Architectural building of the ancient Romans. Ancient sights of Rome

The Roman Empire is rightfully considered one of the most ancient and powerful civilizations. She gave the world a unique culture, which to this day never ceases to amaze and delight. Of particular interest is the architecture of Ancient Rome, which was able to combine the best features of the ancient Greek and Etruscan heritage.

Features of the architecture of ancient Rome

The architecture of Ancient Rome, as an original form of art, was formed in the period of the 4th-1st centuries. BC e. Ancient structures only miraculously managed to survive to this day, despite numerous wars and natural disasters. The architectural monuments of ancient Roman architecture still conquer with their majesty and monumentality.

And this is not surprising, because it was the ancient Romans who initiated a new era in world architecture, starting the construction of impressive public buildings designed for a large number of people. These include theaters and amphitheaters, markets, libraries, baths, basilicas, temples.

Rice. 1. Terma in ancient Rome.

When building their state, the ancient Romans used the achievements of Greek and Etruscan masters. And if the ancient Greeks were connoisseurs of beauty in architecture, the Romans showed themselves to be practical and far-sighted builders. Having borrowed useful ideas, they were able to create a unique architecture that, with its truly colossal scope, was able to embody the entire power of the great empire in stone and become its symbol for many centuries.

The most famous monument of ancient Roman architecture is the Colosseum. This is a classic amphitheater of impressive size, which was used for entertainment events. Gladiator fights, fierce battles of large predators and other entertainments were arranged in its arena. In the 3rd century A.D. e. The Colosseum was severely damaged during a massive fire. But it was restored and has since attracted tourists from all over the world.

Rice. 2. Colosseum.

Achievements of the architecture of ancient Rome

In the ancient world, the architecture of Rome knew no equal. The huge scale of construction, the variety of types of structures and compositional forms, amazing engineering finds were able to exalt Ancient Rome, strengthen its power and glory.

What have we learned?

When studying the report on the topic “Architecture of Ancient Rome”, we briefly learned the most important thing about the architecture of Ancient Rome, found out what influenced its development, what characteristic features it possessed. We also learned what were the most significant achievements of ancient Roman architects, and what impact they had on the development of architectural trends around the world.

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Composition of a characteristic Roman urban ensemble - the form bears traces of the influence of compositions Greek Agora and public housing.

The predominant type of developed residential building was atrium-peristyle. Usually it was located on an elongated area, fenced off from the streets with blank outer walls. The front part of the house was occupied by an atrium - a closed room, on the sides of which there were living rooms and utility rooms. In the center of the atrium there was a pool, above which an open part was left in the roof for lighting and water flow into the pool. Behind the atrium, through the tablinum, was a peristyle with a garden inside. The whole composition developed in depth along the axis with a consistent disclosure of the main spaces.

V Roman forums the same idea of a closed axial composition was reflected - an order peristyle, but enlarged to the size of a city square. In the initial period, the forums usually served as markets, and shops, and sometimes other public buildings, adjoined the galleries along their perimeter. Over time, they turned into parade squares for public meetings, solemn ceremonies, religious activities, etc.

The temple, located in the middle of the narrow side of a rectangular square on its main axis, became the ideological and compositional center. Rising on the podium, he dominated the composition. In plan, the temple had the shape of a rectangle, to which a portico was attached. Such a composition of the temple was traditional in Rome and had its origins in the most ancient types of temples of the Etruscan-Archaic period. In the composition of the forum, the frontal construction of the temple emphasized its deep-axial structure, and a rich portico (composite, Corinthian, less often Ionic order) accentuated the entrance to the temple. Since the republican period, several forums have been successively erected in Rome. Later emperors interpreted the forum as a monument to their own glory.

In its splendor, luxury, size and complexity of the composition stands out Forum of Emperor Trajan(architect Apollodorus of Damascus, 112-117). In addition to the main square and the temple, a five-span elongated hall was erected on it - basilica with an area of 55x159 m and two symmetrical library buildings, between which a memorial was erected on a small square. Trajan's column 38 m high. Its marble trunk is covered with a spiral ribbon of a bas-relief with 2500 figures depicting episodes of Trajan's victorious campaigns. The triumphal arch serves as the main entrance, the statue of the emperor is installed in the center of the square, the temple is in its depths. Colonnades and porticos made of marble, which had various and sometimes huge sizes, were the main motif of the ensemble.

Built in conjunction with the forums and on the main roads, triumphal arches are one of the most common types of memorial structures in Rome. Arched and vaulted forms initially became widespread in utilitarian structures - bridges and aqueducts.

Palace building was going on in Rome on a grand scale. Particularly stood out Imperial Palace on the Palatine, consisting of the actual palace for ceremonial receptions and the dwelling of the emperor. The front rooms were located around a vast peristyle courtyard. The main room - the throne room - was striking in its size.

The hall was covered with a cylindrical arch with a span of 29.3 m, which rose 43-44 m above the floor level. The main premises of the residential part were also grouped around the peristyles on the terraces of the hills, using the methods of building villas. The construction of villas also acquired a large scale in Rome. In addition to large palace complexes, the principles of garden and park architecture, which were intensively developed from the 1st century BC, were implemented in them with the greatest breadth. (, the first half of the II century, etc.).

The most grandiose public buildings of Rome, carried out in the imperial period, are associated with the development of arched-vaulted concrete structures.

Roman theaters were based on Greek traditions, but unlike Greek theatres, whose audience seats were located on the natural slopes of the mountains, they were free-standing buildings with a complex substructure that supported seats for spectators, with radial walls, pillars and stairs and passages inside the main semicircular in terms of volume ( Theater of Marcellus in Rome, II c. BC, which accommodated about 13 thousand spectators, etc.).

Colosseum (Colosseum)(75-80 AD) - the largest amphitheater in Rome, intended for gladiator fights and other competitions. Elliptical in plan (dimensions in the main axes are about 156x188 m) and grandiose in height (48.5 m), it could accommodate up to 50,000 spectators.

In plan, the building is divided by transverse and annular passages. Between the three outer rows of pillars, a system of main distribution galleries was arranged. A system of stairs connected the galleries with exits evenly spaced in the funnel of the amphitheater and external entrances to the building arranged along the entire perimeter.

The structural basis is made up of 80 radially directed walls and pillars that carry the vaults of the ceilings. The outer wall is made of travertine squares; in the upper part it consists of two layers: the inner one is made of concrete and the outer one is made of travertine. Marble and knock were widely used for facing and other decorative works.

With a great understanding of the properties and work of the material, the architects combined various types of stone and concrete compositions. In elements experiencing the greatest stress (in pillars, longitudinal arches, etc.), the most durable material - travertine - is used; radial tuff walls lined with brick and partly relieved by brick arches; the sloping concrete vault has light pumice as a filler in order to lighten the weight. Brick arches of various designs penetrate the thickness of concrete both in vaults and in radial walls. The "frame" structure of the Colosseum was functionally expedient, provided lighting for the internal galleries, passages and stairs, and was economical in terms of the cost of materials.

The Colosseum also provides the first known example in history of the bold solution of awning structures in the form of a periodically arranged cover. On the wall of the fourth tier, brackets were preserved that served as supports for the rods, to which a giant silk awning was attached with the help of ropes, protecting the audience from the scorching rays of the sun.

The external appearance of the Colosseum is monumental due to the huge size and the unity of the plastic development of the wall in the form of a multi-tiered order arcade. The system of orders gives the composition a scale and, along with this, a special character of the relationship between the sculpture and the wall. At the same time, the facades are somewhat dry, the proportions are heavy. The use of the order arcade introduced tectonic duality into the composition: the multi-tiered order system, complete in itself, serves exclusively decorative and plastic purposes here, creating only an illusory impression of the building's order frame, visually lightening its array.

Roman baths- complex complexes of numerous rooms and courtyards intended for ablution and various activities related to recreation and entertainment. In Rome, 11 large imperial baths and about 800 small private baths were built.

Pantheon in Rome(about 125) is the most perfect example of a grandiose rotunda temple, in which the diameter of the dome reached 43.2 m. In the Pantheon, the constructive and artistic tasks of creating the largest in Rome (unsurpassed until the 20th century) large-span domed space were brilliantly resolved.

The spherical vault is made with horizontal layers of concrete and rows of burnt bricks, representing a monolithic mass without a frame. To lighten the weight, the dome gradually decreases in thickness towards the top, and light aggregate - crushed pumice stone - is introduced into the concrete. The dome rests on a 6 m thick wall. The foundation is concrete with travertine filler. As the wall rises, travertine is replaced by lighter tuff, and in the upper part - brick rubble. Brick rubble also serves as a filler for the lower zone of the dome. Thus, in the design of the Pantheon, a system of lightening the weight of the concrete aggregate was consistently carried out.

The system of unloading brick arches in the thickness of the concrete evenly distributes the forces of the dome on the abutments and unloads the wall above the niches, reducing the load on the columns. A multi-tiered system of arches with a clearly defined subordination of the main and secondary parts made it possible to rationally distribute efforts in the structure, freeing it from inert mass. She contributed to the preservation of the building despite earthquakes.

The artistic structure of the building is determined by the constructive form: a powerful domed volume outside, a single and integral space inside. The centric volume of the rotunda is interpreted from the outside as an axial frontal composition. In front of the majestic eight-column portico of the Corinthian order (the height of the columns is 14 m), there used to be a rectangular courtyard with a solemn entrance and a triumphal arch like a forum. The developed space under the portico with four rows of intermediate columns, as it were, prepares the visitor for the perception of the vast space of the interior.

The dome, at the top of which there is a round light opening with a diameter of 9 m, dominates the interior. Five rows of caissons decreasing upwards create the impression of a domed "frame", visually lightening the array. At the same time, they give the dome plasticity and a scale commensurate with the divisions of the interior. The order of the lower tier, accentuating deep niches, effectively alternates with massive pillars lined with marble.

The attic strip, intermediate between the order and the dome, emphasizes in contrast the forms of the dome and the main order with a small division scale. The expressive tectonics of the composition is combined with the effect of diffuse lighting pouring from above and subtle color nuances created by the marble facing. The rich, festively majestic interior contrasts with the exterior of the Pantheon, where the simplicity of the monumental volume dominates.

An important place in the construction was occupied by covered halls - basilicas, which served for various kinds of meetings and meetings of the tribunal.

In the architectural traditions of Ancient Rome, the following architectural eras are distinguished:

Epoch of the Antonines (138 - 192)
The era of the Severs (193 - 217)

The era of kings (753-510 BC) and the period of the early Republic (V - IV centuries)

The oldest era of Roman architecture, which falls on the period of the kings (according to ancient tradition 753-510 BC) and during the early republic (V-IV centuries), is very little known to us. In any case, in those days, the Romans did not show any significant creative activity in the field of creating original architectural forms; during this period, Rome was in a cultural, and at first in a political, dependence on Etruria. The materials that we have not only about the Roman, but also about the Etruscan architecture of this time, are extremely scarce.

The oldest Etruscan temples known to us date back to the 6th century. BC e. They were rectangular, elongated in terms of construction, covered with a gable roof, with a very deep portico that occupied half of the entire building. Wooden columns were placed very far from one another; in form they most closely resemble Dorian, but had bases, a smooth stem, and a highly developed abacus.

The entablature was also made of wood and richly covered, like the roof of the temple, with painted terracotta relief decorations.

This type was temple of Juno near Falerii. Its deep portico was supported by three rows of columns, six in each. Each side of the cella was flanked by three columns arranged in a row. There were no rooms corresponding to the pronaos or opisphodom in the temple. The small cella was divided by longitudinal walls into three long and narrow chambers; the rear wall of the cella closed all the buildings, since its wings, protruding beyond the side walls, reached the line of colonnades on the sides of the temple.

Completely similar in plan to the temple of Juno was built in 509. Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the lower parts of which have survived to the present day. The temple stood on a high podium. The temple's three-part cella was dedicated to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva.

This early period includes the so-called Tullianum- a small building, round in plan, originally covered with a pseudo-vault of gradually shifting stones.

Subsequently, the upper part of the vault was dismantled, and an oblong building covered with a semicircular vault was built above Tullianum, which served as a prison in Rome.

O residential buildings of the described period, we can judge mainly from the Italian terracotta urns that reproduce the forms of huts. The oldest of these urns date back to the first centuries of the first millennium; judging by these monuments, the construction of dwellings was very simple: they were round huts with a high thatched roof, reinforced with poles and branches. Doors served as a source of light in these buildings. In this guise, in the next era, the Romans represented the dwelling of Romulus; Apparently, the round shape of the Temple of Vesta is also a relic of this tradition.

In the future, a rectangular house in plan, in the center of which there was a large room - an atrium, where the hearth was located, becomes widespread. Around the atrium were the rest of the rooms. Perhaps initially closed, the atrium then becomes open: light entered the room through a hole in the roof (compluvium), and water flowed through it during rain into a special cistern (impluvium) located under the compluvium.

A rather large Etruscan urn, made of limestone, located in Berlin, gives us an idea of the external appearance of houses of this type.

One of the early houses of Pompeii, known by the name Casa del Chirurgo, in its oldest part, built of limestone and relating no later than the III century. BC e., is a building of exactly the described type. The atrium, located in the center of this house, had a beam ceiling, which rested exclusively on the walls and did not have supports in the form of pillars or columns.

As in the early period, and at a later time, the atrium is the front room. In it, the Roman nobles kept, according to the right granted to them, portraits of their ancestors.

The phenomenon that we can observe throughout Roman architecture, namely, the much more secular nature of the latter in comparison with Hellenic architecture, where religious buildings occupy a leading position, is also reflected in the era we are considering. As early as the end of the 4th c. censor Appius Claudius the famous high road is being built ( Via Appia) pipelines are being built Aqua Appia), bridges, etc.

Via Appia

It is extremely difficult to establish where the art of vaulting, which has long been known in the East, came to Rome: did it penetrate directly from the Hellenistic world or did it become known in Rome thanks to the Etruscans? The oldest vaults known to us in Etruria date back to the 4th century BC. BC e.

One of the examples of such an Etruscan structure is related to the III century. ornate gate of perugia (Porta Marzia, covered with a semicircular vault, laid out from a large number of wedge-shaped blocks.

Cloaca Maxima(an underground canal that served to drain water from the swampy forum area), built around 184 BC. e. (?), was covered with a vault of wedge-shaped stones.

A striking example of bridge building of the Republican era is a large bridge built in 110, which had several spans, the vaults of which were laid out from wedge-shaped blocks.

Republican era. III - II century BC

From the 3rd century in the cultural life of Rome begins a turning point. Rome gradually begins to be included in the orbit of Hellenistic culture. In the second half of the III century. Livy Andronicus translates the Odyssey into Latin and lays the foundation for Latin tragedy and comedy, which he created according to Hellenic models. At the same time, the activities of Nevius and somewhat later - Ennius and Plautus, who created the Roman national literature, made the widest possible use of the artistic heritage of Hellas.

Similar phenomena occurred, apparently, in the architecture of this time. In any case, related to the III century. BC e. found in the tomb of the Scipios Via Appia a large sarcophagus made of gray cape, on which a long epitaph of L. Cornelius Scipio Barbatus is written, is decorated with purely Hellenic architectural ornaments. Above the profiled base is a wide, smooth field, similar to a Dorian architrave; above, a Dorian triglyph frieze, in which the metopes are decorated with rosettes; the cornice rising under the frieze is decorated with an Ionian danticulum. We have already seen this kind of combination of elements of the Dorian and Ionian orders in the architecture of southern Italy of the Hellenistic period: in the entablature of the temple of the 3rd-2nd centuries. v Poseidonia (Paestum).

During the II century. in Rome, a number of structures appear, similar in type to the buildings of the Hellenistic cities. Around 159 censor Scipio Nasik surrounds Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus colonnades; special market premises were built that served for trade and legal proceedings, basilicas (about 185 - Basilica Porcia, in 179 - Basilica Aemilia).

With the beginning of the second half of the II century. BC e. related activity Hermogenes of Salamis, apparently the first to use marble in Rome in the construction of temples Jupiter Stator and Juno Regina.

From the same time, we have evidence from Polybius about the plan that the Roman troops always strictly and unswervingly adhered to when setting up camp. Due to lack of space, we cannot give a detailed description of it and confine ourselves to indicating that the entire planning system was built along straight lines intersecting at right angles. Wide, straight streets, arranged in an even network, divided the camp into regular sections, each of which was occupied by a separate detachment. In general, the layout of the Roman camp is very similar to the layout of the Hellenistic city (cf. Priene or Alexandria). It should, however, be noted that we meet with the same "correct" layout of the city quite early in Etruria, for example, in the city of the 5th century, located under Marzabotto, near Bologna.

By the 2nd century and the very beginning of the 1st c. BC e. include monuments built of tuff from the next building period of Pompeii, on which the Hellenization of the Italic house can be clearly traced. An example of the latter is one of the large and complex houses, usually called Casa del Fauno. It has two entrances, one close to the other, each leading to a separate atrium. One of these atriums is of the old (Tuskulan) type with a beam ceiling resting on the walls, the other is of a new type (tetrastyle), in which the ceiling, in addition to the walls, rests on four more columns standing near the corners of the impluvium.

Both atria are surrounded on all sides by small rooms. Behind the atria, in the next part of the house, there was a large open rectangular peristyle framed by small rooms. The edges of the roof of this peristyle supported 28 (7 × 9) columns of the Ionian order, carrying a Dorian entablature; finally, behind this peristyle there was a second peristyle, large in size, framed by a two-tiered colonnade (13 × 11 columns). The lower columns were Dorian, the upper ones were Ionian. A garden was placed in the second peristyle.

The walls of the house were covered with plaster and decorated with paintings of the so-called first Pompeian style. This style is usually called inlaid because it imitates wall cladding with multi-colored marbles.

In the II century. Greece became a Roman province. This opened up the widest possibilities for the penetration of Hellenic culture into Rome. Countless art treasures were taken away by the winners as trophies. Many educated Greeks, usually as slaves, appeared in Rome.

Temples of the 2nd century clearly indicate a gradually increasing Hellenization. Built at the beginning of the II century. small temple in Gabiah, about 24 m long and about 18 m wide, still has a blank back wall characteristic of Italian temples; the elongated cella is framed on three sides by columns, the number of which from the facade is six, from the sides - seven each; but the depth of the front portico is already noticeably reduced. The columns of the temple have been preserved only in the lower parts, and, judging by the flutes of the trunks and the profiling of the bases, they could be of the Ionian or Corinthian order.

Much more Hellenized built in the II century. Temple of Apollo at Pompeii, which was a Corinthian peripter, on the short sides of which there were six, and on the long sides - ten columns. The small cella of the temple was greatly moved away from the front facade, but at the same time, some space was left between the back wall of the cella and the rear facade. The temple stood on a high podium; From the front side, a not very wide staircase led to it.

The era of Sulla (beginning of the 1st century BC)

From the era of Sulla(beginning of the 1st century BC) several temples have come down to us. V Kore the front part of the temple of the Dorian order, which stood on a high podium, is well preserved. There were four columns on the front facade, three each on the sides; only the front wall and the beginning of the side walls have been preserved from the cella.

Placed far apart from one another, the Dorian columns are distinguished by exceptionally dry, strongly elongated proportions. The columns stand on small bases. The barrels are fluted only in the middle and upper parts, in the lower they only have edges corresponding to the flutes. The capitals are very small: the echinas are not noticeable, the abacuses are narrow.

Entablature Dorian order differs greatly from classical buildings with its exceptionally light proportions. The height of the architrave is much less than the height of the frieze. There are four metopes for each intercolumnia, with very narrow triglyphs between them. Due to the lightness of the architrave, the cornice seems heavy. The well-preserved pediment has rather steep slopes.

By the beginning of the 1st century BC e. relate two temples in Tibur (Tivoli): pseudoperipter and round. The first one, apparently dedicated to Sibylla, was built of travertine and tuff and covered with plaster. It stood on a low podium and was a small temple of the Ionian order, which had four columns on the front side. The deep portico of the temple, located behind these columns, was framed on both sides by cella antes, advanced one intercolumn from the walls, ending in incomplete columns. The rest of the temple was occupied by a large single-nave elongated cella, the walls of which were decorated with semi-columns from the outside: there were four of them on the rear facade, and five each on the sides (including ants).

In this pseudo-peripter, we can already observe one characteristic feature that will later become widespread in Roman architecture: the use of a column, which in Hellenic architecture performed purely constructive tasks, only as a decorative element that dismembers and enlivens the surface of the wall.

The second temple, apparently dedicated to Vesta, was also a small (diameter about 14 m) round building, standing on a podium and framed by eighteen columns of the Corinthian order. The light entablature consisted of a narrow architrave, decorated with a relief frieze ornament, and a simple and strict cornice. The round cella of the temple had a wide door on the southwestern side, on both sides of which there were two narrow windows. A narrow staircase led to the door leading up to the podium. By type, the building is very close to the round Greek buildings of the 4th century, but is distinguished by the greater lightness of the proportions of the Corinthian colonnade. At the same time, in the round plan of this building, one cannot fail to note the presence of a local tradition dating back to primitive round huts.

Travertine was used for facing the podium, columns, entablature, door and window frames; as for the remaining parts, i.e., the main mass of the podium and the walls of the cella, the latter were built from small irregular fragments of tuff and travertine in lime mortar. This technique of building walls on mortar later became widespread in Roman architecture.

1st century BC e. was the Romanization of Italy. The old local Italian cultures in this era were finally broken. But at the same time, the process of perception by Rome of Hellenistic culture, which had already begun earlier, was intensifying more and more, which penetrates wider and deeper than it was two centuries earlier. Lucretius and Cicero transfer Greek philosophy to Roman soil, Varion - sciences, Catullus - poetry.

During this period, a number of buildings are erected in Rome, many of them being built with exceptional luxury. In 78 BC. e. was built Tabularium(Senate archive), in which arched ceilings were combined with a colonnade - a technique that received the widest use in the future and became one of the most characteristic features of Roman architecture. In all likelihood, the combination of these two elements took place in the external appearance of the church begun in 54. Basilica Julia standing on Forum Romanum. The layout of the buildings at the Forum was comparatively free.

By the 1st century BC e. refers to a small Ionian pseudoperipter - temple Mater matuta (Fortuna Virilis) in Rome. This temple is similar in type to the pseudo-peripter at Tibur; it had a rather deep six-column portico, framed from the facade by four columns, there were no ants in the portico, and its sides were completely open. The rest of the temple was occupied by a cella, the walls of which were decorated on the outside with semi-columns: there were four of them on the back wall, and five each on the side walls.

The temple stood on a low podium. It was a curious combination of the structure of an old Italic temple with a deep portico and a cella moved back with Ionian order building forms. Its outlines were simple and austere, corresponding to the style of Roman sculpture of that time (Pacitel's school).

Age of Augustus (30 BC - 14 AD)

30 BC e. opens a new stage in Roman history: this is the time of the beginning of the principate. At the same time, in the same year, the last of the remaining independent Hellenistic states - Egypt - became part of the Roman state. In the era of Augustus (30 BC - 14 AD), intensive construction in Rome develops; dozens of luxurious buildings are being restored and built, in which marble, which was almost never used before, is widely used. Augustus is proud that he took Rome of clay, and left marble.

A number of monuments erected in this era are directly connected with the emperor and are intended to glorify his activities.

In 2 BC. e. construction was completed Temple of Mars Ultor (Temple of Mars Ultor). This rather large temple of the Corinthian order had eight columns along the front facade. The front portico of the temple was very deep. Pushed back, the cella was flanked by colonnades. From the rear side, the temple was closed by a blank wall, which formed a rather large apse opposite the entrance to the cella.

Temple of Mars was the main building forum of august. On three sides it was framed by magnificent colonnades, and against the sides of the temple behind them were semicircular outbuildings. The Hellenistic method of organizing the internal space of the square by means of a colonnade is carried out here with exceptional symmetry, which, as we will see later, is a characteristic feature of the layout of the architectural ensembles of the Roman Empire.

An exceptionally clear idea of the temple architecture of the Augustan era can be given by the one built in 4 AD. e. temple in Nimes, known by the name Maison Carree. This Corinthian pseudo-peripter, standing on a high podium, has a deep ten-column portico, with six columns standing along the front facade. The large cella of the temple is decorated with semi-columns from the outside. A light architrave crowns the colonnade, the frieze is covered with relief ornaments, the cornice is carefully decorated.

Equally splendid are the decorations on the cornice of the Temple of Concordia, built in 10 AD. e. in Rome and the frieze of the temple at Pyla.

In general, it can be noted that the temple in Nimes, apparently, like other buildings of the Augustan era, has a ceremonial decorated appearance, which sharply distinguishes it from the simple and strict temple of Mater Matuta. In exactly the same way, one can compare august statue (Prima Porta) with sculptures of the late Republic (for example, the Vatican statue of a Roman in a toga).

This desire to give an architectural monument a magnificent character was, apparently, the reason for the dominance in Roman architecture, starting from the era of Augustus, the Corinthian order. The frequent use of the column as a purely decorative element can also be connected with this.

Roman society of this time viewed art as an item of luxury and the most refined comfort; This understanding of art is fully consistent with the focus in architecture on the decoration of the building, the desire to make it as beautiful as possible, and the widest use of decorative, often hedonistic in content (statues of satyrs, Bacchus, Venus, etc.) sculpture in houses, villas, parks, etc.

This hedonism in art corresponds, just as it once took place in Greece, to hedonism in philosophy. Back in the 1st century BC e. Lucretius wrote his poem De rerum natura, in which he outlined the teachings of Epicurus, which received wide recognition among a significant part of the upper classes of Roman society.

At the same time, such structures as the temple in Nimes, despite their proximity to the Greek temple, are fundamentally different from it in the absence of a stepped pedestal characteristic of the Hellenic peripter, which gives the whole “heroic scale”, which we spoke about above. The mythological worldview, so characteristic of Hellenic culture, was alien to the Romans even after their perception of Hellenic mythology and the religion of the Olympian pantheon.
The usual staircase leading to the temple in Nimes, on the contrary, emphasizes the purely anthropic character of the building, which fully corresponds to the teachings of Epicurus.

Worthy of attention is also the fundamentally different character of the ornaments that adorned Hellenic and Roman buildings. The conditional geometrized plane ornament of the Greek temple, if it contains some motifs taken from the plant world, then gives them in such a highly processed form that they do not fundamentally differ from the linear elements of decoration (see Parthenon ornaments). In Roman ornament, however, plant motifs fully preserve living organic forms, which clearly indicates a more realistic character of Roman decorative art (see the frieze of the temple in Pola and the ornaments of the altar of the Peace of Augustus). This more realistic character, fully in keeping with the sober practicality of the Romans, was also expressed in statuary plasticity: the sculptural portrait occupies the same dominant position in Roman art as the typifying statue of an athlete in Greek; the nature of Roman religion also corresponds to this, where, in contrast to the transcendent animism characteristic of Greece, immanent animism persisted for a long time.

In 13-9 years. BC e. was built altar of the Peace of Augustus (Ara Paris Augustae), which was a small rectangular building (11.6 × 10.6 m), surrounded by a high wall, completely covered with rich decoration; on the walls at the bottom there were wide belts of relief ornament, and at the top there was a relief zophor (there were Corinthian pilasters in the corners). From the east and west, the wall was interrupted by a wide door, to which a small staircase led. The altar itself was placed in the center of the structure. The entire building was made of marble of the moon.

The task of building the altar of the Peace of Augustus is close to that which the builders of the grandiose Pergamon altar solved; but the most cursory glance is enough to see how different the two monuments are. The external design of the Pergamon altar is based on the principle of the peripter, although the colonnade is placed on a high pedestal decorated with high reliefs. The Altar of Peace is bounded by a solid, richly decorated wall. This principle of emphasizing the wall, often combined not with a straight, but with a vaulted ceiling, is one of the most characteristic phenomena in Roman architecture. He found a vivid expression in the triumphal arches, a number of which were built in the era of Augustus.

The one built in 8 BC is distinguished by rather simple forms. e. single span arch in Sousse. The large aisle (8.75 m high and 5 m wide) is framed by a semi-circular vault, underlined by a triple fillet, and smooth walls, which are enlivened by incomplete Corinthian columns at the corners of the building and flat pilasters flanking the aisle. The columns support a Corinthian entablature with a frieze decorated with reliefs. A small smooth attic rises above the cornice, continuing the main surface of the lower wall.

More richly decorated triumphal arch near St. Remy, the upper part of which has not been preserved. It has increased the number of incomplete attached columns and relief decorations.

In the triumphal arch, in addition to the aforementioned accentuation of the wall and the vaulted ceiling, which is characteristic of Roman architecture, another no less typical phenomenon can be noted: the reduction of the column and the entablature supported by it, which played such an important constructive role in Hellenic architecture, to the level of purely decorative elements that should only dismember and animate the surface of the wall.

Built in the era of August and galleries-colonnades, so characteristic of Hellenistic architecture. We have already mentioned one of them, which framed the temple of Mars Ultor. Particularly grandiose in size was set back in the 2nd century. BC e. and the “portico of Octavia” rebuilt under Augustus; it had up to three hundred columns of the Corinthian order and a large number of sculptures and paintings.
In 11 BC. e. was built, which has come down to us in a badly damaged form, made of travertine Theater of Marcellus. Unlike the Greek theaters, which, in essence, are only an adaptation for the auditorium of a hillside convenient for this purpose, in front of which the corresponding stage buildings were erected, the Roman theater is an architectural monument of the usual type, inside which there are stage structures and gradually rising places for spectators.

The theater of Marcellus, very monumental in form, had an external appearance characteristic of Roman civil buildings: rhythmically repeated, powerful pillars arranged in two tiers interspersed with high semicircular arches of the vaults. The pillars and parts of the walls above them were decorated with purely decorative columns that supported the entablature: in the first tier - the Dorian order (with a cornice decorated with a dentil) and in the second - the Ionian.
Of undoubted interest are the tombstones of the Augustan era, which are distinguished by a wide variety of forms. Apparently, a kind of echo of the inclusion of Egypt in the Roman state and the associated inclusion of artistic values (compare, for example, the third Pompeian style) is the tomb monument of Cestius, who died in 12 BC. e. It has the shape of a tetrahedral rather high pyramid. The monument was built of brick and lined with marble.

Erected in the same era, the tombstone of the supplier of bread M. Virgil Eurysacs was a very peculiar structure: in the lower part of the building there were massive square and round pillars that supported the high walls of the building. The expanse of these walls was enlivened with special fillets, indicating the throats of the kvass or the crowns of pithoi for supplies; a narrow relief frieze and cornice passed above. In this, very original in form, monument, one cannot fail to note the peculiar manifestation of those aspirations for realism in Roman architecture, which we have already spoken about.

In the tomb Julius monument in St. Remy all the characteristic features of the architecture of the Augustan era are concentrated. A plinth lined with reliefs rises on a square ledge pedestal; on it stands a tetrapylon - a gate that opens in all four directions. Corinthian columns supporting the entablature are attached to the corners of the tetrapylon; finally, the whole building is crowned with a Corinthian order rotunda.

Located on Via Appia Mausoleum of Caecilia Metella (Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella) is a massive, tower-like, cylindrical structure. The undivided smooth walls of this monument gave the impression of irresistible power. In the mausoleum of Augustus and his family, we find a close motif of a large (88 m in diameter), massive, tower-like structure of marble, which here serves as the crepe of a tree-lined mound.
Along with the magnificent mausoleums that served as graves for the emperor and the social elites, more modest underground columbarium crypts, which were rectangular rooms, the walls of which were completely covered with small niches, where urns with the ashes of the dead were placed, have come down to us.

Of the residential buildings of this time, we will mention Libya's house on the Palatine, decorated with paintings corresponding to the second Pompeian style (architectural), used in the era of the late republic and the beginning of the principate. A characteristic feature of this style is the revitalization of the wall surface by applying architectural details (columns, pilasters, etc.). The main smooth surface of the wall imitates the cladding; in addition, separate pictures are assembled.

Along with the second style, in the era of Augustus, the third Pompeian style was also used for painting houses. It is distinguished by the predominance of ornament, in the spirit of which the architectural elements of the painting are also processed; The abundance of Egyptian motifs is also characteristic in this style.

Finally, it should be noted that in the era of Augustus, a number of buildings for a purely utilitarian purpose were built. An example is the grandiose Aqueduct of Agrippa near Nimes(known as Pont du Gard), the length of which reaches 269 m.

Julio-Claudian dynasty (AD 15 - 68)

From the architecture of the time of the closest successors of Augustus (the Julio-Claudian dynasty), few monuments have come down to us. Let's dwell on the most important of them.

In 21 AD e. was dedicated Tiberius(possibly built earlier) triumphal arch in orange. Quite significant in size (its height is 18 m, width 19.5), it has three spans, of which the middle one is larger than the side ones. The arch is decorated with attached incomplete Corinthian columns, four on each side, a simple and strict entablature, complex profiling of architectural parts and numerous relief decorations.

Epoch Claudia(41-54) was marked mainly by grandiose structures of a utilitarian order, which were a large harbor at Ostia, unfinished drainage tunnel in 5540 m long, carried out to Lake Futsin, finally Aqua Claudia- the largest of the aqueducts of the city of Rome.

”Golden House” of Emperor Nero, preserved premises

The most famous building Nero(54-68) - built after a great fire in 64 by architects North and Celer « golden house» ( Domus_Aurea). This huge residence, which occupied an area of about 50 hectares, included a large palace built with exceptional luxury, a park, an artificially dug pond; the ensemble included a colossal (35 m high) bronze statue of the emperor by Zenodora.

Domus_Aurea. Golden House of Emperor Nero. The surviving part available for visits / Nero's Column

We can judge the magnificent decoration of the Golden House only by the insignificant remains of the secondary parts of the residence of Nero, and also, to a certain extent, by the richest Pompeian houses of the same time. This is the era when the fourth style dominates in Pompeii, the characteristic features of which are the abundance of architectural elements of a completely fantastic, bizarre character and bright, brilliant coloring.

The Flavian era (69-96) The era of Trajan (98-117) - Hadrian (117-138)

In the era Trajan(98-117) the construction of purely utilitarian structures - roads, bridges, water pipes, harbors, etc. - was especially lively. At the same time, attention was paid to the residential quarters of the city. Frequent collapses of large houses caused an order prohibiting the construction of multi-storey buildings over 20 meters in height.

In 107-113 years. in Rome being built by an architect Apollodorus from Damascus grandiose forum of Trajan, which in ancient times was considered one of the main attractions of the capital. It is slightly inferior in area to all the other Roman forums combined.

Trajan's forum, like the forums of other emperors, had a symmetrical layout of buildings. A large triumphal arch served as an entrance to a square courtyard (whose sides reached 126 m). In the center of the courtyard was an equestrian statue of Trajan; from the sides it was framed by colonnades, behind which were semicircular exedra. Along the far side of the courtyard from the entrance stood a large five-nave Basilica Ulpia with a gilded bronze roof. Behind the basilica was a small square, framed on the sides by two small library buildings. Trajan's tall column stood in the center of this square. Finally, the whole structure was closed by the temple of Trajan, framed by colonnades, erected by his successor Hadrian. From these numerous structures to the present, with the exception of Trajan's columns only pitiful remnants remain.

Placed in 113-114. Trajan's column was a very peculiar commemorative monument, which at the same time served as the burial crypt of the emperor. On a high square pedestal decorated with reliefs stood a grandiose column equipped with a massive base and a light Dorian capital; its trunk was covered with a spirally curved relief belt representing "Trajan's wars with the Dacians". Above the capital is a high round pedestal, on which the statue of Trajan once stood.

Inside the column there was a spiral staircase leading up to a small platform located above the capital and going around the pedestal of the statue.

Intensive construction went on in the era of Trajan and in the provinces. We confine ourselves to mentioning what arose at the beginning of the 2nd century. African city Timgad laid out according to a plan reminiscent of Roman camps. The city was richly decorated with large colonnades. One of the best preserved monuments is the three-bay triumphal arch; the question of dating it to the age of Trajan or a later time does not yet seem to be resolved.

Burned down in 110 Pantheon, lined up Agrippa in 27 BC e. Its restoration was entrusted Apollodorus of Damascus, which during the years 115-125. rebuilt the building. Built mainly of brick and mortar, the Pantheon has come down to us in very good condition, only slightly distorted by later alterations.

The temple was a grandiose, round building, covered with a dome and equipped with a large portico. The division of the interior of the temple is strictly symmetrical. The lower floor of the walls is divided into eight parts by four rectangular and three semicircular niches alternately located. Opposite the middle semicircular niche is a cut of the entrance arch close to it in shape.

Each of the niches was once separated from the central space by two large columns of the Corinthian order, supporting a rather simple entablature with a smooth frieze; only in the niche opposite the exit, these columns are strongly moved apart and frame it from the sides, and the entablature runs along the concave line of the wall.

Framed by Corinthian pilasters, the wide, smooth piers between the niches were enlivened by small aedicules placed in front of them. The second tier lying above the entablature was divided by mighty semicircular arches located above the niches; between them there was a wide smooth surface of the wall. Horizontal profiling separated the second tier from the grandiose hemispherical dome, the surface of which was enlivened in the lower and middle parts by five rows of large cassettes. The upper part of the dome, devoid of cassettes, framed a large round window (9 m in diameter), which boldly completed the building.

The diameter of the inner premises of the Pantheon was 43.5 m, and the height was 42.7 m. The complex articulation of the inner side of the walls and the dome of the Pantheon, enhanced by the richness and variety of interior decoration, is sharply opposed by the exceptional simplicity of the exterior design of the building.

It is a grandiose cylindrical vestibule, above which the dome of the temple rises. The surface of the walls of the vestibule is divided by horizontal bands into three tiers, the first and second strictly corresponding to the corresponding internal divisions of the building. The third floor is at the level of the two lower rows of dome cassettes. The purpose of the wall of this tier is to help counteract the enormous force of the expansion of the dome. The third floor covers the lower part of the dome, due to which the latter gives the impression of being flat. The dome was covered with a gilded roof that has not been preserved to this day.

The entrance to the Pantheon leads through a large deep portico, which was rebuilt during the 2nd century BC. In its current form, it has eight columns of the Corinthian order along the facade crowned with a high pediment (the remains of the foundation indicate that there were once ten of them). The facade colonnade is followed by four rows of columns - two in each, dividing the portico into three longitudinal compartments. The entrance to the cella is flanked by two ledges of walls forming niches; these parts of the building are decorated with Corinthian pilasters.

The description of the Pantheon that we have made clearly indicates that the architect's focus was not on the external design of the building, since the building is given from the outside in the simplest, if I may say so, laconic forms: it is a smooth wall, in the cutting of which the architect is limited to horizontal division, corresponding to the division of the internal parts of the building.

The main problem that was put forward and resolved in the Pantheon is the problem of organizing the internal space. This space was given strictly centric and, moreover, was limited for the viewer, located in the center of the building, not by straight walls stretching into the distance and a ceiling covered with beams, as was the case in a Greek temple, but by a soft curved line of the ring of walls and the hemisphere of the dome.

This special spatiality of the Pantheon, which is the result of a round frame, is fully consistent with the lighting of the building, which is not usual in ancient architecture from the side (through the door), but from the top - through the round window located at the zenith of the dome. Such lighting provided a soft diffused light, which did not reveal, but smoothed out contrasts, thus contributing to the fact that the complex architectural decoration of walls and ceiling produced a purely decorative impression.

Hadrian's Villa in Tibur

In the building of the Pantheon, especially from the outside, there is a pronounced assertion of the wall as the main architectural element. This accentuation of the wall is one of the manifestations of the desire for realism in Roman architecture, which we have repeatedly spoken about. If in the altar of the Peace of Augustus the wall appeared in a disguised form, completely covered with relief decorations, then in the Pantheon it is given in all its purity and immediacy.

The smooth, impenetrable surface of the wall responds incomparably more to the practical and artistic task of isolating the building from the space surrounding it than the (albeit structurally necessary) colonnades of the Hellenic periptera, which makes the forms of Roman architecture incomparably more realistic than the forms of Hellenic architecture.

Worthy of attention is the purpose of the temple to serve as a place of worship not for one deity, but for the whole set of gods. This phenomenon is in connection with the gradual inclusion in the orbit of Roman religion of all the main cults that existed on the vast territory of the empire, and corresponds to the philosophy of this era. At this time, the teaching of the Stoics, who preached cosmopolitanism and put forward the position that all people constitute a single organism, was widely used.
In 123-126 years. Trajan's successor Adrian(117-138) a grandiose villa in Tibur (Tivoli), which was a complex complex of buildings. Separate parts of the villa were to perpetuate Hadrian's memories of his travels in Greece and the East, reproducing the Stoa poikile, the Academy, the Lyceum, Canopus, the Tempe Valley. This desire to repeat some of the famous buildings of ancient architecture fully meets the classicist trends that dominated the art of the period under review, which at the same time had a touch of romance.

During the era of Hadrian, extensive restoration work was carried out on Forum Romanum. In 135, a large Temple of Venus and Roma. Framed by porticoes, the temple stood on a platform 145 m long and 100 m wide. The podium common to Roman temples was absent; instead, the temple was surrounded on all sides by steps.

The temple was a peripter of the Corinthian order, which had ten columns on the front sides, and twenty columns on the long sides. The interior of the temple was divided by transverse walls into two cells. In front of each of them was a four-column portico (pronaos) in antae. The floor in the cellas was higher than in the porticoes. In the middle of the rear wall of each cella was a large semicircular niche; they were separated from one another by a common wall. In one of these niches was placed a statue of Roma, in the other - Venus. The long walls of the cella were decorated with colonnades and niches. Both cells, as well as the porticos in front of them, were covered with vaults, which was in a certain contradiction with the gable roof of the temple.

The walls of the temple were built of brick; marble was widely used for cladding; the decoration was very luxurious.

From what has been said, it is clear that the temple of Venus and Roma is a very pretentious monument of a kind of Greco-Roman eclecticism, which marks those classicist aspirations of the era, which we have already spoken about above. This temple was as far from the works of Hellenic architecture, the heyday of the latter, as the statues of Hadrian's favorite, the young Bithenian Antinous, from the sculptures of the classical period representing athletes.

Relatively well preserved was built in 132-139: Moles(mausoleum) Adriana, now known as Castello St. Angelo. This grandiose, once richly decorated monument was a square plinth on which stood a tower-like vestibule topped with a rotunda.

A number of outstanding architectural monuments are being built in the era of Hadrian and in the Roman provinces.

ends in Athens Temple of Olympian Zeus, not brought to the end by Antiochus Epiphanes and then subjected to destruction. Around this building, a number of new buildings are being built, forming " City of Hadrian”, which was connected with the “old” city by a large gate (18 m high and 13.5 m wide) made of Pentelikon marble.

In the lower tier, which was a solid wall framed on the sides by Corinthian pilasters, a large passage was cut. The passage was flanked by pilasters, also of the Corinthian order, but smaller, above which a profiled fillet ran along the arch. Between the large and small pilasters, Corinthian columns stood on special pedestals, supporting the ledges of the entablature that crowned the lower floor of the gate.

A very light through upper tier consisted of Corinthian columns and pillars that supported the entablature, the middle part of which was crowned with a pediment. In this monument we again find the attempt already noted by us to give a peculiar combination of Greek and Roman elements in subtly refined forms.

The surviving parts are much more monumental. Hadrian's Library in Athens. We have reached a row of round Corinthian columns stretching along a solid wall. A very peculiar entablature crowns the wall and forms small ledges above the columns, corresponding in shape to the capitals. We have already met this method of revitalizing the wall earlier on the Nerva forum.

Of the other buildings of Hadrian, we note the grandiose, very peculiar in plan Temple in Cyzicus. This temple was a peripter, which had six columns from the front and fifteen from the long sides. A small cella, which had two doors facing the front and rear facades, was the only interior of the temple. The large free space between the cella and both facades was filled with columns, the total number of rows of which was five on the front side, and three on the back.

Epoch of the Antonines (138 - 192)

Building activity under Hadrian's successors Antonina(138-192) is much paler than in the first decades of the 2nd century. This does not respond to buildings that have a purely utilitarian purpose, the construction of which is very intensive, but from this era almost no monuments have come down to us that would be of great importance in the development of the style of Roman architecture.

At Antonina Pie(138-161) on Roman Forum was built Temple of Faustina, decorated with a colonnade. The front part of this temple has been preserved. The portico was flanked by large Corinthian columns of pale green marble; there were six of them from the facade, three from the sides. The light entablature was decorated with a narrow relief frieze.

Erected in Rome column of Marcus Aurelius(161-180) did not represent anything new in terms of architecture, being basically a repetition of the Trajan's Column.

During the Antonine era, a number of buildings were built in Greece by the wealthy orator Herodes Atticus; note Odeon(indoor theater) in Athens and Exedru in Olympia; the latter was a semi-circular building framed on the sides by wings with a semi-dome ceiling. This structure was sharply out of harmony with the entire ensemble in Altis.

The grandiose complex of the acropolis of Heliopolis (Baalbek). It reached a length of almost 300 m and consisted of a colossal temple and a number of premises that preceded access to it, located strictly symmetrically.

A wide staircase led to a twelve-columned propylaea portico, very wide in front, but not deep; from there, three doors led into a hexagonal courtyard framed by colonnades, on the opposite side of which there were also three doors into the next large square courtyard, framed on three sides by colonnades. The back side of the courtyard was closed by a large temple.

It was a colossal peripter, which had ten columns from the front and nineteen from the long sides. Columns up to 19 m high stood on large bases; smooth trunks were crowned with magnificent Corinthian capitals. The light Corinthian entablature was richly ornamented with ornaments, distinguished, like the capitals of the columns, by a restless dynamic character.

South of the great temple was second peripter, much smaller; on the short sides of this temple there were eight and on the long sides fifteen columns. The height of the columns was 16 m. The temple stood on a high podium; on the east side, a staircase led into it, behind which there was a deep portico. Pronaos was framed by ants; a richly ornamented door led from it to the cella. At the back of the cella was a wide staircase leading up to the adyton.

The inner sides of the side walls of the cella were enlivened by Corinthian columns attached to them. The columns stood on special plinths and had small bases, fluted trunks and very magnificent capitals. Along the wall, above the columns, ran the same ledge entablature as in the forum of Nerva. In the gaps between the columns there were niches and tabernacles located in two tiers, which gave the walls a resemblance to the facade of the stage of Roman theaters.

Overloaded with heavy, luxurious decorations full of restless dynamics, the grandiose buildings of Heliopolis have a solemn, somewhat pompous character.

It is curious to compare these phenomena in architecture with the sculptural portrait of the Antonine era; the contrasting juxtaposition of the form gives it a restless character, which is enhanced by the play of chiaroscuro, sometimes creating purely decorative effects.

The era of the Severs (193 - 217)

At Septimius Severe(193-211) extensive restoration work was carried out in Rome. Of the newly built structures, the most prominent place was occupied by the palace, the entrance to which was decorated with a grandiose three-tiered backstage, called Septizodium(or Septizonium), built in 203. It was a complex combination of arrays of walls, arches and columns, and in addition was richly decorated with sculpture; fountains were also introduced into the composition.

A large (23 m high) three-span arch erected in honor Septimius Severa and his sons geth and Caracalla. The spans of the arch were framed by Corinthian fluted pilasters and Corinthian columns, which stood on special pedestals and supported the ledges of the entablature. The pedestals of the columns were decorated with reliefs; on the walls, between the columns, the reliefs that completely covered them were arranged in several rows. The smooth surface of the attic, covered with a long inscription, contrasted with this extreme congestion with decorations in the lower middle parts of the building.

Caracalla(211-217) completed the baths begun by his father. This grandiose, well-equipped, luxuriously decorated building was located in a large (350 m long) almost square park, framed on all sides by buildings. The Baths of Caracalla represented a complex complex of various premises, strictly symmetrically located and giving a combination of volumes and spaces organized in various ways.

Quite significant remains of walls, vaults and pillars have been preserved from the terms. As for the architectural decorations related to terms, the use of a Corinthian capital with a sculptural image of Hercules built into it is worthy of mention here.

In the era of the North, there was intensive construction activity in North Africa, as a result of which a number of camp cities appeared. Among them, the most interesting Tebessa, where at the beginning of the III century. a small (9 m wide, 14.7 m long) temple of the Corinthian order was built.

The temple had a rather deep six-column portico, with four columns standing along the facade; the outside of the cella is decorated with pilasters. Lush capitals of columns and pilasters correspond to the abundance of relief decorations of the entablature, completely covering not only the frieze, but also the architrave; these decorations do not go in a continuous band and are separated according to the columns by special caesuras.

Of the other buildings in Tebesse, we will also point out triumphal arch, erected in 214 in honor of Caracalla. This arch is single-span, but it opens with gates not in two, but in four directions (tetrapiles).

Final stage (270 - 337)

The era that followed the Sever dynasty is extremely restless and full of military clashes. It is characteristic that at this time a number of defensive structures were being built. Emperor Aurelius(270-275) surrounds Rome with a fortress wall. Close to her in time Verona city gates(known as Porta dei Borsari) and Trier(Porta Nigra).

Ancient gates of Verona - Porta Borsari

In the III century. flourishes Palmyra, laid out according to a predetermined plan and richly decorated with grandiose colonnades; Decumanus(main street) of this city formed a grandiose avenue 1135 m long, on both sides of which there were three hundred and seventy-five columns supporting a rather heavy entablature. The height of the columns was 17 m. On their smooth trunks, slightly above the middle, strongly protruding consoles were placed. Behind the colonnades were houses, warehouses, shops and other buildings. The colonnades ended in a three-span triumphal arch, framed by pilasters and richly decorated with ornaments.

Epoch Diocletian(284-305) and his closest successors is the final stage in the development of ancient art in general and architecture in particular.

Diocletian's main building in Rome was grandiose baths, built in 302-305. According to the plan, they were close to the baths of Caracalla, but they accommodated twice as many visitors (over 3,000 people). Quite significant parts of the baths of Diocletian have survived to the present. Tepidarium(warm bath) of these terms, which currently serves as a church ( S. Maria degli Angeli), came to us in very good condition. This room is covered with very bold cross vaults.

Another architectural monument associated with the name of Diocletian is his palace at Salona (Spalato). It differs sharply from the residences of the Roman emperors of the 1st - 2nd centuries. and fully meets the new conditions of the Roman Empire, which is turning into an oriental despotism.

The palace occupies a vast rectangular space (more than 37,000 m2), fortified with walls and towers. The layout of the premises was carried out according to the principle of a military camp. Symmetry reigned everywhere. Two wide streets divided the camp-palace into four equal parts. In one of these rectangular parts there was a large building, octagonal in plan, near which there were colonnades, very characteristic of late antique architecture, supporting a series of arches.

Diocletian's successor Maxentius(206-212), builds a basilica in Rome, completed, perhaps after his death. This grandiose building was divided into three naves, and the middle nave was much wider and higher than the side ones (its width was 25 m, height 35 m). The middle nave was covered with three cross vaults, and each side nave was covered with three barrel vaults.

In this basilica we see a focus on the organization of vast, symmetrical interior spaces. Architectural forms are built by means of walls, pillars and vaults, the smooth surfaces of which everywhere play a dominant role. The use of a column, even though it is a structural part, still has a mainly decorative purpose.

In conclusion, we mention triumphal arch of Constantine(323-337), located in Rome. In terms of architectural forms, it is very close to the arch of Septimius Severus, but even more than the latter, it is loaded with sculptural decorations that not only fill the lower and middle parts of the arch, but also penetrate upward in the form of statues standing on the ledges of the entablature, under the columns, and reliefs between them. The creative impotence of the era is reflected in the fact that a significant part of the sculptures decorating the arch was taken from earlier monuments.

The Roman Empire is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Its history begins more than three thousand years ago, and it flourished in the first centuries of our era. The collapse of the ancient Roman civilization is associated with the raids of the barbarians, which also marked the beginning of the destruction of an immense number of architectural structures of that time. Only a part of them has survived to this day, but this is enough to enjoy the grandeur and beauty of ancient cultural sites.

The tenth place among the most popular architectural sights of Rome can be safely given to this unique building. The reason for the construction of the Arc de Triomphe in 81 AD was the capture of Jerusalem a decade earlier by Emperor Titus.

The arch has one span and is located on the Sacred Via Sacra. A distinctive feature of the building is an amazing bas-relief inside the arch, which depicts a procession of warriors demonstrating their trophies obtained in Jerusalem.

The arch has almost completely retained its original appearance, with the exception of the absence of a bronze statue of Titus himself at the top of the monument.

Due to its unique structure, this monument rises among others to the 9th line of the rating. The column is dedicated to Emperor Trajan, a native of ordinary legionnaires, who strengthened and strengthened the power of the Roman Empire during his reign.

The monument was erected in 113 AD. Inside it there is a spiral staircase leading to the observation deck of the capital, and outside the column is decorated with relief episodes of the battles of the war between Dacia and Rome.

The base of the monument, inside which urns with ashes were placed, is the tomb of Emperor Trajan, who died in 117 AD, and his life partner.

Trevi Fountain

A large number of beautiful fountains have been preserved in Rome, among which the Trevi Fountain is the most popular, for which he received the eighth place in the list of attractions.

This building has an amazing history. Back in the 20s of our era, the emperor Octavian Augustus established a water supply for the inhabitants with clean water, fed from a source 12 km away from the city. Until the 18th century, the structure was modest in appearance, and only in 1762, after a thirty-year period of construction, it acquired its unique appearance.

The fountain is a stone statue of the sea god Neptune, surrounded by many characters, striking in the accuracy of details, and facial expressions.

Baths of Caracalla

Seventh place goes to the so-called "bath complexes" of Rome. They were created under Marcus Aurelius, an emperor nicknamed Caracalla, in the 3rd century AD.

The building had many compartments, designed not only to wash, but also to completely relax, enjoy and relax the soul. The buildings included the baths themselves (terms), libraries, places for theatrical performances, gymnasiums.

The purpose of this building was to attract people, popularize the term, in connection with which the emperors sought not only to decorate the walls and floors of the building with unique mosaics, marble, but also collected numerous sculptures and other art values in it.

Catacombs

On the sixth line are numerous underground labyrinths of Rome, which are ancient burial places of people canonized as saints.

Burials lasted from the 1st to the 5th century AD. During this period, about 750 thousand people were buried in the tombs, the number of which is more than sixty.

Since the catacombs are located around the entire perimeter of the city in its various districts, there is no one specific entrance to them. You can get into the underground labyrinths by studying the official websites of the tombs.

Mausoleum of Hadrian

Another unique building of Ancient Rome - the Castel Sant'Angelo - falls into fifth place in the ranking. During its history, this place has managed to be a tomb, a prison, the residence of popes and a repository of their valuables, a castle, and is currently a museum and an architectural monument.

The mausoleum was built in 139 AD by order of the emperor Hadrian himself, who revered art and architecture, for his own burial.

The structure is a twenty-meter-high building, having a cylindrical shape, and installed on a large square base. Initially, the top of the building was decorated with a statue of Hadrian, presented in the form of the god Helios driving the chariot. A wonderful bridge leads to the castle, decorated with a large number of ancient sculptures.

Saint Paul's Cathedral

Due to its status as the main cathedral of the Catholic Church, this building rises to the fourth step in the ranking of the famous architectural structures of Rome.

The construction of the cathedral lasted more than forty years and was the result of the work of many famous sculptors and architects, such as Michelangelo Buonarotti, Giacomo della Porta, Carlo Maderna.

The building has a stunning facade with a cornice topped with sculptures of the eleven apostles (except Peter), John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. And in front of the cathedral itself there are statues of Peter, holding the key to the Kingdom of Heaven, and the Apostle Paul, solemnly holding a sword in his hand.

The height of the dome, mounted on the columns of the cathedral, remains the highest in the world to this day, and is equal to 138 meters.

The cathedral impresses with its scale and a huge number of departments lined with sculptures, paintings, and stucco. The costs of its construction were so huge that Pope Leo X was forced to sell Albrecht of Brandenburg the right to exercise indulgences in the German lands, because of the selfishness of which the European split occurred in the future.

The top three is opened by a temple built by the order of Emperor Hadrian back in the 2nd century AD, and dedicated to all the Gods.

Like many other buildings of ancient Rome, the Pantheon is a tomb for the burial of many famous people (Umberto I, Raphael are buried here).

The most popular and unique feature of the building is the round hole located on the roof of the dome, through which a bright wide beam of light enters the building at noon.

The temple is famous for its rich interior decoration with colored marble, beautiful frescoes and majestic decoration. And, despite the presence of thick walls and a massive dome, a feeling of lightness and integrity of all structures is created inside.

The second place in the ranking goes to the center of public life in Rome - a square built on the site of a once swampy area used for cemeteries and drained with the help of sewer systems several centuries before our era.

Such magnificent architectural structures as the Temple of Vespasian, the Temple of Saturn and the Temple of Vesta were erected in the Roman Forum.

The temple dedicated to the god Saturn, built back in 5 centuries BC, has undergone many changes associated with constant destruction and restoration, and has survived to this day only in the form of a few columns.

Approximately the same fate touched the Temple of Vespasian, built in 79 AD, from which only three tall columns remain, rising 15 meters above the ground.

Only the Temple of Vesta, erected in honor of the goddess of the hearth, has survived to our time. After numerous fires that occurred in the building, it was decided to close it, in connection with which the building fell into disrepair and became very dilapidated.

This building rightfully takes the first place in the list, since it has long been not just a majestic building, but an undeniable symbol of ancient and modern Rome.

The amphitheater is a multi-tiered oval-shaped building with many arches of various sizes located around the perimeter. It took 8 years to build this structure. Each tier is strengthened by columns erected in different architectural styles (Corinthian, Ionic, Doric order).

The exterior of the Colosseum was decorated in marble, and the perimeter was decorated with stunning sculptures.

The most important persons of Rome and the emperor himself sat in the lower boxes for privileged persons.

Despite the fact that only one third of the building survived, the Roman Colosseum remains one of the most striking architectural structures in the entire world.

It is generally accepted that the primitive buildings of Rome came from the Etruscan people, perhaps even built by them. It was logically a continuation of the line of Greek architecture. The buildings of the Roman Empire retained the basis of Etruscan architecture - the circular arch. A circular arch is a rounded stone covering that connected the abutments to each other. This helped to arrange the stones in a radius circle for even pressure on them. Using new techniques for building structures, the Romans could bring creativity to new buildings. Theoretical new knowledge helped to build temples of large sizes, the ability to erect multi-storey buildings and buildings. In terms of the introduction of groin vaults and box vaults, the Romans succeeded over the Greeks and made more refined buildings.

In order for the arches to stand securely, the columns that used to be popular were no longer used. Roman architects began to build huge walls and pilasters, and the columns became just a decorative decoration. This was used almost everywhere, but there were also buildings in which the use of columns was more appropriate. At the same time, the styles of the columns practically did not change, the Romans settled on the standard Greek version.

In general, Roman architecture was directly dependent on the Greek directions of architecture. However, the Romans tried more to emphasize their strength and independence in order to intimidate and suppress foreign peoples. They did not spare money for decorating their buildings, each building was magnificent and richly decorated. At the same time, from the point of view of the architect, they tried to make each structure exemplary. Mostly buildings were built for practical needs, but temples also occupied an important place among the structures.

History of architecture of ancient Rome

As an independent branch of world art, the architecture of Ancient Rome was formed for a very long time, approximately in the 4th-1st centuries. BC e. Despite the fact that many buildings of those times have already crumbled, they regularly continue to fascinate with their remnants and individual elements. The Roman Empire was one of the great, if not the greatest, that laid the foundation for a new era. Public places of that time could accommodate tens of thousands of people (basilicas, amphitheaters, trade markets), while there was always something to strive for. Religion also did not recede into the background; the list of building structures in Rome included temples, altars, and tombs.

Comparing with the whole world, even historians came to the conclusion that it was difficult or simply impossible to find equal rivals to the architecture of Rome and Roman engineering. Aqueducts, bridges, roads, fortresses, canals as architectural objects are only a small part of the list of what they used on all fronts. They changed the principles of ancient Greek architecture, primarily the order system: they combined the order with an arched structure.

Great importance in the formation of Roman culture was given to the style of the Hellenes, who were supporters of architecture with a huge scope and the development of urban centers. But humanism and the ability to inherit the harmonious Greek style in Rome were omitted, preferring the exaltation of imperious emperors. They sharply emphasized the power of the army. Hence all the pathos, which was the basis of many decorations of buildings and structures.

The variety of buildings and the general scope of buildings in Rome is much higher than in Greece. The construction of huge buildings became possible due to a change in the technical foundations in construction. This is how new brick-concrete structures appear. They made it possible to block large spans, speeding up the process of construction work. It was also important that with the use of such construction methods, professional craftsmen were increasingly abandoned, and trusted slaves and unskilled workers. This significantly reduced the cost of construction.

Stages of development of Roman architecture

І period

The stages of development of Roman architecture can be divided into 4 periods. The first and shortest starts from the time of the founding of ancient Rome and ends in the 2nd century BC. BC e. This period is not rich in architectural monuments, and those that appeared were the legacy of the Etruscans. Almost everything that was built during this period was publicly available. It brought collective benefits to the settlements. This category included canals for cleansing the city from sewage, which, with the help of them, fell into the Tiber. Mamertine prison and the first basilicas can also be attributed to buildings that were useful.

II period

The second stage is called "Greek". From the middle of the II century, a serious influence of Greek architecture on Roman begins. A strong influence was manifested until the end of the republican rule (31 BC). It is believed that at this time the first marble temples began to appear, replacing the usual types of stones and travertine. In their design, they were very similar to the Greek ones, but the architects tried to make noticeable differences.

Roman temples throughout these years looked oblong with 4 corners. The foundation was usually high, with an attached staircase on the front side. Climbing the stairs, you find yourself next to the columns. Going down a little deeper, there is a door that leads to the main hall. The main lighting comes through this door, so it is often open.

Together with such temples of the ancient Greek type, the Romans erected, in honor of the Gods, temples of a round shape. These were mostly their own ideas with the use of Greek elements. One of these can be considered the Temple of the Portun, surrounded by 20 columns, this historical object has survived to this day. The cone-shaped marble roof is a good example of the Roman individual style.

The community of buildings included not only buildings associated with religion, but also many others:

Tabularium - a huge building designed to preserve the archives;
The wooden theater of Skavra is one of the most interesting buildings of this period. Includes over three hundred marble columns and bronze statues, could accommodate 80,000 visitors;
The first stone theater was built in honor of the goddess Venus.

All history about them disappeared with them. However, it is worth noting that using modern 3D modeling technologies, it was proved that these structures were built very competently. For example, the "Stone Theatre" was located in such a way that the stage looked to the northeast. Since, under Augustus, performances and celebrations were traditionally held in the morning, all the sun's rays fell on the stage, and not on theatergoers.

III period

By significance, the most effective period in the history of Roman architecture. The beginning is considered from the time of the arrival of Augustus to the republican throne and ends in 138 AD. e.

In the technologies of the Romans, the active use of concrete begins. A new stage in the construction of basilicas, circuses, and libraries begins. There were trials, identifying the best chariot riders. A new type of monumental art, the triumphal arch, is gaining popularity. At the same time, the technique was constantly improved with the help of new constructions timed to coincide with the new victories of the future empire.

Roman art was not as elegant as Greek structures, but the technical skill of construction remained at the highest level for centuries. The Colosseum (the largest amphitheater of antiquity) and the Pantheon temple (built in the name of the Gods) become world famous.

The introduction of features of Greek architecture gained massive popularity and continued to stride into the western and northern regions of Europe. Most Greek architects became famous with the help of the Romans, who commissioned Greek copies that were better preserved than the originals. The Romans, unlike the Greeks, adhered to their concept of sculptural traditions. They made busts of their ancestors to show the prototypes of their kind. The Greeks, on the other hand, used such sculptures as works of art in the house. This simplicity and vivid individuality of Roman portrait art show it from a new side for us.

Over the course of this period, all architectural structures go through stages of development, improvement and increase the level of majesty. Elements of luxury are widely used and for the first time the features of oriental art begin to slip.

IV period

After the departure from the power of Hadrian, Roman architectural art quickly begins its decline. All those decorations that were previously used begin to seem redundant and out of place, and their use is less and less correct. This period continues until the full formation of Christianity and the departure of paganism far into the background. The period of decline is characterized by the fact that every ruler wants to go down in history with the help of majestic buildings.

This period also continues to be distinguished by oriental elements, which are more and more clearly traced in architectural art. They begin to prevail over the classics of the genre. Particularly eloquent evidence of this is the construction under the last rulers of the empire in such remote areas of possessions as Syria and Arabia. This was noticeable by the change in the swelling of the surface of the roofs, the abundance of unnecessary accessories. Often mysterious, fantastic forms were erected, which were considered symbols of the eastern direction of architecture.

The greatness of Rome in the Temples

One of the first buildings erected by Augustus, dedicated to the deified idol Julius Caesar. Built in 29 BC. The temple was built in the modest style of the Ionic order. The place of Caesar's cremation was concentrated separately. In the decorated hall there are designated seats for speakers, which replaced the tribunal that existed here, concentrated for many years in the western part.

Altar of Peace

The monumental building of ancient Rome, which inscribed in history the victory of Augustus over the Spaniards and Gauls. It was built in 13 BC. e. In appearance, it looked like a fence with right angles 6 m high, in the center of which there was a step with an altar. There were 2 through passages along the perimeter of the fence, with the help of which it was possible to approach the altar. On the opposite walls were depicted processions of Augustus to offer sacrifice to the altar.

The memo had in its personification particles of all the cultures of the predecessors of Roman architecture. By the type of construction, one can judge the Italian style, and by the location of the ornament along the bottoms and tops, Etruscan principles. The exquisite craftsmanship of the relief of the altar speaks of a strong Greek influence.

Temple of Mars Ultor

One of the largest temples in Rome. The width of the facade alone is about 35 m. The columns are erected up to 18 m. The interior decoration was mainly of marble with wooden ceilings. Having a solemn appearance inside, the temple evoked a feeling of delight of the people present in it. The date of creation of this historical monument is considered 2 BC. e. Greek elements are traced in almost all stages of architecture.

Pantheon

The Pantheon is a special place in Rome. The second name is "Temple of all gods". The mass of temples of ancient times was built by order of the emperors, including the Pantheon was no exception. The Pantheon was dedicated primarily to the two gods Venus and Mars, it was they who were considered the guardians of the Julius family. The building consisted of three parts, which were intertwined. It was named after the architect who performed the work, but it is believed that the Pantheon was his pseudonym. The Pantheon was built in 118-128, years later it was restored several times. To date, only a small part of it has remained, which does not allow you to enjoy the full majesty of the temple of that period.

Sculpture of Ancient Rome

The monumental art of the ancient Romans significantly lost to the Greeks. The Romans never managed to create the greatest sculptural monuments and compete with the Greeks on these frontiers. But it was still possible to enrich the plastic with its elements.

The best results were achieved in portrait art. The Roman people transferred their observation of every trait of a person and his unique individuality. Ideal portraits were created, as well as portraits in which one could see the human negative and the realism of the art form. With the help of sculptures, for the first time, they launched the propaganda of the civilization of society. They erected monuments to famous personalities, made constructions of triumph.

The Roman state goes through a difficult path of development. It first conquers Italy (V-III centuries BC), then Carthage (II century BC) and, finally, Greece (II century BC).

The architecture of Ancient Rome changed markedly throughout the existence of this mighty state.

Many features formed the basis of Roman art. The Etruscans were the forerunners of the Romans. In the middle of the first millennium, they already had their own culture. Etruscan temples are similar to Greek periptera, but the front facade is more emphasized in them: there is a platform with columns in front of the entrance, and a multi-stage staircase leads to it. When erecting gates, the Etruscans often used a semicircular arch, which the Greeks almost did not know. Their houses had a room in the center with an open square hole in the roof in the middle and walls black with soot. Apparently there was a hearth. This gave reason to call this room an atrium (from the word "ater" - "black").

Atrium - a room with a hole in the roof

In culture, the official state flow of a Hellenized society and popular tastes, dating back to the Italic past, collide.

In general, the Roman state is isolated, opposed to a private person. It was famous for its system of government and law.

The army was the basis of world power. The supreme power was concentrated in the hands of the commanders, who had little regard for the interests of the whole people and the state, and the cities were built on the model of camps.

According to the views of Vitruvius (the treatise was written 27-25 BC), architecture falls into two categories: construction and proportions (the ratios of the individual parts of the building serve as its basis). And the aesthetic beginning is only in the order, the columns attached to the structures.

In the era of Augustus (30 BC - 14 AD), such architectural monuments as the “square house” in Nimes (South France) or the temple of Fortune Virilis, belonging to the pseudo-peripter type, were built. The pseudoperipter is similar to the peripter, but the cella is set back slightly. The temple is placed on a high podium; a wide staircase leads to its entrance (this determines the similarity of the pseudoperipter with Etruscan temples). Only in the Roman temple are the classical forms of the order more strictly observed: fluted columns, Ionian capitals, entablature.

Maison Carré "Square House" in Nimes (France). 1st century BC e.

Temple of Fortune Virilis. 1st century BC e.

Types of housing for wealthy citizens

The originality of Roman architecture responded even more strongly in a new type of dwelling in the spirit of eclecticism: the Italian atrium and the Hellenistic peristyle. The richest Pompeian buildings, such as the houses of Pansa, the Faun, the Lorea Tiburtina, the Vettii, belong to this type. The peristyle served more as an ornament to a rich estate than as a place for the diverse life of its inhabitants, as it was in the houses of Greece.

Unlike the Greek dwelling, all the rooms were lined up in a strict order on the sides of its main axis.

Atrium

Peristyle of the House of the Vettii, seen from the great triclinium.

Portico and garden in the house of Lorea Tiburtina

House of the Faun (Villa of Publius Sulla). present tense

House of the Faun (Villa of Publius Sulla). That's the way it used to be

Villa Publius Sulla (House of the Faun). Inner garden with peristyle and Ionic order

Pompeian villas enchant with the high perfection of applied art. But there slips a lot of vanity and tasteless luxury: painting walls with copies of famous Greek paintings of the 4th century, imitation of Egyptian flat decorations, or, conversely, creating a deceptive impression of windows.

The era of August is characterized by stylization and eclecticism. The Altar of Peace in the forum belongs to the best monuments of this time. The difference in relief is immediately evident: the figures are placed in several planes, which makes them picturesque, but between the figures there is no sense of space, air, or light environment, as in Hellenistic reliefs.

Altar of Peace, built in honor of the Goddess of Peace. Indoor museum.

Relief of one of the walls of the altar

The classical current under Augustus was the main one, but not the only one. In the II century. BC. supporters of the Old Testament antiquity opposed the imitation of the Greeks.

Engineering structures. aqueducts

Among the Roman monuments there is a large section devoted to engineering structures. Thus, many elements of urban improvement appeared: the paved Appian Way, water supply, aqueduct.

Guard bridge at Nimes Pont du Gard

Pompeii. Italy

Rome

Lead plumbing

Forum

Art becomes in the hands of sovereigns a means of strengthening their authority. Hence the spectacular nature of architectural structures, the large scale of construction, the predilection for huge sizes. There was more shameless demagogy in Roman architecture than genuine humanism and a sense of beauty.

The most majestic type of building was the forum. Each emperor sought to perpetuate himself with such a structure.

The Forum of Emperor Trajan reaches almost the size of the Athenian acropolis. But in their design, the acropolis and the forum are profoundly different. The stiff order, the predilection for strict symmetry is expressed on a huge scale.

Forum of Emperor Trajan. Italy

Roman builders operated not with volumes, like the builders of the Athenian acropolis, but with open interiors, within which small volumes stood out (columns and temples). This increased role of the interior characterizes the Roman forum as a stage of great historical significance in the development of world architecture.

Forum, in the center - the columns of the temple of Saturn, behind them the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus

The photo on the left shows the Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine, the largest building ever built in the forum in 312.

The Temple of Peace, also known as the Forum of Vespasian (Latin: Forum Vespasiani), was built in Rome in 71 AD. e.

Tabularium building (state archive) in the forum, 78 BC e. - the earliest of the structures that have survived to this day, in which the system of Roman cell architecture was applied, combining two opposite design principles - a beam and a vaulted structure.

urban layout

Roman cities, like Ostia in Italy or Timgrad (in Africa), resemble military camps in the strict correctness of their plan. Straight streets are bordered by rows of columns that accompany any movement in the city. The streets end with huge triumphal arches. Living in such a city meant always feeling like a soldier, being able to mobilize.

Timgrad is an ancient Roman city in North Africa, located on the territory of modern Algeria. 100 AD e.

triumphal arches

Triumphal arches were a new type of Roman architecture. One of the best is the Arch of Titus. Arches were erected in order to serve as a memory of victories among generations. In the construction of this arch, there are two types of order: one implied - on which rests a semicircular arch, separated from it by a cornice; another order, marked by mighty semi-columns, is placed on a high podium and gives the whole architecture the character of pompous solemnity. Both orders permeate each other; the cornice of the first merges with the cornices of the niches. For the first time in the history of architecture, a building is composed of the relationship of two systems.

The predilection of the Romans for the impression of heaviness and strength is reflected in the arch of Titus in the huge entablature and attic. The sharp shadows from the eaves add tension and strength to the architectural forms.

amphitheaters

The amphitheaters served as an arena for entertaining and spectacular spectacles for a crowded crowd: performances of gladiators, fisticuffs. Unlike the Greek theaters, they did not give high artistic impressions. For example, the building of the Colosseum, which had 80 exits and this allowed the audience to quickly fill the rows and exit just as quickly. Inside, the Colosseum makes an irresistible impression with its clarity and simplicity of forms. From the outside it was decorated with statues. The whole Colosseum expressed restraint, at the same time with impressiveness. For the sake of this, its three open tiers are crowned with a fourth, more massive, dissected only by flat pilasters.

The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre) today. Year of construction -80 AD e.

The original appearance of the Colosseum

Colosseum inside

In the construction of the Pantheon, all the centuries-old experience of Roman construction was used: its double walls with rubble mass inside, unloading arches, a dome with a diameter and height of 42 m. Architecture had never known such a huge artistically designed space before. The special strength of the Pantheon lies in the simplicity and integrity of its architectural compositions. It does not have a complex gradation of scale, an increase in features that give increased expressiveness.

Thermae

The needs of urban life were created in the middle of the 1st century. AD a new type of buildings - baths. These buildings responded to various needs: from the culture of the body to the need for mental food, reflection in solitude. Outside, the terms had an unremarkable appearance. The main thing in them is. With a large variety of plan forms, the builders subordinated them to symmetry. The walls were faced with marble - red, pink, purple or pale green.

Ruins of the Baths of Emperor Caracalla (Antonin's Baths). III century (212-217 years)

Roman art completes the history of ancient art.