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Italy Architecture: The Roman Period
One of the things the Romans are most famous for is their architecture. The Romans brought a lot of new ideas to architecture, of which the three most important are the arch, the baked brick, and the use of cement and concrete. The Architecture of Ancient Rome acquired the external language of classical Greek architecture for their own aspirations, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture. Sometimes that approach is productive, and sometimes it hinders understanding by causing us to judge Roman buildings by Greek standards. In the Republican period, the Romans built temples and basilicas, but also they made a lot of improvements to their city: aqueducts and roads and sewers. The Forum began to take shape. Outside of Rome, people began to build stone amphitheaters for gladiatorial games.
The period of Roman Architecture dates from the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509BC to the transfer of the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople in 330AD. This date is subject to debate as the fall of the Roman Empire was in 476 AD when the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was defeated by Odoacer, a German Goth. However, the Roman styles of architecture continued, for centuries after these dates, often in Christian guise. Components of Roman architecture moved on to the period of Christianity - the Dark Ages and then the Middles ages, or Medieval period. The Roman period marks the transition from a western world which comprised of barbaric regional tribes to the sophistication and civilisation of the the global conquerors of the Roman Empire. The Romans were strongly influenced by Greek architecture.
The history of Roman Architecture was divided into two distinctive eras. The first era was of the Roman Republic where the origins of Roman architecture can be traced to the Etruscans, who migrated from Asia Minor to Italy in the 12th Century BC. The Etruscans mirrored the Greek and the Phoenician traditions building large temples to honour their Gods. The second era started in 27BC and is classed as the period of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire covered thousands of miles across Europe, North Africa and the Near East. The Roman Empire built approximately 51,000 miles of paved highways across their Empire! The number of countries the Romans conquered afforded a vast number of culturally diverse people. The architecture of the Roman Empire therefore became eclectic in other words made up of, or combining elements from. a variety of regional sources and styles.
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