ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
DEVELOPMENT OF ROMAN ARCHITECTURE
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1
I. INFLUENCES
1. GEOGRAPHICAL – surrounded by water, almost
flat
– bounded by Gaul
(present day France) on the northwest; Ionian
Sea and the Mediterranean Sea on the south;
on the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Ligurian
Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea
– strategic commanding
position, conquer several countries: Africa,
portion of Europe (except the Goths, present-
day Germany), Western Asia
2. GEOLOGICAL – marble, stone were used, much
like the Greeks, with the addition of terra-cotta,
travertine (a hard limestone from Tivoli), tufa,
peperino, sand, and gravel.
– cement was invented by the
Romans with the use of pozzolana, a
porous volcanic ash
3. CLIMATIC – South – almost tropical; North –
temperate; Central – sunny
– diversity of architectural features
4. RELIGIOUS – lesser veneration of gods, and
more veneration of Emperor
– a part of the constitution of the state
– adapted the Greek gods and goddesses
but changed the names and attributes
to their
5. SOCIAL – because of homage to emperors,
Romans went out of Italy to conquer countries
and established the Roman Empire (including
Greece and Egypt)
– revealed in the architectural manifestation
of characteristics in these structures:
> thermae: bathing (exchange of
information, etc.)
> circus: races
> amphitheater: gladiatorial contests
> basilica: justice court, law court
> dwelling houses
6. HISTORICAL – conquest of several countries led
to construction of structures marking the
Romans’ victory.
II.
 Etruscan Architecture
Etruscans – initial architecture
developed; influenced the development
of Roman architecture; pioneer people
of Italy
Features:
1. radiating arch
2. Tuscan column – added to the orders of
architecture
3. Atrium type of house plan
4. Temples usually faced the south; square
in plan; cella - stone room inside the temple
corresponds “naos” for the Greeks
5. Tombs – underground; stimulating of
interior of the contemporary house
 Roman Architecture
Characteristics:
1. vastness
2. ostentation – showiness to impress
people
3. magnificence
4. ornateness
Features:
1. adapted the columnar and trabeated
system of Greeks
2. Developed the arch and vault of the
Etruscans
a. Barrel vault – semi-circular, wagon-
headed
b. Roman cross vault – intersection of
two barrel vaults
c. Cupola or dome
3. Column used largely as decorative features
but were also used constructively in temple
columnades and basilicas
 fake columns
4. Introduction of Composite Order and
developed the Tuscan temples
5. Introduction of multi-storey structures (e.g.
Colosseum)
6. Aside from the introduction of cement, use
of several stone & concrete wall facings
a. Opus quadratum – has rectangular
blocks with or without mortar joints
but frequently secured with dowels
or clamps
 b. Opus incertum – has small stones
laid in a loose pattern roughly
assembled to polygonal work
c. Opus reticulatum – has a
rectangular “net like” stone work
d. Opus testaceum – wall facing with
bricks, triangular on plan
e. Opus mixtum – consisted of
alternation of courses of brickwork
and small squared stone blocks
7. Introduction of buttresses – because of
large span of the buildings; counteracts the
weight of the roof; used for reinforcement
8. Marble mosaics – treated in different
patterns; used on walls, floors, and vaults
9. Effective use of floor plans
10. Structure has more than one purpose (i.e.
Pantheon – both a temple and tomb)
III. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
A. PLANS – not just temples but other types of
public buildings, introduction of type of
structure
B. WALLS – made of stone and cement; introduces
5 types of wall facings: opus quadratum,
reticulatum, incertum, testaceum, and mixtum
C. OPENINGS – colonnades were used internally
and externally and often superimposed;
doorways were both square and semi-circular
headed and windows were generally semi-
circular headed
D. ROOF – introduced the vault and the dome
E. COLUMNS – used 5 orders: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic,
Corinthian (favorite of the Romans), and
Composite
F. MOULDINGS – usually parts of circles in profile
and are often covered with carvings
G. ORNAMENTAL – most important form of
ornament were the mosaics; mural paintings
are also used by the Romans, done in different
types such as fresco, tempera, varnish, and
caustic painting
IV. EXAMPLES OF ROMAN STRUCTURES
1. Forum – central open space corresponding to
the Greek agora; used as meeting place, market
or rendezvous for political demonstrations
2. Temples
a. Rectangular temples – combination of
Tuscan and Greek types but differ in
several ways
b. Circular or polygonal temples –
introduced by Etruscans
3. Basilicas – halls of justice and commercial
exchanges
– a link from the classical to the
Christian architecture
4. Thermae – palatial public bath; elevated on
platforms and underneath are the furnaces or
hypocaust
Main parts:
1. Main building
a. Tepidarium–warm
rooms/lounge
b. Calidarium – hot room
c. Sudatorium – hottest room
d. Frigidarium – cooling room;
usually provided with a piscina
(swimming pool)
5. Theaters – made possible because of the use of
cement
6. Amphitheater – used for gladiatorial contests,
mortal combats, also used for naval exhibitions
–Colosseum/Coliseum, Rome:
chief example
7. Circus – place for horse and chariot racing;
typical plan consists of a long circular-ended
arena with a dividing wall called spina running
down the middle of the arena in a slightly
oblique direction at one end of the field
8. Tombs – Roman practice of cremation burial and
interment, sarcophagus and urns are found in
the same chamber
Classifications:
a. Coemeteria
b. Monumental tomb – similar to
mausoleum of the Greeks
c. Pyramidal tomb – shaped in the form of
Egyptian pyramids
d. Temple-shaped tomb
e. Sculptured memorials – minor tombs in
various forms and are richly ornate
f. Memorial monuments
9. Triumphal Arches – erected for victories of
generals and emperors for campaigns outside
Italy
– piers faced with Corinthian or
Composite Order
– adorned with statuary & bas-reliefs
relating into victorious campaigns and
were usually surrounded by an attic
storey for the dedicating inscription
 10. Aqueducts – used to carry water supply to all
parts of Roman towns and cities
a. Specus – channels/pipes where water
passes, supported by arches
11. Insulae – kind of apartment building
Roman Architecture = Greek Archittecture
improvement – refinement
Standard intercolumniations
The standard intercolumniations are:
 Pycnostyle One and a half diameters
 Systyle Two diameters
 Eustyle Two and a quarter diameters (and three
diameters between middle columns front and
rear); considered by Vitruvius to be the best
proportion[5]
+
 Diastyle Three diameters
 Araeostyle Four or more diameters, requiring a
wooden architrave rather than one of stone
 Araeosystyle Alternating araeostyle and systyle