Roman Infrastructure

During this period the Romans focused their architectural abilities on creating very large and polarizing buildings. The Romans wanted the sheer size of their buildings to be intimidating. The Romans where terrific engineers and this showed in the completion of there great buildings. Many achievements in architecture were achieved by the Romans during the Pax Romana. One of them being the great Roman Coliseum, which is still standing today after 2000 years, serving as a monument to the size and strength of the Roman Empire. The Coliseum was a major achievement for the Romans and it held the Roman gladiatorial games, chariot races, and many other great events. Even to today the amazing Coliseum is the basis for every major sporting arena. The Romans not only built great stadiums but they also built what is know as the Roman Aqueducts, a huge step forward for Roman civilization. The Roman aqueducts were built initially for the purpose of supplying water to the public bath houses, but it soon became evident to use the aqueducts as the major water source in the city. The water that was brought to Rome through the aqueducts was also used in public drinking water fountains. Along with the great architecture of the Romans, art work was also at a high point during the Pax

The Romans engaged in various forms of public works, whether constructing amphitheaters or aqueducts, the Romans funded infrastructure all across the Empire. Aqueducts greatly improved water supplies, roads made trade and travel easier, amphitheaters spread Roman culture, and military fortresses protect Rome and its people. The Romans contribution to local infrastructure all but insured their

At the heart of a Roman city laid the forum- a large open space surrounded by markets, government buildings and temples. Rich and poor gathered together in the bustling forum and at the baths, theaters, and arenas.

If you were a poor Roman citizen living in a Roman city, chances were you were living in a cramped apartment building know as Insulae . The vast majority of the people living in Roman cities lived in cramped insulae which were generally three to five stories

The art I selected from the Roman Empire is the architectural structure of the Colosseum, or amphitheater. This structure reveals the importance that the Romans’ placed on entertainment, in so much that Benton and DiYanni indicate “it was official policy that the state should provide entertainment for the public” (Benton, DiYanni, p. 108). The relationship between the art and the culture is distinguished and represented by the size of the structure; it being able to accommodate such large crowds of people indicates that the Romans placed much importance in attending the entertainment provided. The Colosseum influenced the culture by providing ample space for everyone to enjoy entertainment. The culture influenced the art by supporting through attendance to the different entertainment during that time.

Many centuries before the birth of Christ, the city of Rome grew, prospered, and developed into a thriving Republic. As in most cultures, Rome's buildings became more elaborate and impressive. They developed fantastic building technologies and ideas. The feats of Roman engineers were groundbreaking, and many structures built by this culture still stand today. With knowledge borrowed from the Greeks, Rome made impressive architectural achievements, these were namely major attributes of buildings, colossal structures, and a legacy that would influence later buildings (Cornell and Matthews 11).

Rome in its glory was one of the most advanced of civilizations in the world. They were able to clearly Provide Public Services. Rome had roads, aqueducts, and even bathhouses. These were all used by the public too. But by far, the greatest among each of these was the aqueducts. A system of pipes and tunnels that has water flowing constantly to the city. This allowed Rome to have plumbing, fountains (used for drinking and decoration),

To make travel easier, the Romans built roads which would aide the travel between villas and the city and the city’s baths were located south-east of town. Temples and their Doric architecture existed throughout Rome, her colonies and provinces and was used for the worship of Roman gods. Unlike temples, basilicas were situated in the center of town and was used as meeting halls, as well as conducting administrative

Rome was a vast empire. At Rome’s peak the empire stretched nearly 1.7 million square miles and included most of southern Europe. To keep this vast empire organized the romans created a network of roadways or what we would call it today highways. This network would keep the empire connected with information and supplies to all the surrounding colonies and out post. These roadways contributed to the success of Rome’s power in 3 ways, its military force, trade, and communication. The military would serve as protection and expansion of the empire, trade would bring wealth to the nation and become powerful, communication would bring new ideas from the surrounding nations, new concepts and way of thinking. All these aspects when combined created one of the greatest empires known to man.

They had a powerful army and had expanded their land by an immense amount, also. The Romans constructed sewer systems, waterways, bridges, roads, and enabled the export of grains, meat, and wool. In addition, the Roman Empire built buildings and structures, like the Coliseum, using columns and concrete. Furthermore, they had potent and influential leaders, which included Julius Caesar,

They created an innovation that helped the empire get fresh water from clean springs to the city called the aqueducts. They are massive structures that transported the fresh water while keeping it pollution free to minimize disease spread through contaminated water. They also created underground sewage systems, fountains, and public baths for the people of the empire. The people of Rome used concrete to build government buildings, and religious places of worship that had never been built like that before. The Romans were responsible for making roads and highways that helped transport good for trade, which improved their economy.

The expanse of Rome required a vast network of roads to connect the empire to aid with speedy communications and troop movements. The combination of concrete in addition to the use of arches allowed the romans to build the bridges necessary to keep those roads connected. As its cities grew, so did the need for water for its residents and again the Romans turned to the combination of concrete and arches to build great aqueducts. (Kamm,

The aqueducts also gave birth to another landmark in building of early mega-structures: the arches. Through use of arches, aqueducts could be made taller and longer without using a lot of building materials. The aqueducts enabled expansion of Rome and helped keep the city clean. Through aqueducts the common Roman citizen had access to running water, a quantum leap in the civic amenities as per many experts.

Towards the city’s heavily trafficked center the Roman Forum was constructed for convenient easy access of all the citizens. The foreground of the forum was occupied by a paved square with monuments to famous citizens. The temple to the Divine Julius, dedicated in 29 BCE to the deified Caesar, built in a Hellenistic style, is located in the background on the left; to the right is the temple of Vesta and the house of the Vestal Virgins, guardians of the everlasting flame; further to the right is the temple of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux dedicated in 6 CE Here the office of weights and measures was situated. The podiums of the temples of Caesar and the Dioscuri were often used as orators' platforms and it is in this part of the Forum that the meetings of the comitia took place. On the far right is the Basilica Julia built by Caesar. Its long façade occupies the entire south side of the Forum. (Owens, 154) Semi-circular in plan and having consisted of a tall stage building, theaters were a semi-circular orchestra and tiered seating area. Unlike Greek theatres, which were built on natural slopes, they were supported by their own framework of piers and vaults and so could be built anywhere and not where nature dictated. Amphitheatres (literally, ‘double theatres’) were elliptical in plan; with a central areana. (Bowra, 38)

     The arches of the Coloseum allowed great ventilation, stability, and passageways to keep the crowd comfortable all day. The most amazing construction had nothing to do with the show. The Romans had actually constructed a roof for the Coloseum. The roof was like a retractable sail covering most of the audience during the current event.