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Roman Architecture: The Beginnings of Modern
Architecture
Roman architecture really has its roots in Greek architecture.
The Romans had a great admiration for all things Greek, and they
borrowed heavily from Greek culture in all things. But the Romans,
though not the most original of people, were strongly creative in the
area of innovation and improvement; and they had the resources to
create the most amazing building projects of the ancient world.
Romans were very practical people, and this is still reflected in their
architectural ruins. For instance, the Romans invented indoor plumbing;
their lead-lined pipes have been found throughout Italy and the
historic Roman empire. Though they did not invent the flush toilet,
they did have water flushing out the less nice parts of their houses,
and running water filled their homes and baths. We would not recognize
the end-user parts of their plumbing as anything like ours; running
water tended to fill pools, not come out of faucets. This is part of
the reason the ancient parts of Rome, Italy, have so many fountains. To
supply this vast plumbing infrastructure, the Romans built huge
aqueducts throughout Italy to carry water from source to city.
Besides their plumbing innovations, Romans built what are arguably the
best roads anyone ever designed. Even today, over two thousand years
later, many Roman roads not only exist throughout Europe, but are still
used by travelers. Their layered system of road building, in which
layers of binding are sandwiched between layers of loose gravel and
rock, is still used today.
The Romans also designed architectural wonders like the Coliseum, great
public buildings like temples to gods and public baths, basilicas
(which were in essence ancient town halls – roofed versions of Greek
forums), and large tombs for their greatest citizens. Roman
architecture focused much more on public works than it did on private
houses and homes. Today, we can still visit the structures they
designed, in Rome and in places all over Europe.
