from the
tuff bedrock as well as a series of
hanging shields carved in relief.
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Etruscan Temple of Minerva and the Sculpture of Apollo

Veii, Italy

Located at the city of Veii

about 18 km north of Rome. The tufa-
block foundations of the temple still
remain and their nearly square
footprint reflects Vitruvius’s
description of a floor plan with
proportions that are 5:6, just a bit
deeper than wide.

The temple is also roughly divided

into two parts—a deep front porch
with widely-spaced Tuscan columns and a back portion divided into three separate
rooms. Known as a triple cella, this three room configuration seems to reflect a divine
triad associated with the temple, perhaps Menrva as well as Tinia (Jupiter/Zeus) and
Uni (Juno/Hera).

III. ROMAN ARCHITECTURE

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER

According to Vitruvius, a famous roman architect, all buildings must be

constructed with strength, utility, and beauty. Architect should focus on three central
themes when preparing a design for a building:
firmitas (strength), utilitas (functionality), and venustas (beauty).

Romans have celebrated their culture and power through architecture with
great audacity. They have had inspiration mainly from Etruscan and Greek
architecture and have also made innovations. They were the first to see and utilize
the immense potential in concrete that has changed the face of architecture since
then.

Materials

Roman builders utilized naturally occurring materials, primarily stone, timber

and marble. Manufactured materials included brick and glass, while composite
materials included concrete. These materials were readily available in and around
Rome, as well as throughout the Empire's European domain. Because the materials
used by the Romans had previously been used by other cultures, innovation in this
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area was more a matter of seizing an opportunity. The use of stone (soft (tufa) and
hard (limestone) stone) and timber is fundamental to primitive construction. The
Romans used these basic materials, but also mass-produced materials such as earth
for terra cotta, brick and concrete, allowing the Empire to expand quickly and
widely.

Columns

Romans initially followed the Greek order of columns: Doric, Ionic, and
Corinthian in many structures. They also came up with two columns of their own
style, Tuscan and Composite. Tuscan is an unfluted and simplified version of Doric
order and composite is a combination of Ionic and Corinthian columns. Columns
were initially used as support elements but later on, they were also used as elements
of decoration in various structures.

Vaults

The Romans made use of two types of vaults: Barrel and Groin. Barrel vaults were just
linear extensions of the arch. They were used most commonly as a form of vaulted
roof.
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Mouldings and Ornaments

The mouldings used in Roman architectural works are the same as the
Grecian in general form, but they vary materially from the in contour.

 The Roman cyma-recta is projected much more

than the Greek, with a deeper flexure.
 The ovolo is represented in the Roman style by a
moulding whose outline is nearly he convex
quadrant of a circle, or a quarter round, and
sometimes it is nearly that of the quadrant of an
ellipse.
 The Roman torus is either a semicircle or a semi-
ellipse; and the bead is a torus, except in its
application, and in being smaller, and generally
projected rather more than half the figure whose
form it bears.
 The cavetto, in Roman architecture, is nearly a
regular curve, being sometimes the concave
quadrant of a circle, or the reverse of an ovolo,
and sometimes a smaller segment. In Roman architecture, the cavetto is a nearly
regular curve that is sometimes the concave quadrant of a circle, or the reverse
of an ovolo, and sometimes a smaller segment.
 A Roman scotia is more deeply cut, and is consequently less delicate than the
same member in a Greek congeries: its form frequently approaches that of a
concave semi-ellipse. A Roman scotia is more deeply cut and thus less delicate
than the same member in a Greek congeries: its shape frequently resembles a
concave semi-ellipse.

Arches

Arches were prevalent in Roman architecture. The Greeks used post lintel
construction, but the Romans wanted to change it because arches could provide
longer uninterrupted spaces. They experimented extensively with the use of arches.
They used arches in a variety of structures, but they are best known for their use in
aqueducts, baths, basilicas, and triumphal arches.
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Mosaics

 Opus Incertum – small stones, loose pattern resembling polygonal walling

 Opus Reticalum – net-like effect, with fine joints running diagonally
 Opus Latericium – rectangular blocks with or without mortar joints

EXAMPLES

Pantheon
Rome, Italy

The Pantheon is a former Roman

temple in Rome, Italy and is one of the
best-preserved monuments of ancient
Rome. The structure completed around
126-128 A.D. During reign of emperor
Hadrian, features a rotunda with a
massive domed ceiling that was the
largest of its kind when it was built. The
pantheon is situated on the site of an
earlier structure of the same name, built
around 25 B.C. by states man Marcus
Agrippa designed as temple of Roman
Gods.
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The Colosseum
Rome, Italy

The Colosseum, also called

the Flavian Amphitheater, is a
large amphitheater in Rome. It
was built during the reign of the
Flavian emperors as a gift to
the Roman people. Construction
of the Colosseum began
sometime between C.E. 70 and 72
under the emperor Vespasian. It opened nearly a decade later and was modified
several times in the following years.
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