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Rome and Timgad

Rome's location along the Tiber River provided both advantages and disadvantages for the early settlers. While the river allowed for trade and access to the sea, the site lacked natural defenses, water, and raw materials. However, the challenging location compelled Romans to organize large workforces and reshape the terrain. Over time, the practical advantages of the site and founding myths became deeply tied to Roman identity and civilization, such that proposed moves were rejected despite the city's vulnerabilities. The character of hardworking Romans developed in response to the fixed urban location.

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Rome and Timgad

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1

-
URBAN DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE IN
ROME AND ITALY DURING THE REPUBLIC
AND THE EARLY EMPIRE
-

Romulus showed great forethought . . . Even back Veii and Cuma. And yet it was Rome that came to
then he must have divined that the city would one conquer the world. Why? Common sense dictates that
day furnish the seat and home of a mighty empire. the inland location provided adequate access to the sea
In all probability, no other city located in any by way of the river, while simultaneously offering some
other part of Italy could have more easily secured protection from potential coastal attacks. Some ancient
such extensive power. authors inflated the amenities offered by the site, but
Cicero De Rep 2.5.10
Strabo, writing in the first century, presented a differ-
In a passage from the sixth century ce, Procopius ent view. He perceptively argued that, established as a
described the Romans as “the most city proud people matter of necessity rather than of choice, the challen-
known” (Goth. 8.22.7). While their myths, art, and ging location molded Roman character by compelling
literature reverberated with agrarian associations, from the occupants to reshape the topography, seek accom-
the earliest days the Romans stubbornly, unswervingly modation with surrounding peoples, and organize large
associated their achievements with an urban locus. The workforces to create a mighty walled city (Geog. 5.3.2,
conquest of Italy and the “subsequent expansion of the 7). The valor and toil of the Romans, their pragmatic
empire relied on a system of urban centers for further and focused character seen in veristic Republican por-
conquest, defense and administration, and these also traits, were irrevocably associated with the fixity of the
participated in the spread of Rome’s version of civil- specific urban site. Thus the place and the actions of its
ization” (Sewell 2010, 9). The Romans developed residents, rather than the form of the city, forged an
elaborate stories to justify the position of their name- inclusive collective identity, a potent strategy at a time
sake city, citing divine intervention as well as the when diverse peoples occupied the Italian peninsula.
strategic, economic, and transportation advantages of Wars, sacks, and negative comparison with better-
the site. An island (Insula Tiberina) in the Tiber River situated and “planned” contemporary cities periodic-
allowed traders to easily cross the watery barrier, while ally sparked discussions about moving the center of
the hills to the east offered protection. At the bridge- Roman power, yet the locus of the early settlement on
head on the right bank, markets developed to conduct the shores of the Tiber, anchored by the practical
trade with the Etruscans and numerous tribal groups in advantages of the location and bolstered by the emo-
central Italy. Yet the site was not perfect (Figure 1.1). tional attractions of its founding myths, could not be
The hills had sharp scarps and little water; the low- abandoned.
lands were marshy, unhealthy, and flood-prone. Raw
materials were few. The unruly Tiber made navigation
unpredictable. A heavily laden cart took more than a AN OVERVIEW
day to reach the seaside salt beds and port at the sea
25 kilometers away. Early occupants acknowledged that If the authors had been writing this book forty years
Rome’s placement did not provide the security and ago, they might have begun the story of architecture in
ease of access found at other early Italian cities such as Rome and Italy with the mythic account of the city’s

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https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511979743.002
Urban Design and Architecture in Rome and Italy during the Republic and the Early Empire

“Se
rvia
n”
Wa
nal
iri

ll
Qu
al
Campus Martius III m
in
Vi
Tib

II
er
Riv
er

Esquiline
e
lin

IV
ito

an
p

pi
Ca

Tiber
J a n i c u l u m

Op
Island
Palatine
I
Caelian

Aventine

City wall 0 500 1000 m

Path
Four tribal regions

figure 1.1 Map of early Rome showing major pathways, city fortiﬁcations and the four regions ascribed to Servius Tullius: I Suburana
(Caelian, Oppian Valley), II Esquilina, III Collina (Viminal, Quirinal), IV Palatina; rendered by Marie Saldaña and Diane Favro.

formation by Romulus, whose legendary ancestors Age village on the hill, one among many competing
could be traced back to the Trojan hero Aeneas and tribes and settlements of central Italy and Etruria, to
the goddess Venus. Rome’s historic tradition places the warlike discipline of a grim, conquering city-state
this event sometime in mid-eighth century bce (April that established a Republic, and over time a mighty
21, 753 bce to be exact according to Varro). This empire. Throughout all stages of Rome’s development
legend, like all legends has its problems and variations, we would have recognized that a “superior” Etruscan
but clear archaeological evidence of Iron Age settle- culture to the north and even a more superior one of
ments on the Palatine Hill of Rome in the form of Greeks to the south (the area known as Magna Grae-
crude huts and walls datable to the ninth and eighth cia) provided convenient cultural and geographical
centuries bce fleshes out the myth with scientific contexts (Figures 1.2 and 1.3). As the backdrop to the
affirmation. Thirty, forty years ago, when we started forces and factors that were instrumental to Rome’s
teaching this subject, we would have attributed the rise, we would have identified the trilogy of cultures
spectacular transformation of this rude and rustic Iron that shared the peninsula with the Romans, namely,

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https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511979743.002
Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

Vulci

Norchia
E T Lake Vico Tibe
Tarquinii
R U Falerii r

S C
Sutri
H I Ferona

Lake Bracciano Capena

Pyrgi Allia Alba Fucens

Veii
Cerveteri
Fucine Lake
Fidenae Tibur
Anio
A ni
o
Rome I Gabii

IN
er
salt Tib Liri
Praeneste
beds
T Lake Albano Tusculum s

Ostia A
L Alba Longa
Alatri
Laurentum Aricia Tol Ferentinum
erus
Lavinium
T Y R R H E N I A N Lanuvium Velitrae
S E A Ardea VO
LS
Satricum CI Fregellae
Antium Lir
is
Astura

figure 1.2 Topographic map of early Italy and Sicily; rendered by Diane Favro.

Rome’s Etruscan neighbors at shouting distance across from the Apollo of Veii to the Mars of Todi, witness
the Tiber immediately to the north; the Greek colonies the pages and pages of illustrations in any good art
in southern Italy and Sicily; and, of course, the plethora history textbook displaying impressive seventh- and
of Latin-speaking central Italian tribes and settlements. sixth-century Etruscan products as the forerunners of
These last, like Rome, shared each other’s land and Roman art at a time when there was nothing compar-
customs, as well as languages. We would have enunci- able in quality and quantity in the city on the Tiber.
ated with some relish, the culturally superior material Therefore, in adapting new views, we should consider
culture of the Greeks backed by the thousands of fine that the scholars who write revisionist histories which
artistic artifacts, sculpture, bronzes, architectural terra- minimize or totally nullify the formative role of all
cottas, and painted vases that proudly fill the museums outside influence upon Rome, themselves may be nei-
of Italy. A few steps behind, we would have counted ther interested nor trained in the visual arts and its
the Etruscans, as the middlemen in disseminating powerful language to build or reform civilizations. Yet
Greek culture through trade and commerce, but also the old narrative relating to the relationship among
as the creators of a distinct and sophisticated culture of Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans definitely needs nuance
their own in the heartland of the Italian peninsula in its telling, emphasis, and details. There has been an
highlighted by their vibrant paintings, expressive sculp- enormous amount of work in the last quarter of a
ture, expert metalwork, and distinctive military, funer- century or so, and much of it archaeological, which
ary, and religious architecture (for a comprehensive has changed or refined this picture in large and small
anthology of the “Etruscan world of Rome” in a very ways. As described succinctly by our colleagues Nancy
broad context, see Turfa 2013). and Andrew Ramage, “Etruscan and Roman art and
This picture-perfect construct may in its main lines architecture sprang from similar roots. Both were
still be correct but grossly oversimplified. Particularly derived from an early Italic culture, and both were
in religion, cult, linguistics, and architecture, Etruscan receptive to foreign influences and inspiration, whether
leadership can be substantiated (for example, the Latin from the Greek colonies, other parts of the Greek
nomenclature for almost all Roman religious rituals world, or from the Near East” (Ramage and Ramage
derives its origins from Etruscan language). In art, 2005, 57) (Figure 1.4).

er
Po Riv
o
A Ren
P Marzabotto
E
N
Pisae N
ETRUSCANS

I
Populonia Perugia
Vetulonia

N
Tib
e
SABINES
r
ADRIATIC SEA

E
Tarquinia
Veii
Pyrgi Rome

S
Caere Alba Longa
LATINS SAMNITES
Terracina
Capua
Neapolis OSCANS
TYRRENIAN SEA Metapontum
Paestum Tarentum
Heraclea

Thurii

MAGNA GRAECIA
Croton

Messene
Locri
Segesta
Selinus SICILIA
Utica Agrigento Megara Hyblaea
Carthage Gela Syracusa
Tunis

figure 1.3 Topographic map of central Italy; rendered by Diane Favro.

A new perspective in assessing the nature and local sociological contexts and in the light of the
legitimacy of Roman art and architecture is the view accumulated visual environment that conditioned
that art made in or used on the Italian peninsula patrons and viewers” (Kuttner 2004, 303; Welch 2010.
(including the large category of objects created by In this new environment, even the well-established
Etruscan and Greek artists for Roman patrons) counts international vocabulary of classicism could be re-
basically as Roman-Italian. In a different way of telling viewed and recast in creatively hybrid forms to express
A. Kuttner writes: “The corpus of republican art new values and new identities. When confronted with
motifs from myth and religion, even when shared with the harder and practical realities of building, “designers
a wider (Greek) world, needs to be reviewed always in (adapted and renewed) international canons for Doric,

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

A Arch
B Amphitheater
B C Rome Gate
D Theater
A
E Cryptoporticus
C E G F Market
G Baths
D F
H Temple
H
centuriation lines

0 600 m

figure 1.4 Plan of early Roman Capua with gridded centuriation (dotted lines) of the surrounding territory; rendered by Diane Favro.

Corinthian, or Ionic architecture for locally distinctive before the Virginia House in 1765, King George III of
arcaded and arched forms” (Kuttner 2004, 298) – England was made an example of despotic oppression
whose formative importance as new expressions in comparable to Tarquinius – and who, in some ways,
architecture will be expanded and emphasized later in followed the path of antiquity by being overthrown by
these pages. Thus, the definition of Roman Republican the new American Republic. Nonetheless, the expelling
art and architecture, as all art and architecture pro- of Tarquinius did not mean that Etruscan presence and
duced by and for the peoples of the Republic in or out influence in Rome came to an end. Rome by the sixth
of Italy, offers breadth and flexibility and resonates century had its own preferred “Latin culture and
with the inclusive outlook in the arts and humanities cosmopolitan population,” adopting only selected
of our times. To give it greater currency and relevance, aspects of Etruscan culture. We should neither minim-
it also parallels the modern view that all art produced ize the influence of this culture over Rome, nor define
by different ethnic and national groups on a land over it in bland notions of superiority, but see the Romans
time becomes the heritage of the peoples who ultim- and Etruscans as parallel and intertwined societies
ately live on that land, strive to uphold its traditions, developing within the same cultural koine (Cornell
and who assume the pride of its stewardship as well as 1995; Forsythe 1997).
the responsibility for its protection. Current scholarship also places special emphasis on
An important aspect of Roman-Etruscan inter- the various and varied traditions of the Italian tribes as
actions relates to the century before the formation of the incubators of the indigenous cultures that shaped
the Republic in 509 bce when Rome was led by a series and sustained Rome from its earliest days through its
of kings or tyrants of Etruscan and local origin – a Empire (Figure 1.3). This approach, even when it sup-
regal tradition that admits a century or more of monar- ports the view that the urban architecture of Italy was
chical rule, but not necessarily a fully established profoundly changed through the Roman conquest of
Etruscan hegemony. Starting from the sixth century the Mediterranean during the third and second centuries
bce, Rome’s autocrats might have oppressed their bce, and the “wholesale importation of material cul-
subjects in the usual autocratic ways, but they also ture proved profound and sweeping,” contends that the
contributed toward the establishment of a public life, direct and indirect influences of Hellenism “did not
institutions, and architecture – in sum, the creation of lead to a complete change of identity” (Becker 2014,
a city. Tarquinius Superbus (meaning arrogant or 25). What identity is and how it is created are, of
lofty), the last king of Rome, in local myth and course, tricky questions that invariably lead to percep-
modern memory seems to be particularly mired in tions of self and the other, social inclusions and excep-
cruelty and violence. In a speech Patrick Henry gave tions, and eventually, concepts of nationalism. It is

perhaps best to see how these complex networks of came together organizing themselves in various social
outside influences represented refining rather than and political representative bodies, marking their space
defining values in the formation of this identity. If by using temporary posts and other demarcations. In
the Italic roots of Roman civilization remained the the planning of the mid-Republican colonies, the influ-
bedrock on which other cultural motifs were truly ence of Greek (and, indirectly, also Etruscan and
internalized and embellished, it would be useful and Punic) town planning cannot be denied, but the
cogent to seek and identify these overlapping cultural borrowing and diffusion was selective and intelligent.
strands as represented in architecture and urbanism. As government at local and state levels became
Republican Rome increasingly attracted people more formalized, the need for more permanent struc-
from all over the Mediterranean, which in turn ensured tures gave rise to types such as the Comitium, which
a vibrant diversity in most Italian settlements. Colon- was a curved or circular open-air space for citizens’
ists transported ideas from Rome and other urban assemblies, and the boxy, rectangular, roofed curia for
locations: people from Magna Graecia carried strong council meetings. Rome’s earliest Comitium was on
Hellenized traditions often straight from Greece; reset- the slopes below the Capitoline Hill, taking advantage
tled veterans brought concepts from throughout the of topography to rise above the gathering space below.
Mediterranean and the Near East. Cities digested indi- Another prominent example of assembly architecture,
genous and foreign architectural and urban influences, the basilica, despite the Greek origins of its name
intermingling hybrid forms to create what Vitruvius (basileus = ruler), was by all accounts an integral part
famously defined as the “Italic custom” (consuetudo of Roman fora, traditionally associated with central
Italico), as distinguished from more insular Greek Italian examples from the late Republic. Yet, its col-
designs (De Arch. 5). Participating in this intermingling, onnaded, porticoed, semi-open form and public func-
Rome did not necessarily dictate developments but tion is easily related to the Hellenistic stoa, as are the
helped filter and strengthen evolving styles through Roman peristyle enclosures (such as the four-sided
its unifying, permanent presence. The city on the Tiber porticus or a quadriporticus), a familiar building type
was a part, albeit an increasingly prominent one, of the of the Republic. The morphology of the forum itself
larger ethnic and cultural caldron of peninsular Italy. and its alleged relation to the Hellenistic market place
Throughout the land, cities, colonies, and their civic can be credibly argued, but not established as fact.
architecture exhibited characteristics responding to Reflecting on the uncertainty of current scholarly
common values and common needs, but they also thinking on these relationships, J. A. Becker comments
displayed differences because of individual aspirations that “At this stage it is clear that more inquiry into the
and inventions. Bolstering individuality, in most cases a earliest forms of civic buildings in Italy is required
single person, a community leader, not a committee before we can simply declare that Roman civic forms
oversaw projects. Cities in the Republican period are Greek derivatives” (Becker 2014, 18).
affirmed a conceptual link with the Romans collect- On the subject of defense architecture, the agger and
ively. When Aulus Gellius, writing in the second cen- fosse (bank and ditch) systems of early Rome docu-
tury ce, called colonies “small copies and likenesses” mented on the Esquiline Hill are well known to any
of Rome, he was not referring to Rome’s physical student of Roman topography. Such earthwork
environment but to the idea of Rome as a world city, defenses were fairly common in early Italian cities such
and the greatness of the Roman people (Gell. NA 16.13). as Ardea and Satricum and could be alternatives (or
Starting with the early Republic, the primary forerunners) to the more expensive masonry walls. The
impetus for city planning, especially the famously sheer size and the complex planning of the stone
popular grid plans, came directly from the Greek fortifications protecting archaic cities of Etruria and
colonies of Magna Graecia (Metapontum, Megara Latium, such as Rusellae, Gabii, and Alatri (Figure 1.6),
Hyblaea) where they had been in use since the eighth identify them as important community projects. Their
century onward; or by way of Etruscan cities such as massive construction, sometimes in refined polygonal
Marzabotto (Figure 1.5). These Roman grid plans built masonry, underscores not only their functional efficacy
ex novo reflected the basic egalitarian nature of the as defenses but also a city’s pride and sense of identity.
Republic and its colonies, but the strict layouts and They were, and are, beautiful and impressive to look at.
their message of equality were frequently frayed over Long after these walls stopped protecting a city, they
time and use. Early cities were multinodal with “nucle- continued to serve in augmenting its prestige.
ated centers” for civic buildings situated around a flat, Domestic architecture in the first millennium bce
open space – the forum – often lined with elite immortalized by Romulus’ legendary hut was firmly
housing, while religious structures dominated high anchored in the real Iron Age settlements of central
locations, as in Cosa (see later). In their fora, citizens Italy. Circular or rectangular structures constructed in

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https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511979743.002
Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

Acropolis

Gallic A
cemetery

East
Cemetery
Ren
o Ri
ver

house “A”

figure 1.5 Plan of Marzabotto; rendered by Güzden Varinlioğlu.

wattle-and-daub, wooden posts supporting pitched adoption of the city grid must have encouraged the
roofs of thatch, are not only documented through development of rectilinear house plans (House A,
archaeological finds, but also illustrated by painted Figure 1.5). The interest in order and axiality may
clay, hut-shaped cinerary urns. As we see in Marzo- indicate growing Hellenic influence: Greek-inspired
botto, Aquarossa, and San Giovanale, by the sixth cities filled with Greek-inspired houses. An important
and fifth centuries bce simpler plans were replaced qualification here is that this adaptation or influence of
by houses with complex internal spatial divisions sig- one or another form of Greek domestic architecture
nifying differentiation of function. The widespread (as it, too, varied considerably) as a defining element of

figure 1.6 Acropolis wall of polygonal and quasi-ashlar construction, Alatrium; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

colonial mass housing was neither deﬁning nor exclu- available. The greater challenge lies not in isolating
sive. Increasingly pleasure-prone and reﬁned, late Greek and Roman practices and preferences in concep-
Republican patrons demonstrated great sophistication tualizing the qualities of their features (such as loosely
in choosing among the diverse architectural options and not always correctly characterized atrium, peristyle,

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

pastas, or prostas types) but in amalgamating and incorpor- when the teleological meaning of the ritual as expressed
ating them into meaningful combinations. Yet, when we through augury can be shrouded in mystery. It appears
analyze the morphology of the “Roman house” with its that the need for an unobstructed viewing of the sky in
iconic atrium, even this observation needs qualification. order to establish a fixed position in its immensity
Etruscan tombs of the seventh and sixth centuries dis- encouraged the temple’s wide pronaos porch and ele-
play houselike arrangements and vestibular spaces that vated position; the desire to comprehend and charter
can be viewed as proto-atriums. Archaic period houses the celestial void in reference to human measure articu-
from Marzobotto, Gonfienti, and Ruselllae are organ- lated the temple’s sense of orientation and axiality. Yet,
ized around internal, impluvial courtyards, an arrange- this augural architectural manner developed even from
ment fundamentally closer to the Roman atrium than its inception with an eye toward a different, distant
the peristyle of the typical Mediterranean house. We cultural horizon, toward the more sophisticated forms
may not be able to pinpoint the source of the atrium but of classicism imbued in Greek architectural tradition,
we could agree that its origins “are latent in the indige- Greek marbles, and the work of Greek craftsmen. The
neous traditions [of Italy] and . . . it is not an imported particular steps in the “development,” forward, side-
form” (Becker 2014, 14). ways, even backward, were never linear and never
This is not what we can easily claim for the favored the purer forms of direct imitation. In the late
basilica, one of the most common forms of civic first century bce, Augustan artists and architects
architecture, which received its institutionalized con- exploited an art and architecture characterized by suc-
cept mainly from Rome but its earliest forms from cessful recreations of classicism, mainly with an Attic
Greece. The Latin word basilica derives from the Greek flavor, but also by inventive syntheses of regional and
word basilike stoa (a royal or kingly stoa), which is well Hellenistic influences. The evocation of past styles and
illustrated in some of the best-known examples of the forms, while simultaneously celebrating new interpret-
stoa-like type, especially from the Greek-speaking East, ations and meanings, is potently seen in the Forum of
such as the Augustan basilica at Ephesus (see later). As Augustus. There the Temple of Mars Ultor boasted
an institution serving as a law court, civic, adminis- inventive Corinthian capitals with Pegasus figures and
trative and commercial center, the basilica is preemi- walls encased with blazing white marble not from
nently Roman. Following the basic architectural form Greece but from Italian quarries at Luna (Carrara,
of a colonnaded, roofed building (with nave and aisles) where Michelangelo extracted his stone).
basilicas were ubiquitous components of Roman fora Rome’s successful political expansion into Italy and
as stoas were of Greek agoras. Vitruvius’ description of beyond achieved in many stages and over centuries
the basilica he designed and built at Fano (ancient naturally resulted in the establishment of a large,
Fanum) is often accepted as a textbook example of a standing army. This led to the practical need for
Roman basilica (De Arch. 5.1.6; see Figure 3.8), where the settling and caring for a growing number of veterans.
building is entered on its long side, or on its short axis, Romans utilized colonization as the primary means for
facing a projecting exedra for a tribunal; interior col- relocating and rewarding the retired soldiers, first in
onnades divide the space into a central nave and Italy, then increasingly in the provinces. During the
surrounding aisles, tall columns carry a clerestory roof. first century bce, the government settled 130,000 vet-
However, in actual examples, there is an impressive erans in Italy, roughly 3 percent of the entire popula-
variance in basilica types and designs, changes well tion of the peninsula (Laurence 2011, 47). Urban
explained by differences in location, site, and need – amenities – paved roads, clean water, commodious
as will be shown later. civic spaces, recreational buildings, temples to the
Finally, we will consider religious architecture. The gods – became more important and desirable expect-
formative role of Etruscan and central Italian traditions ations for the urban poor also transferred from the
in the creation of the textbook Roman temple with its overcrowded capital, or veterans well familiar with the
deep pronaos, high podium, and frontal approach, standards of other great cities across the empire. As a
needs no special pleading. Dozens of examples united result, the victorious generals, consuls, censors, and
by similar compositions and modest materials like tufa, aediles often provided the funds not only to erect
wood, and painted terracotta demonstrate an architec- public buildings in the capital but also in many pro-
tural manner rooted in Italy’s own soil, one that vincial cities of Italy. Powerful individuals who
culminated in the sixth-century Temple of Jupiter attempted to hold Rome’s future in their hands sought
Capitolinus in Rome (see later). The design fundamen- to expand their political influence through public
tals of the Italian “podium temple” (as opposed to the building. In the personality cults that grew around
Greek peristyle temple in the broadest sense) appear to some of these late Republican patrons there was more
reflect the clear rational practice of religious ritual even than a little emulation of the great Hellenistic rulers of

the East, and in the type of buildings they built – the Apennine Mountains, running roughly northwest
temples, basilicas, porticoes – there was much that to southeast through Italy, impeded transverse commu-
reminded one of the types and programs of Hellenistic nications (Figures 1.2 and 1.3). During the Iron Age
public architecture. Even the fundamental sense of (c. 900–600 bce), settlements proliferated west of the
euergetism they adopted appeared to be inspired by Apennine ridge, stimulated by the availability of rich
Greek political thinking. ores and fertile lands, as well as by the comparative ease
In Rome, as P. Davies has clarified, only office of travel along the coast and waterways emptying into
holders could undertake major public projects (Davies the Tyrrhenian Sea. Various groups evolved with dis-
2017, 2–4). The city’s first major highway, the Via tinct languages and traditions, including the Villano-
Appia Antica, and its first aqueduct, the Aqua Appia, vans, Samnites, Oscans, Latins, and Sabines. They
were named after Appius Claudius, the censor in 312 occupied simple settlements whose organic distribu-
bce; M. Aemilius Lepidus and Aemilius Paullus, tion of modest huts built of ephemeral materials
aediles in 193 bce, built public porticoes. The former, reflected tribal organization and challenges. Many
censor in 179 bce, also built a basilica named after peasants led peripatetic lives, moving with the seasons
himself on the north side of the Forum Romanum (see from one impermanent encampment to another.
later). Praetor Q. Caecilius Metellus celebrated a tri- By the seventh century bce, evidence of sophisti-
umph for the conquest of Macadonia in 148 bce and cated city-making emerged: in Etruria in central Italy,
started a temple to Jupiter Stator, reported to be the and in the southern portions of the peninsula and
first all-marble temple in Rome, probably designed by Sicily where Greek settlements were so numerous that
the Greek architect Hermodorus. This temple was the region became known as Magna Graecia (“Greater
within a quadriporticus (four-sided colonnaded enclos- Greece”). In the south, colonists established urban
ure) known as the Porticus Metelli, which was replaced outposts, each marginally dependent on a mother city
under Augustus with the Porticus Octaviae, named back in Greece, and each benefitting from the sophisti-
after his sister (see later). Outside Rome, the censor cated material culture of the motherland as well as a
of 174 bce built shops around the fora of Caletia and vibrant social interaction among themselves. These
Auximum, a temple to Jupiter at Pisanum, and an operated as bases for trade, new markets, and secure
aqueduct at Potenia. Such projects underscored the sources for raw materials. Laid out at a single moment,
urbanistic value accorded to commerce, urban infra- the orthogonal (right-angled) plans of Greek colonies
structure, and Jupiter as a unifying Roman deity. The clarified the city-building process as an overt, con-
state also encouraged local patronage to improve urban scious, and egalitarian effort, one that stood in marked
appearance and city life. At Alatri, 70 kilometers east contrast with the undirected evolution and irregular
of Rome, the local censor Lucius Betilienus Varus on layouts elsewhere in Italy. Greek planners and
the advice of the local senate reconstructed the city’s surveyors (agrimensores) laid out strong walls, following
streets, built porticos, and laid out a forum with a topographic lines to provide maximum security for
market, basilica, and adjacent baths, and funded a occupants and defined communal urban features
high-pressure aqueduct that raised water almost including temples with adjacent public space set aside
100 m (CIL I2 1529). In commemoration of his efforts, for public use. Both inside the walls and across the
the city made Varus censor for a second time, surrounding fields, the Greeks surveyed rectangular
exempted his son from military service, and gave him grids as seen at Megara Hyblaea (c. 728 bce),
a public statue and title, acknowledgments that Metapontum (c. 690 bce), Locri (c. 680 bce), and
enhanced personal and clan status. Likewise, the civic Poseidonia (Paestum, c. 600 bce; see Figure 1.29) in
generosity of Popidus Ampliatus of Pompeii, once a southern Italy, and at Selinus (c. 628 bce), and Agri-
slave, virtually “bought” a position in the city council gento (c. 580 bce) in Sicily. Such spatial appropriation
for his six-year-old son! Whatever the means and facilitated equitable distribution among settlers, and
motives, in the Roman world building brought fame. explicitly conveyed an intellectual rigor to local
inhabitants. In the fifth century bce, Hippodamus
of Miletus (often called the father of urban planning)
ARCHAIC CITIES IN ITALY conceptualized grid layouts within a social and philo-
sophical framework, though unfortunately his own
The Italian peninsula appears to modern minds as a planning efforts in southern Italy have not been pre-
geographical and political unit. Such a perception was served. Responding to such reassessments, several
foreign to its earliest occupants who had few if any wealthy cities in Magna Graecia reaffirmed the prom-
comprehensive maps and limited knowledge of peoples inence and importance of the grid plan as a conveyor
more than a few kilometers away. The long spine of of status; both Megara Hyblaea and its colony Selinus,

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

resurveyed their urban environments long after their structures adhered fully to the rigid plan. Unlike later
original founding and laid down costly street pave- Roman urban designers, they did not transform the
ments. Furthermore, the grid plan, with its easily central crossing into a major urban focus. Throughout,
measurable and easily laid geometry – rightly called there was much room flexibility based on local needs
the primary achievement of the Greek land surveyors – and choices. A bustling city, Marzabotto offered resi-
was the natural product of surveying technology and dents jobs in industrial workshops producing terra-
colonization developed long before Hippodamus con- cotta and bronze objects, and such amenities as
ceptualized, theorized and arguably perfected the ample wells, elaborate hydraulic systems, sidewalks,
system (see later in this chapter). stepping-stones, and early atrium-type houses (see later
In northern and central Italy, the Etruscans self- in this chapter). Many buildings shared walls to maxi-
identified as a group united by common ancestors, mize usable space within the urban fortifications – an
language, myths, complex rituals, and an advanced unfortunate and shoddy practice from the point of
city-state culture (see Figure 1.3). Buoyed by mineral structural engineering but one also widely practiced
resources and extensive trade, they developed inde- in Republican Rome.
pendent cities distinguished by impressive external In antiquity, the creation of cities was not only a
walls, large religious structures facing ritually defined military and pragmatic act, but also a religious one, as
open areas, and relatively large populations. Etruscan humans took care to define their sphere of earthly
cities are not easily reconstructed. Early buildings of activities precariously poised between the heavens and
perishable materials have left few remains, while the the underworld of the gods. Early Romans held Etrus-
city plans eroded as a result of continuous occupation. can religious practices in especially high regard, admir-
Some Etruscan ideas about urban design can be ing their ability to define ritual spaces for divination
extrapolated from the cities of the dead (necropoli). and purification. They relied heavily on the disciplina
Chambers in early tombs reflected contemporary living etrusca, texts articulating the proper methods for
spaces, with interiors carved in stone to look like huts founding cities, measuring space, dividing time and
of wood, reeds, and mud; the unordered placement of other undertakings. When performing divination,
tombs emulated loose village configurations that Etruscan priests divided the sky into four parts separ-
evolved in response to both the topographical demands ated by two imagined perpendicular lines and applied
of hill top sites and to a preoccupation with loosely the same strategy when laying out cities. If the signs
defined ritual boundaries. Archaeological work has were positive, planning began. Urban founders placed
uncovered broad, frontal Etruscan temples on low offerings in a pit at the city center, the mundus, also
podia; along the ridgepoles of these mud-brick and conflated with city’s center or the navel (umbilicus urbis).
wood structures animated terracotta roof sculptures Next, they plowed a furrow to define the city’s extent
danced at the juncture of city and sky. under divine protection, and to expel unruly natural
In the sixth century bce, the Etruscans sought more forces. This ritual line (pomerium) was inviolable;
territory and greater trading venues by moving outward anyone who crossed it without performing special rites
in all directions. Increased contact with Greek cities was put to death. Thus, the founders lifted the plow at
reverberated in their architectural productions. Etrus- the locations of future gates in order to provide breaks
can necropoli began to display aligned, uniform facades through which people could freely pass – or at least
and rectangular, ashlar stonework (Cerveteri), as well this is the narrative presented in sacred writings pre-
as grid layouts (Orvieto). Around 600 bce, they served into Roman times. Also according to those
applied a grid to a colony at Capua near Naples, sacred texts, the proper Etruscan city followed a
oriented to the cardinal points (Figure 1.4). Moving defined plan, with three gates and three main streets,
into the Po valley in the north, the Etruscans estab- presumably with one serving as the primary axis,
lished a settlement at Marzabotto to protect trans- though few cities actually had this ideal form, least of
Apennine traffic down Reno River near Bologna. Laid all Rome. This last point underlines the difference
out at a single moment in the early fifth century bce, between a ritualistic ideal based on literary tradition
the plan of Marzabotto emulated Greek planning and actual, sometimes restrictive but often creative,
models with protective walls surrounding a grid of practice on the ground.
streets defining long blocks between parallel wide
streets (Figure 1.5); measuring was based on the Attic
foot, the predominant measurement unit of ancient EARLY ROME
Greece. At the central intersection the surveyors buried
a stone inscribed with a cross to establish the Archaeology confirms that Rome began in the eighth
street alignment to the cardinal points, though not all century bce as a cluster of small Latin villages near a

point where an island facilitated crossing over the markets and other public assemblies. The various
Tiber River. Settlements developed on easily protected hill-top villages coalesced into a single urban unit by
hilltops east, with the earliest on the Palatine and the eighth century bce; fragments of a city wall on the
Capitoline Hills, and the jutting spurs of a plateau to northwest corner of the Palatine date to this period.
the east (see Figure 1.1). Between these high points, Allegedly, a king ruled the young city, and chose to
valleys carved by active streams provided easy commu- reside in the Domus Regia (“Royal House”) in the
nication routes. Modern Rome occupies the same site central Forum (Figure 1.7). Grand aristocratic houses
and topography, but almost certainly the valleys were clustered nearby at the base of the Palatine hill. In later
much deeper and the hills much higher in antiquity. centuries Roman writers fabricated rich histories for
Communal activities gravitated to a central low-lying the early city, identifying its founder as Romulus, the
location slightly inland from the ﬂood-prone river. son of the war god Mars and a remote descendant of
Here villagers created an open space, or forum for Aeneas, mythical survivor of the Trojan War. Such

Sa Velia
cra
Via

Forum
Domus Regia

Aedes Vestae

Capitoline
a
im
Max
ca

0 50 100 m
oa

Palatine
Cl

figure 1.7 Site plan and reconstruction of Domus Regia façade, Rome; rendered by Diane Favro (after Carandini).

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

narratives reflect the Romans’ attempts to forge an later in this chapter). Lying at the intersection of
identity separate, but related, to that of the Greeks. several well-traveled urban roadways, the Forum had
According to a popular version, Romulus took aus- an irregular shape. The first unifying pavement in the
pices atop the Palatine Hill, with positive results. forum was laid around 600 bce, further stimulating
Along with his twin brother Remus, Romulus oversaw markets, trading, and meetings in the open space.
the plowing of the ritual city limit, the pomerium. When Around the edges stood temples, administrative build-
Remus sacrilegiously jumped over the sacred pomerial ings, shops (tabernae), and houses (domus) of noble
line, Romulus had no recourse but to kill him. The families. On the northern corner, the Romans ritually
foundation day, April 21, 753 bce, became celebrated as defined an open meeting place known as the comitium
Rome’s birthday; time was counted ab urbe condita to be used for public assembly. Tradition holds that
(“from the foundation of the city”), with year “2” as king Tullus Hostilius (ruled 673 bce–642 bce) erected
our modern 752 bce. This is the official “senatorial a meeting hall, the Curia Hostilia, to provide shelter
view” of foundation promoted by Livy, Rome’s fore- for his advisory council of Roman nobles. Statues and
most historian (Livy was born in 59 bce and died in 17 memorials proliferated in this important civic node.
ce, three years after Augustus, who was a good friend). Much later, when reality and urban lore were indistin-
By the late seventh century bce, urban development guishable, the Lapis Niger, a black stone, was thought
accelerated when the members of the Etruscan Tarquin to mark the burial of either King Tullus Hostilius’
dynasty seized power and rapidly acculturated the ancestor or Rome’s mythical founder Romulus.
Romans to the artistic, technical, and commercial Roman authors credited king Servius Tullius with
advancements of Etrusco-Hellenic urban life. Wielding initiating two significant urban improvements around
autocratic power, they compelled their Latin subjects the mid-sixth century bce: the establishment of four
to labor on large public works. Among the most tribal administrative regions and an expanded fortifica-
ambitious was a drainage project engineered to reclaim tion system (see Figure 1.1). The remains of a massive
the marshy valleys between the hills. For years Latin stone wall of tufa blocks encircling most of the city
laborers created a great drain, the Cloaca Maxima, with (preserved in modern Rome in several places) have
portions cut from the living tufa rock and other seg- been traditionally called the Servian Wall (Figure 1.8,
ments constructed of corbelled vaults following Etrus- see later in this chapter). Yet the dating of a compre-
can building techniques (see Figure 3.2). So terrible hensive wall circuit is highly contested. After all, such a
were working conditions many Latins committed sui- large undertaking must have had many phases. That
cide rather than work in the damp, dark underground under Servius may have represented the conceptualiza-
tunnels. In response, King Tarquinius Priscus (616–579 tion of the city’s edges to meet administrative and
bce) crucified the bodies of the suicide victims for all military needs, with actual construction concentrated
to see, causing the others to return to work rather than on protecting the vulnerable eastern approach. In any
be shamed in death or so, at least, is what Pliny wrote case, the extant remnants of this wall can be dated no
in the first century ce, 550 years after the event (Pliny, earlier than the fourth century bce. Across the Esqui-
NH.36.107–108). Of course, there may be an element of line plateau ancient engineers created a comprehensive
exaggeration and drama in these stories, underscoring the stretch of fortifications over 1400 meters in length,
need to read all literary references with a critical eye. with an external dry moat (fosse), a wall, and a wide
Despite the grisly story associated with its construction, agger, or earthen rampart. The very sight of this
the Cloaca Maxima (still preserved as an impressive defensive system was thought to have compelled
structure beneath modern Rome) brought the city great attackers to turn around and go home (Dion. Hal.
advantages. On a practical level, the draining of the Ant.Rom. 9.68.3–4).
valleys improved the residents’ health, facilitated trans- The urban regions established in early Rome –
portation, and increased the usability of low-lying land. Suburana, Esquilana, Collina, and Palatina – echoed the
Equally important, the project overtly demonstrated the Etruscan notion of quadripartite spatial divisions and
value of large, complex engineering projects for the tribal associations. Significantly, they excluded two
common good requiring a central planning authority, a prominent locales: the Capitoline and Aventine hills.
notion never fully embraced by the Greeks. The Capitoline, as the city’s religious center, may have
No longer marshy (though still subject to sporadic been considered under divine, rather than municipal,
flooding), the central meeting area, known as the oversight. The Aventine had developed its own distinct
Forum Romanum, was the dominant civic center of character as a place of asylum outside the pomerium.
Rome and an important gateway to the city’s major There, an early king erected a great temple to Diana in
temple honoring the supreme triad of Jupiter, Juno, an attempt to usurp the significance of collective
and Minerva atop the adjacent Capitoline Hill (see shrines venerated by the Latin League, a confederation

figure 1.8 View of a portion of the “Servian Wall” near the Stazione Termini train station, Rome; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

of Latin-speaking settlements and tribes frequently at with many other fledgling towns scattered across cen-
odds with Rome. In contrast to front-oriented Italic tral Italy. Each constituency developed individual pol-
temples like that to Mater Matuta near the river, the icies and material culture within this shared
Aventine structure was in the Greek peripteral style, environment. In the following decades, the Romans
with columns on all sides to allow easy access by league struggled to maintain independence against aggressors
members, asylum seekers, and plebeians who gravitated and access to trade routes by sea, land, and river; in the
to this liminal area neither inside, nor outside, the process they at times became aggressors themselves.
great city. Through alliance, bilateral treaties, sensible adminis-
trative skills, and outright conquest, the Romans
extended control over neighboring cities and territor-
ROME IN THE ROMAN REPUBLIC ies; simultaneously, they honed an efficient army and
an operational structure based on citizen egalitarianism
During the late sixth century bce, the Etruscan allies and dependent taxation. By 270 bce, the Roman
suffered severe military losses in southern Italy. With Republic controlled the Italian peninsula, including
tensions high, the late kings of Rome became increas- the Greek colonial cities of the south, and began to
ingly despotic. Even before the Temple of Jupiter expand outward; by the second century the achieve-
Optimus Maximus was completed, the Latins of Rome ment of “Latin status” and Roman citizenship had
ousted the oppressive monarchy in 509 bce. This date become a coveted entity. Here, we note Rome’s early
marks the establishment of the Republic – a consti- ability to craft a strong, unified Republican state based
tutional government ruled by two elected consuls and on mutual defense treaties with its allies – often
the Senate composed of patricians, with limited input though not necessarily viewed to be authoritarian –
from popular assemblies. Throughout the early Repub- in contrast to the historical inability of the Greek
lican period, Rome’s outside relations were multiple city states to forge any kind of effective union
and complicated. The Romans continuously negoti- except under the direst circumstances. Wars against
ated not only with their Etruscan neighbors but also the Carthaginians in the third and second centuries

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

bce heightened Roman naval skill and added more Soon after establishing the Republic, the Romans
territories in the west and North Africa. By 206 bce, exploited architecture to assert the status and aspir-
large parts of Spain, or more accurately the Iberian ations of the new state. They recast the expansive
Peninsula, had been subdued although, like Gaul, it urban projects of Tarquinius Superbus as emblems of
was only by the time of Augustus that Roman rule was the Republic and began to enhance the Forum Roma-
firmly established in this resourceful land where much num. Legal prohibitions ensured the central area
later the first two provincial emperors, Trajan and remained free for communal activities and events,
Hadrian, and a prominent philosopher, Seneca, were including political speeches, aristocratic funerals,
born. In 191 bce, the forces from the city on the Tiber gladiatorial combats, civil trials, and business. Two
soundly defeated the great Hellenistic king Antiochos new temples graced the Republican Forum. Just south
III from Syria at Thermopylae in Greece, initiating the of the road up the Capitoline Hill, rose the Temple to
Roman conquest of Asia. The Macedonian Wars the Latin war god Saturn (c. 496 bce), near the spot
culminated ultimately with Roman control of Illyria marking the city center (umbilicus). To the southwest
(western Balkans) and Greece. In 146 bce Roman near the early round Temple of Vesta rose a temple to
forces sacked both Corinth and Carthage, bringing the twins Castor and Pollux (484 bce), a cult venerated
back to Rome great literary and art treasures, along by the patrician cavalry (Figures 1.9 and 1.10). These
with a proprietary familiarity with Classical and Hel- early structures would have been central Italic in form
lenistic architecture. In 133 bce, Attalus II, the last king with high podia, deep porches, and widely-spaced
of the Pergamene Kingdom in Asia Minor, bequeathed columns, modestly constructed sun-dried brick and
his kingdom peacefully to Rome though it took wood, with terracotta ornament (see later in this chap-
another century for Roman rule to be fully established ter). By the mid-fifth century, the government acknow-
in Asia Minor. By the late second century bce the ledged the need to preserve Rome’s urban form and
Romans justifiably referred to the Mediterranean as functionality. The Laws of the XII Tables (c. 450 bce)
mare nostrum (“our sea”). restricted sumptuous construction and the dismantling

figure 1.9 Reconstruction of the Forum Romanum looking west, c. 160 bce (after Chris Johanson; © Regents of the University of
California).

figure 1.10 Reconstruction of Republican Forum looking east, Rome, ca. 160 BCE (after Chris Johanson; © Regents of the
University of California).

of extant buildings Rome. Thus, Rome was not only may have taken a circular shape with stairs to allow
engaged in public building and establishing a creative standing citizens to see and hear speakers during tribal
synthesis of Greek and Italian architectural forms, but assemblies. On the side toward the Forum rose a
more significantly, in bringing an urban, legal, and speakers’ platform monumentalized in 338 bce. Ancient
ethical order to its built environment. sources record that the plebeian C. Maenius boldly
Although nominally based on shared governance, advertised his military victory at Antium by adorning
the new Republic privileged the aristocratic land- the podium with the metal prows (rostra) of captured
owners at the expense of the poorer plebeians who ships, the genesis of the modern word “rostrum” for a
included farmers, workers, and servants. Naturally con- speaker’s platform. Nearby, the Senate further com-
flict developed between the two social orders, the memorated his military achievements with a statue
patricians and the plebeians. The struggle, led by the atop a column, an early example of the overt self-
brothers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus (the Gracchi), promotion that would run rampant in ancient Rome.
intended to bring greater privileges (mainly through The column’s importance was enhanced by its role in
major land reforms) to the lower orders; eventually it timekeeping; each day an assistant to the consuls
was squashed by the forces of the aristocracy. The standing in the door of the Curia announced the final
aptly named Temple of Concord was built in 121 bce hour of the day when the sun passed to the right side
by the senator L. Opimius at the foot of the Capitoline of the column.
Hill to commemorate Senate’s victory over the Gracchi
and their social reformers and the reinstigation of
AF F I R MA T I ON O F UR B A N F O R M
aristocratic authority – an ironic celebration of con-
I N T HE F A C E O F C O N Q U E S T S A N D
cord or harmony – that privileged one side. The
DE FE AT S
original temple was probably Ionic and had a trad-
itional rectangular cella with columns on three sides Early in the fourth century bce, two events galvanized
against a blank back wall – the peripteros sine postico the ambition of the Republic, with important reper-
arrangement (Figure 1.9). It was remodeled under cussions for urban design. In 396 bce, the Romans
Augustus and Tiberius. In this reincarnation, the tight conquered the Etruscan city of Veii, a rich Etruscan
space necessitated an unusual scheme with the pronaos center a mere 16 kilometers northwest of Rome. This
projecting at a right angle to the long side of the victory ensured Rome access inland along the Tiber
rectangular cella like a pavilion. The temple looked River. A few years later, marauding Gauls sacked
out over the forum toward the Comitium area. Rome. Recovering rapidly from the devastation, the
The chronology and form of physical alterations to Romans began to conceptualize their own identity and
the Comitium are hotly debated, with various alterna- destiny. Avidly tied to Rome’s “spirit of place” (genius
tives proposed. Fronting the Senate House, or Curia, it loci), the Romans rejected proposals to relocate in the

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

more beautiful and safer environment at Veii. Some outcroppings rather than true hills; see Figure 1.1).
Romans called out for a major urban transformation, The complete circuit of the “Servian Wall” is uncer-
much as did the residents of London after the great fire tain, but segments are still visible such as that in front
of 1666. The devastated cityscape presented a tremen- of Rome’s main train station (see Figure 1.8).
dous opportunity to impose an orderly, urban design Visitors and residents alike found Rome’s fortifi-
based on up-to-date Greek planning theories, yet the cations and infrastructure impressive. Strabo writing in
Romans resisted any major alterations following a the late Republic noted: “The Romans had the best
theoretically-based system of streets on an orthogonal foresight in those matters which the Greeks took but
grid. Anxious for the city to become operational as little account of, such as the construction of roads and
soon as possible and respectful of property rights, the aqueducts and of sewers that could wash out the filth
government offered incentives to promote rapid recon- of the city” (5.3.8). In the late fourth century bce, the
struction. Livy tells us, censor Appius Claudius Caecus paved a strategically
important extra-urban road, the Via Appia, running
[the people of Rome] began to rebuild the city about 210 kilometers in a straight line between Rome
without plan of any kind. . . . Such was their haste and Capua to the south. In addition, he initiated
that they did not take care to lay out the streets since
Rome’s first major aqueduct, the Aqua Appia (312
all the boundary distinctions had been lost and they
were building in vacuo. This is the reason why . . . the bce), bringing fresh water to the bustling docks near
appearance of the city resembles one that has been the island crossing. The capital’s expanding network of
occupied rather than being properly planned. aqueducts largely ran underground in the countryside
(5.55.1–5) to minimize attacks and costs. To maintain an even
speed of flow ancient engineers raised the aqueduct
The archaeological evidence, however, does not entirely water channels on dramatic stone arcades when cross-
affirm a hasty rebuilding. As usual, we would be advised ing valleys or entering the city at a high level. The
to read much of our ancient authors, who have their interest in architectural infrastructure, clearly admired
own ideological agendas, with a critical eye and when by Strabo, indicate a sophisticated and paternalistic
possible check the stories against other, hopefully verifi- concern for urban environment through creative
able, evidence, such as that provided by archaeology. designs that were both functional and eye-catching.
Clearly, the imposition of a comprehensive, ordered The Romans self-identified with engineering and
urban plan was not of import in the early fourth century. military technical and logistical prowess, while simul-
The situation was different when Livy wrote three taneously drawing heavily upon artistic forms and
centuries later; by then the Romans had long suffered styles from the Hellenistic world. Not mere imitators,
slurs about their city’s lack of order and beauty despite they soon added to the architectural typology and the
its undisputed position as ruler of the Mediterranean. classical vocabulary of the Mediterranean. Starting
The Gallic sack of 390 bce, underscored the need from the third century bce, designers in Rome recom-
for improved, stronger fortifications at Rome. Over the bined Greek architectural elements in new and creative
following decades the Republic created a comprehen- ways and improvised from Greek, Etruscan, and Italic
sive and extensive defensive system that defined an building forms to meet their unique needs, always with
urban territory of over 400 hectares, including areas an eye on functionality, endurance, and self-promotion.
outside the pomerium. Demonstrating the latest in Hel- To name one modest example of this, the decorative
lenic fortification strategies, the so-called Servian Wall floors from the mid-Republic known as opus signinium
rose up to ten meters, with big arched openings for are terracotta-based mortar floors impermeable to
catapults later added (see earlier). The massive project moisture and articulated by simple geometric patterns
required a large workforce thought to have included of white tesserae; though drawing some inspiration
workers from Sicily in Magna Graecia. Construction from Punic examples, these attractive floors are wholly
was of squared stone (opus quadratum) based on the Roman in their artless and delicate beauty. The
Osco-Italic foot. The material was yellowish gray tufa Romans increasingly were building for, and generating
from Etruscan quarries accessible after the Romans inspiration to, a wider world outside the group of
defeated Veii in 396 bce. Other Italian settlements, central Italian cities. The success of their political
such as the acropolis at Alatrium to the south expansion brought on new possibilities as well as
(Figure 1.6), had impressive stone fortifications, but responsibilities in governance, law, art, and architec-
none compared in size to Rome’s circuit of eleven ture – and religious tolerance, up to a point – which
kilometers with sixteen embellished gateways enclosing they accepted as a part of their serious outlook on life.
the legendary “Seven Hills of Rome” (note that those Building for the needs of a far greater constituency
on the east – Esquiline, Viminal, Quirinal – are with far greater horizons than the Greeks, they

contributed toward the realization of a hybrid, cosmo- 100 m in length, with shops on the ground level; behind
politan urban world. was an unencumbered hall with internal porticos
After a fire cleared the north side of the Forum in around a broad nave, all covered by a strong wooden-
210 bce, the Romans took steps to upgrade the area truss roof (Figure 1.11). With the construction of the
into a completely civic venue. In 184 bce, the censor Basilica Sempronia (169 BCE; later replaced by the
Marcus Porcius Cato purchased houses and shops west Basilica Julia) on the opposite side of the central area,
of the Curia, and erected the Basilica Porcia, a large the Forum began to approximate a Greek Hellenistic
multipurpose hall with porticos opening to the Forum. agora with stoas defining the edges. Less refined busi-
Subsequent basilicas included an interior nave lit by ness activities gradually relocated to other fora
clerestory windows, and side aisles (see Figure 1.9). throughout Rome. The Forum Holitorium by the river
Some scholars characterize the basilica as a “distinctly accommodated the sale of produce, and the nearby
Roman” building form; others seek external prece- Forum Boarium the sale of cattle, at least according
dents. However, the simultaneous utilitarian and to some ancient authors (Figure 1.12). A large market
impressive character of the basilica may trump the building (macellum) northeast of the Forum Romanum
significance of a specific heritage. Relatively easy to (rebuilt in 179 bce) superseded the preexisting markets
construct, large basilical halls provided much bang for for fish (Forum Piscarium) and delicacies (Forum
the buck. The lofty interiors sheltered diverse activities Cuppedinis).
including tribunals, with second stories where specta-
tors could watch the action taking place both inside
the structure and in the Forum. Like other civic build- EXPERIMENTAL AND
ing forms popularized by the Romans, the basilica TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS IN
evolved across the cities of central Italy – including THE ARCHITECTURE OF LATE
Cosa, Ardea, and Pompeii – to meet shared needs and REPUBLICAN ROME
elevate civic activities. The lengthy external colonnades
shaped and defined public space. In order for a wide In the second and first centuries bce, Rome entered a
variety of civic functions to take place, basilicas were vital period of architectural patronage and experimen-
typically spacious; but they could be fairly small and tation stimulated by external architectural models and
intimate as in the basilica at Cosa, or immense, as in an influx of revenues from conquests. Structures dis-
the Basilica of Maxentius in Rome (see later). At played a common capital-city syndrome: persistent
Rome, the censors M. Aemilius Lepidus and tension between innovation and traditionalism.
M. Fulvius Nobilior erected a basilica in 179 bce (first A temple with a high podium evoked associations with
known as the Basilica Fulvia, later as the Basilica a national Italic style, while one with low surrounding
Aemilia) southeast of the Curia in the Forum. The stairs signaled Greek refinement to some viewers, and
large structure had a shady two-storied portico about Greek hedonism to others. Although some scholars

figure 1.11 Reconstruction perspective of Basilica Fulvia/Aemilia, Forum Romanum, Rome; rendered by Diane Favro (after John Burge).

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

Fo
ru
N

m
Ho
lito
riu
m
A 0 60 m
B
C

A Horrea
B Area Sacra of St Omobono
C Temple of Aesclepius
D D Pons Aemilius
E
E Temple of Portunus
Forum F Temple of Hercules Victor
Boarium G Pons Sublicius
H Circus Maximus
F

figure 1.12 Plan of Forum Holitorium and Forum Boarium, Rome; rendered by Diane Favro.

have detected a development originating from local, broadly spaced columns (Vitr. De Arch. 3.3.5); if this
central Italian models toward more “sophisticated” temple was a major rebuilding of even an earlier temple
Greek-inspired ones, this process was never simple to the same god, Pompey’s decision to retain the temple’s
and linear; architectural inspiration comes from many old-fashioned form would have been equally significant.
different sources as architecture is a complex art Twenty years later as one of Rome’s most powerful men
involving exigencies of materials, structure as well as he erected his magnificent theater complex adjacent to
aesthetics. Materials bore meaning. Matt tufa blocks his own house in emulation of Hellenistic dynasts.
and terracotta ornament were traditional and conserva- Exploiting architecture and architectural style as meta-
tive; shiny marbles were luxurious and eastern. Patrons phorical devices for political messaging remained popular
selected styles, forms, materials, and sites to suit their throughout Roman history.
particular aspirations. In the 70s bce, when the general Following the second Carthaginian war (218–201
Pompey sought honors and offices for which he was bce) slaves and booty drastically boosted Rome’s
not legally eligible, he calmed concerns by erecting a population, and thus its need to storehouse grain. In
temple to Hercules in the Tuscan-Italic style, with response, builders made the most of Roman logistical

skills and pragmatic building forms and techniques. columns or piers was designed for the flexible needs
Fast to build, fireproof, and relatively inexpensive, of industry and made possible by the early use of
concrete (opus caementicium) rapidly came into wide use, concrete construction.
especially in the capital city where magistrates had only At Rome, two censors elected every five years held
a short time in any given office to complete a major responsibility for new public works as well as oversight
project (see later; Davies 2017, 104–106). One structure of the census. The historian Livy records that those of
exploiting concrete, the so-called Porticus Aemilia, a 174 bce were also the first to contract to have the city
textbook favorite, deserves special consideration. Livy streets paved and flanked by sidewalks; in addition they
informs us that in 193 bce, the aediles L. Aemilius built several bridges, stairs and paved areas for ware-
Lepidus and L. Aemilius Paullus initiated a large housing and commerce along the river, creating a grand
market hall along the Tiber known as the Porticus riverine approach to Rome. They also added shady
Aemilia. Within two decades the censors of 174 bce porticos to the street climbing up to the Capitoline
rebuilt this structure creating a gigantic, half-a-kilo- temple, and others throughout the city (Liv. 41.27.7).
meter long (487 x 60 m) hall built entirely in opus Simple and quick to build in concrete or a sensible
caementicium (Livy 35.10.12 and 41.27.8). The building is combination of concrete wedded to traditional
divided into fifty vaulted rows separated by partition columns, porticos helped unify Rome’s street facades,
walls pierced by wide arches; the back side is solid create a sense of civic dignity, while also providing
except for doors and windows above, while the front pedestrians with shade, and merchants with space to
facing the river some 80 meters away was originally display their wares protected from traffic. As well
fully open (Figure 1.13). A portion of the back wall and argued by J. Senseney, quadriporticos also gained in
one of the side walls faced in opus incertum, are fairly popularity, in part inspired by Hellenistic models.
well preserved. The name was identified based on the With four inward facing colonnades around an open
three letters preserved on the Marble Plan, “LIA” rectangular courtyard with temples, fountains, or
(“AMELIA”) although other reconstructions are pos- gardens (as seen with the Porticus Metelli of 146 bce
sible (Davies 2017, 175–177). One of these, proposed by or slightly later) these structures isolated new temples
a new study by L. Cozzo and P. L. Tucci, challenges from the bustle in the southern Campus Martius (see
the old views by retooling the inscription as Figure 2.9; Senseney 2011, 421–441).
“NAVALIA” and identifies the building as a major Though rarely visible, over time concrete trans-
shipshed for the Republican fleet of Rome (Cozzo and formed the cityscape. For example, this material facili-
Tucci 2006, 175–201; Tucci 2012, 575–591; see also Gatti tated the rebuilding of broad Tuscan temples in a more
1934, 123–149). At the first consideration the long au courant Graeco-Italic style with tall podia, broad
building sloping toward the river, close in form to stairs, and narrow facades, as seen in the rebuilt
other shipsheds of the Renaissance period (in Pisa, Temple of Castor and Pollux (117 bce) in the Forum
Italy and Heraklia, Crete), supports this view. Also Romanum. Concrete construction was essential for the
cited as justification for the new attribution is the fact massive arcaded building traditionally known as the
that the closed rear wall would not facilitate the stor- Tabularium, or the records office, erected by the consul
age and distribution of goods. However, the new of 78 bce Q. Lutatis Catulus, and perhaps designed by
identification has its own serious flaws. The strongest the architect Lucius Cornelius (Figures 1.14, 1.15, and
objection to the navalia theory is raised by a specialist in Plate 2). Uniting the two saddles of the Capitoline
ships and shipsheds on the functional grounds of Hill, the massive project and its trapezoidal extension
distance from, and orientation toward, the river. of rooms toward the west and north covers approxi-
B. Rankov observed that the chambers (and the ships mately 3000 square meters, about half the area of the
within them) positioned at right angles to the Tiber later Basilica Ulpia. In addition to access from above,
“would make any launch of the long warships from a single door at the forum level and steep internal stairs
them extremely difficult . . . and almost imposible if provided access between Rome’s low-lying civic center
the river was in spate [“flood” which happens quite and the hilltop religious center. Facing the forum, a
frequently in the Tiber]” (Rankov 2013, 39–41 76–101 towering wall of finely cut gray tufa ashlar (c. 15 m
in a collection of essays that offers a full survey of the high) supports an open gallery with a façade featuring
topic: Blackman and Rankov, eds.). While this obser- Doric half-columns alternating with eleven arches and
vation suggests the demise of the shipshed theory, the crowned by a continuous entablature of white traver-
important and unchanging thing for us here is that tine (only the architrave remains). Behind the arches,
regardless of its specific function (or the specific name tall concrete barrel and cloister vaults (eleven structural
under which it was identified), this is a colossal build- bays, each 5 5 m, total length of c. 66 m) anchored the
ing whose spacious interior largely uncluttered by gallery into the hillside. Some reconstructions include

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

0 50 100 150 m

N
HORR
EA

0 30 m

figure 1.13 Reconstruction of Porticus Aemilia showing fragments of Forma Urbis Romae marble map of Rome; rendered by
Diane Favro.
an additional upper gallery or colonnade, but its pres- building typology it represents, with its wide, open
ence is not supported by the existing evidence. gallery may appear unsuitable for the functions of a
The identification of the massive structure as the records office – although many of the barrel-vaulted
records office, based on an inscription found nearby rooms buried into the hill are definitely secure. The
but now lost, is indeed suspect. The design, or the inscription provides clear evidence for a substructure

figure 1.14 General view of the Forum Romanum, Rome, looking west toward the Tabularium, which forms a backdrop for the
Temple of Saturn (left), the Column of Phocas (center), the Rostra (behind the tree) and a sliver of the Arch of Septimius Severus
(right); Photo by Fikret Yegül.

and tabularium in this area, probably between the Victor in Tivoli. The “Tabularium” substructure and
present one and the Temple of Saturn (CIL 6.1314). gallery, besides supporting the temples, serve as a
Following P. L. Tucci’s lead (Tucci 2005), F. Coarelli “covered street” (via tecta) connecting the Capitoline
recently proposed a new interpretation for the “Tabu- Hill with the Arx to the north. The proposal is
larium” (we will retain the name but use quotations to dramatic and bold, while the archaeological evidence
convey uncertainty regarding the identification; Coar- behind it is contrastingly slim and elusive; the design is
elli 2010; see also Davies 2017, 188–192). He argues the for the most part pure conjecture. Quite apart from the
extant remains formed part of a scenic terrace that visual, contextual, and architectonic concerns attending
supported three structures: in the center, a massive to this gasp-producing reconstruction, the fact that
octastyle peripteros sine postico podium temple dedicated there is not a single reference to such a thundering trio
to Venus Victrix, flanked by smaller temples to the of temples grossly dominating the forum is problem-
Genius populi Romani and Felicitas, deities with dyn- atic. The possibility that a newer theory will emerge to
astic and political significance for Sulla who is credited replace this exciting one is almost certain. Nonetheless,
with starting the project in 81 bce, though he did not neither the identification of the “Tabularium” nor its
live to see its completion under the consul Q. L. newly assigned function as a covered street and a
Catulus in 78 bce (for reconstruction studies see glorified base for a mega-temple project changes the
Davies 2017). The imagined triple temples, towering nature of our earlier discussion. Whatever name you
over and dominating the western edge of the Forum give it, the building that rises like a rock on the west
Romanum, find their design inspiration and justifica- scarp of the Capitolium is an impressive representative
tion in the great terrace temples and sanctuaries of late of late Republican concrete technology and scenic
Republican Latium, like the Temple of Hercules design. We regret that the proposal championed by

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

figure 1.15, plate 2 Interior vaulting of Tabularium gallery facing the Forum, Rome; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

Tucci and Coarelli adds new, colossal, and theoretical not have been the records ofﬁce of Rome (or any
temples to the precious urban topography of Rome at records ofﬁce). However, with its many vaulted galler-
the cost of demoting the architectural meaning and ies and rooms integrated to the venerable hill above
essence of another structure. The “Tabularium” may and the equally venerable civic space below, it was a

deliberately planned “hillside building,” whose hand- individual patronage (and jobs!). At Rome, the largest
some open gallery served as an urban connector and temporary buildings rose in the Campus Martius (Field
offered one of the most impressive views of all of of Mars), a low-lying plain north of the Capitoline
Rome, as it does today. Hill in the curve of the river. Subject to flooding, the
Sophisticated constructions in wood also trans- field had few permanent structures. In this unencum-
figured the city, though their physical remains are bered area soldiers practiced maneuvers, generals and
few. Especially notable were the bridges that their troops waited to hear if they had been awarded
replaced early ferries crossing the Tiber River triumphs, assemblies gathered, and temporary struc-
allowing city residents access to both the less desir- tures appeared and disappeared like mushrooms.
able settlements on the west banks and the hinter- Though temporary, these works became ever more
land beyond. These structures took ingenious forms, grandiose and complex as patrons competed for atten-
from the religiously sanctified wooden Pons Subli- tion. In 52 bce, C. Scribonius Curio held performances
cius, built with no iron, to simple floating structures for his father’s funeral in two wooden theaters that
removed when attackers or floods threatened and ingeniously rotated to form an amphitheater (Pliny
then quickly rebuilt. The first bridge with stone HN, 36.116–120) (Figure 1.16). Other donors focused
piers, the Pons Aemilia (179 bce), initially had a their attentions on the stage building (scaenae frons) of
wooden superstructure, and provided traders a more theaters, adding gilded statues, colorful awnings, dec-
permanent crossing from the west directly into the orations in gold, silver, ivory, glass, and even columns
bustling Forum Boarium. Throughout Rome, imper- or colonnettes of marble, prompting one theater to be
manent wooden structures quickly transformed streets described as surpassing, “not merely those erected for a
and plazas into spectator venues. Workers erected limited period but even those intended to last forever”
bleachers, speakers’ platforms, and various structures (Pliny HN 36.114). Eventually, the Roman preoccupa-
for performances, parades, and ritual celebrations, tion with pragmatic and economical projects, along
then summarily dismantled them, presumably storing with escalating competition among donors, out-
the timbers for reuse. For example, audiences gathered weighed antiquated propriety. In 55 bce, the general
in wooden arenas to watch spectacles in the Forum Pompey constructed a permanent, free-standing stone
Romanum, whose rectangular shape may have been theater in the Campus Martius near his own house,
the genesis of the oval (not circular) form of subse- replete with a porticoed enclosure embellished with
quent Roman amphitheaters (see Figure 1.9). landscaping and art. However, he took the precaution
Theaters in Republican Rome were also of wood. of placing a temple to Venus Victrix at the top of the
The Romans of course were well familiar with the freestanding curved seating (cavea) (Figures 1.17 and
form and construction of permanent stone structures 1.18). Known from examples outside Rome (Tivoli,
for theatrical and other performances from examples Palestrina, Pietrabbondante), such a configuration
in Greece and southern Italy, such as the amphi- allegedly justified a stone theater by presenting the
theater (100 bce) and theater (second century bce) seats as “stairs” up to the shrine, a conceit abandoned
of Pompeii (see later). At their mother city of Rome, after the success of Pompey’s large theater. It also
however, they resolutely rejected permanent theatrical overtly demonstrates the incorporation of religion
venues ostensibly to set an example of conservative and cult into secular life and architecture. Spectators
probity, but also (as far as the authorities were con- at Pompey’s theater watched diverse entertainments,
cerned) to limit opportunities for gatherings of the while Venus the Victor literally looked over their
Roman people and affirm elite control over the city- shoulders.
scape. Arguing that permanent theaters would promote
sedition, indolence, and “Greek pleasures,” in 154 bce
T R I UM P H S A N D M I L I T A R Y S Y M B O L I S M
the leadership in Rome even ordered the demolition of
a stone theater in progress (Livy Per. 48; Val.Max. Rome’s architecture and urban design were shaped by
2.4.1–2). Suspect as this piece of reasoning might a culture of conquest. Every view in the capital city
sound, consider even an exceptionally fair minded was filled with emblems of military achievements.
emperor like Trajan discouraging the formation of Successful soldiers displayed captured weapons on
even the much needed fire brigade in Nicomedia on the fronts of their houses; generals used captured
the grounds that whenever “people assemble for a booty to fund monuments and temples to the gods
common purpose . . . they soon turn into a seditious who had helped in battle; the state financed inscrip-
club” (Pliny, Letters 10.34). tions and reliefs commemorating successful cam-
Impermanent wooden spectator buildings were less paigns, and the entire population participated in
threatening and offered repeated opportunities for magnificent celebrations of victories. In the

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

figure 1.16 Reconstruction diagram of the rotating

theater of Scribonius Curio, Rome; rendered by
Diane Favro.

Republic, the highest honor for a Roman male citi- enter the Forum Romanum though the path could vary
zen was to be awarded a triumph. A general who somewhat (see Figure 1.1). Hundreds of people flowed
celebrated a substantive victory in a foreign war into the city to watch the parade. Spectators who did
(along with other requirements) returned to Rome not find space on temporary bleachers sought spots on
with his troops to petition the senate to grant a the high podia of temples and the upper porticos of
triumph. Because armed men could not cross the basilicas or looked down from the widows and balcon-
pomerium without dispensation, they gathered in the ies of housing units on upper floors. Aligned temple
Campus Martius while awaiting the Senate’s deci- facades with wide stairways, such as those at the Forum
sion. If proclaimed a triumphator, the general organ- Holitorium, doubled as audience venues. After passing
ized a magnificent procession through the city that through the Forum, the triumphator and a smaller group
celebrated and sanctified his bloody actions. Wagons climbed up to the Capitoline to give thanks at the
overflowing with booty, captured slaves, paintings of Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus. The rising
battles, elaborate floats, troops, and the general atop smoke from their offerings marked the beginning of a
a magnificent chariot created a spectacle that enter- wide range of entertainments. Grand spectacles took
tained and informed the populace of the capital, place in theaters, circuses, and other spectator spaces
justifying the state’s great military expenses. It also throughout the city, bringing the entire city into focus
turned the city into an arena of celebration, perform- as a communal environment.
ance and pomp. At his triumph in 61 bce, Pompey Aspiring politicians depleted their family fortunes
included placards listing the fourteen nations he and successful generals spent their captured spoils to
defeated, and wagons heaped with 75,100,000 silver erect self-promoting urban displays along the tri-
coins (enough to support two million people for a umphal route. Competition was stiff. The commem-
year), gold statues and vessels, gems, and other orative arch, originally used simply to elevate
valuables. sculptures, became inextricably associated with the
As unifying, state-sanctioned celebrations, tri- triumph celebrating movement, passage and transition
umphs could only be held in Rome. They occurred in real, as well as metaphorical, terms. Donors com-
throughout the Republic, though at irregular intervals. peted to create the most eye-catching, memorable
From the Campus Martius, the parade wound south structures, experimenting with new temple designs,
between the Capitoline Hill and the river, through the ornaments, and opulent materials. To ensure that his
Forum Boarium, past thousands of seated spectators in triumph of 146 bce was not forgotten, Q. Metellus
the Circus Maximus, and around the Palatine Hill to Macedonicus erected the Hellenistic-style Porticus

figure 1.17 Plan of Theater

of Pompey, Rome; rendered by
Diane Favro (after Senseney).

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

figure 1.18 Reconstruction engraving of Theater of Pompey with Temple of Venus Victrix, Rome; Schill (1908).

Metelli, embellished with magnificent captured art- Maggiore (Figure 1.19; see later). The tall trapezoidal
works, including twenty-four equestrian statues by structure of concrete faced with travertine is decorated
the famous Greek sculptor Lysippus, and the earliest with an inscription identifying his occupation for the
known temple built in marble, that to Jupiter Stator literate and long narrative reliefs depicting the produc-
designed in Ionic style with a low base and peripteral tion of bread for those unable to read. Modern viewers
columns. Cumulatively, the structures honoring indi- postulate the round opening on the sides may represent
viduals provided exemplars for future generations and grain-measuring containers or the open circular mouths
conveyed a powerful collective identity. of bread ovens. This flamboyant example of plebeian
architecture contrasts with the formal restraint of a
roughly contemporary tomb at the junction of two
BUI LD I NG DI S TRI BUT IO N A ND C ON TR OL
other roads entering the city to the west. The patrician
IN R O ME
Gaius Cestius erected a steep pyramid of brick-
Since burials were not allowed within the pomerium, faced concrete veneered in sparkling white marble
another concentration of structures promoting individ- (Figure 1.20, Plate 1A). Like famous precursors in con-
uals and families occurred on the well-traveled highways quered Egypt, the structure displayed a purity of form,
leading in to Rome. Every Roman of means sought though constructed of hybrid materials at a much
eternal recognition. Eye-catching designs, recognizable smaller scale (the base measures 100 Roman feet=RF
portrait sculptures, rich materials, and amenities such as or 29.6 m to a side, occupying almost 900 sq m). One
gardens and sundials drew attention to funerary monu- inscription lists the deceased’s achievements; another
ments of individuals and families. For example, in the first carved by his heir notes that in accordance with the will
century bce, the patrician Cecilia Metella placed her of the deceased, he completed the building in 330 days (it
tomb atop a highpoint on the Via Appia for maximum took far longer to restore the monument, which was still
visibility (see Figure 3.15). The huge structure took a in progress when this book went into press).
cylindrical form (29 m diameter), capped by an earthen Taking months or years to complete, architectural
mound in the manner of Etruscan tombs. The surface projects clogged the city’s streets with machinery and
decorations included trophies and other symbols allud- heavy transports. The increasing use of marble in the
ing to the military prowess of her family. Later in the first century bce exacerbated the situation, as workers
first century bce, the successful freedman Vergilius struggled to transport monolithic columns and other
Eurysaces proudly celebrated his profession as baker big stone pieces along Rome’s crowded streets.
with an unusual tomb at the junction of two highways Most large objects moved along the relatively flat
entering the city from the southeast through the Porta thoroughfares in the valleys punctuated by open spaces
30

figure 1.19 Tomb of Eurysaces in front (outside) of the Porta Maggiore, Rome; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

maintained as turning points for large wagons and The city grew exponentially in the late Republic,
materials. Anyone moving off these circulations spines attracting people seeking protection and support from
entered a densely populated labyrinth ﬁlled with the wealthy Romans generals and other aspirants vying
narrow alleys, dead ends, dark tunnels, and illegal for power. By the ﬁrst century bce, the old walls had
constructions blocking public ways (see later in this long been gobbled up by urban structures, though the
chapter). original gateways remained important entry points for
31

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

figure 1.20, plate 1a View of Pyramid Tomb of Cestius, in front of the Porta Ostiense (known as Porta San Paolo), Rome; Photo
by Fikret Yegül.

taxation and other types of oversight. On the Esquiline had neither the power nor resources to deal with
Hill, the great fortification ditch had become a charnel important issues of municipal care such as firefighting.
pit filled with refuse and the bodies of paupers. Dishonest landowners and builders exploited the situ-
Maeceanas, advisor to Octavius (later to become the first ation (see later in this chapter). Shoddy and substan-
emperor Augustus), acquired the property and trans- dard structures ready to collapse became public hazards
formed it into a pleasure garden with a pleasant walkway and aesthetic eyesores. Around 45 bce, Julius Caesar
atop the former agger (for the Auditorium of Maecenas, began expansive plans to reorder the city by
see below). The location of functions (and thus building straightening the Tiber River and drafting laws
types) was not regulated. Without zoning, housing of all regarding urban maintenance and traffic in Rome. In
social classes intermingled with monuments and commer- 7 bce, the first emperor Augustus subsequently estab-
cial structures. A luxurious domus fronted by shops might lished fourteen new administrative units that encom-
stand next to a laundry, a middle-class, multi-unit apart- passed most of the occupied urban area and clarified
ment structure, and a populist bathhouse. An elite enclave magistrate responsibilities. More comprehensive
developed atop the Palatine Hill, in large part because attempts at regulating urban design and building codes
wealthy citizens with numerous slaves to carry water properly belong to the Imperial period (see later).
settled there in the days before aqueducts. Plebeians
resided throughout the city but their residences were
concentrated in the Subura and Aventine. Administration CITIES AND ARCHITECTURE
and safety within the four Republican regions was largely IN ITALY DURING THE REPUBLIC
left to neighborhood units (vici) organized around streets.
By the first century bce, however, the city had grown far Ancient Latin and Etruscan cities had organized into
larger than the traditional four regions and magistrates different collectives composed of autonomous cities

united for mutual defense and trade. The Romans at existing Italian cities housed Romans with military
periodically allied with the Latin League, yet consist- training, an important consideration before the estab-
ently conceptualized Rome as a capital or center city. lishment of a standing army. Citizen colonies, such as
Through the process of evocatio, they “called over” the Cosa, were often small (some three hundred settlers
gods of other cities to reside in Rome, as in 396 bce and their families), located at strategic points on newly
when the dictator Camillus, conqueror of Veii, enticed conquered territory, and modeled after and controlled
or co-opted its tutelary god Juno Regina with the by Rome. In contrast, the so-called Latin colonies
promise of a bigger and better temple. Indeed, the state (which granted their own citizenship but had to supply
funded several shrines in Rome, including the Aventine Rome with troops in time of need) were much larger
Temple of Diana, specifically to draw the allegiances of and mainly established in underpopulated and under-
members in the Latin League away from other sites. urbanized areas: “The primary purpose seems to have
Inspired by Rome’s subsequent rise to power, some been to urbanize regions such as Samnium and the far
early scholars postulated that architectural and urban north of Italy on suitably Romanized lines and to
ideas incubated in the capital and then extended to the regenerate failing cities” (Lomas 2004, 209). In either
rest of Italy through conquest and colonies. Recent case, these Roman cities stimulated trade, exploited
studies aided by physical evidence from excavations resources, and promoted close ties with local peoples;
reveal that the reality is more complicated and equally important, they served as centralized collection
nuanced, with influences moving in multiple directions. points for regional taxes sent to Rome for redistri-
Indications are that central Italian cities played signifi- bution to the military and urban masses, as well as to
cant, and often independent, roles in shaping architec- fund regional infrastructural projects such as roads.
ture and urban developments throughout the peninsula Colonies were politically autonomous, though occu-
and in Rome itself. The Latin League dissolved by the pants who served as magistrates could become Roman
second century bce. Thereafter, Rome’s relationship citizens. As at Rome, architectural patronage became a
with the Latins and other ethnic groups in central Italy favored way to gain status in the new settlements. In
was mainly structured by bilateral treaties, where Rome the capital, only civic office holders could erect public
often managed to become the dominant member. buildings; in the colonies architectural patronage seems
However, the so-called Latin Wars of the mid-fourth to have been open to all, an interesting difference. By
century bce, an occurrence with far-reaching historical, the first century bce, triumphators erected monuments in
social and architectural consequences, deserves our Italian cities, and in a few cases established eponymous
special attention. cities, in order to ensure allegiance and remembrance.
During the early fourth century bce, fearing Considering what makes a city (or at least, what
Rome’s rising expansion and dominance, the Latin makes a city safe) as they expanded in the fourth
and Campanian towns revolted against their one-time century bce, the Romans’ first response was to create
ally but were vanquished in a short and decisive war “a wall.” Plato advised the Greeks that a city’s best
(340–338 bce). While some of the older Latin city- defenses were its brave men who should meet the
states were incorporated within the Republic, others enemy on the frontiers and the swords of its citizens
were given limited commercial and civic rights (civitas are the only true protection (Plato, Laws 778D). As
sine suffragio = citizenship without vote). The upheaval shrewdly commented by R. E. Wycherley, however:
also resulted in the establishment of a large number of “But most people . . . took the common-sense view
Latin colonies as allies within older settlements, but that it was best even for brave men to have a fortified
many ex novo in strategically important locations for base of operations” (Wycherley 1949, 39). So did the
defense as well as bridgeheads for new conquests. occupants of cities in central Italy and Etruria. Early
Scholars distinguish the aftermath of the Latin Wars, settlements that had relied initially on topographically
circa 338–334 bce as an important period for coloniza- defensible sites, broad aggers and dry moats for pro-
tion and the development of Roman urbanism, char- tection, began to erect stone fortifications with lofty
acterized by J. Sewell as “the beginning of the Roman ramparts and arched gates. Many are preserved, an
practice of designing and realizing urban centres” overt affirmation of archaic Italian expertise in
(Sewell 2010, 10, 9–20; Cornell 1995, 347–352; Coarelli designing and executing complex engineering projects
1992, 35–48). During the intensification of these con- involving large work forces. The type of construction
flicts in Italy during the fourth century bce, the depended in part on the available materials. At Rome
Romans along with other occupants of the peninsula local tufas were cut into relatively homogeneous ashlar
increasingly had turned to urbanization as a means of blocks; in central Italy the easily fractured limestone
control, consolidation, and development. Garrisons, necessitated larger blocks as seen with the tightly fit
fortified colonies, citizen colonies, and new settlements polygonal stones at Alatri and the cyclopean blocks at

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

Ferentinum (see Figures 1.6, 3.13). Beyond providing southern Italy and Sicily (as well as further east); in the
protection and clear boundaries, city walls conveyed second century bce the Greek historian Polybius
strength and projected dignity. When the Romans described the Roman castrum, “the way in which the
relocated all the occupants of Falerii Novi after a streets are laid out and its general arrangement give it
revolt in 241 bce, they provided the new city of their the appearance of a town” (6.31). In some instances (as
defeated foes with attractive and strong, stone walls in Ostia), permanent camps evolved into cities. The
and arched gates as markers of civic identity chicken-or-egg debates about which came first, the
(Figure 1.21). gridded military camp or the gridded city deflect atten-
The plans for new cities probably came from Rome tion from other factors. The Etruscans and Romans
and were implemented by state land surveyors. After displayed a cultural predilection for orthogonal spatial
priests conducted foundation rites, and identified the divisions as seen in the dividing of ritual space into
city’s ritual edge, land measurers (agrimensores) divided four quadrants. Furthermore, such configurations were
the urban and rural areas into taxable units for the easy to lay out, easy to measure and easy to manage.
settlers; colonists received lots in each. In antiquity, the Soldiers could follow the same mental map regardless
terms cardo and decumanus defined the intersecting lines of camp assignments. At cities, grids facilitated tax-
of territorial grids, but in modern times (and in most ation and provided a sense of equality and orderliness
textbooks) are applied to the primary north/south, as settlers received rural and city plots roughly equal in
east/west streets of Roman cities respectively. At first size. Such plans were also associated with concepts of
glance, the rectangular Roman military camp (castrum) modernity and progress, no small concern for any
appears as an obvious inspiration for such plans, with society. Human occupation frequently eroded these
parallel paths running from gate to gate and the com- advantages. The worth of a specific urban plot rose
mander’s headquarters and an assembly area at the or fell in relation to various factors, including its
central intersection (Figure 1.22). The reality may be proximity to subsequent urban amenities. Residents
the other way around. Grid cities had long existed in reacted to the rigidity of grids, blocking, or building

figure 1.21 Walls and gate of Falerii Novi; Croberto68 via Wikimedia.

A Agger
E E B Porta Praetoria
E J E C Via Praetoria
D Via Principalis
G G
E Barracks
D D
F Praetorium with assembly area
G Stables
H H H Horrea (storehouses)
F J Via Decumana

G G

E C E

E E

A
figure 1.22 Plan diagram of a Roman military camp (castrum); rendered by Diane Favro.

over streets to promote neighborhood cohesion as podium temple of locally-quarried stone (lapis Gabinus,
documented in Pompeii. When fortunes changed over a gray tufa much prized in antiquity for its alleged
time, one property owner might buy up his less fortu- resistance to fire), facing a semicircular staircase, or
nate neighbor’s lot to expand his household. theater, for spectators attending ritual events (see
The Roman cities and colonies of Italy were Figure 2.20). Porticos fronting shops framed the
numerous and diverse. Below is a sampling chosen to temple on three sides, with a paved space punctuated
exemplify various approaches to planning, a range of with trees in regular rows of planters. Work by Nicola
site conditions, and other significant design issues. We Terrenato and a team from the University of Michigan
conclude the survey with a more detailed treatment of has recently utilized magnetometry to identify a com-
that most famous and well-preserved of Roman cities, prehensive orthogonal plan at Gabii, skewed to follow
Pompeii. the main street curving along the volcano’s edge.
Although not yet securely dated, this regular plan
configuration is rare outside of military camps, col-
G AB I I
onies, and urban extensions, though smaller-scaled
The Latin town of Gabii, 18 kilometers east of Rome, early traces of regular planning have been identified
was a prospering center before the days of the Roman at Veii, Doganella, Capua, Ardea, and Pompeii. The
kings, renowned for its cult to Juno worshipped in a Gabii team recently uncovered evidence of an enor-
sacred grove. It was located directly on Via Praeneste, mous terrace complex dominating the view on the
on the southeastern slopes of an extinct volcanic lake, volcanic slopes at Gabii dated to circa 300–250 bce.
the Lacus Gabinus (later Lago di Castiglione), drained With retaining walls in gigantic ashlar blocks on the
probably already in antiquity to provide fertile agricul- southeast and three levels connected by staircases cut
tural land. Gabii had excellent relations with Rome into the rock, the complex covers half the area of a
from archaic times onward, thrived through the fourth football field (60 x 35 m). The middle terrace invites a
and second centuries bce, but was already in decline by close comparison to a domus with large and small rooms
the Augustan period. In the mid-second century bce, and alae, arranged in quasi-symmetrical fashion around
residents erected a theater-temple complex to Juno two atrium-like courtyards. The walls are in ashlar
similar to those throughout Latium, with a central covered in painted plaster, the floors in tufa slabs and

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

decorative cocciopesto. The existence of a hydraulic system traces of atrium houses built of timber and mud-brick,
and a simple hypocaust connected to a praefurnium (fur- probably occupied by the resident elite, most of whom
nace) indicates the possibility of a bath suite whose were active also in the nearby capital city.
dramatically early date invites significant comparison From the beginning, Ostia thrived. In the second
to the first phase of the baths at Fregellae, a site some century bce, the city’s role as naval base for the Roman
80 kilometers southeast of Gabii, at the southern edge of navy ensured development as well as a special standing.
Latium (see later in this chapter). Noting the close Possibly during this time the area near the intersection
similarity of the plan to a monumental domus, the excav- of the cardo and decumanus began to be developed as a
ators have aptly interpreted this complex as a public civic forum (Figure 1.24). There rose an early version
building with political and ritual functions, perhaps, a of a temple to the three supreme gods: Jupiter, Juno,
domus publica, commonly known to be the official resi- and Minerva. Emulating the cult, if not necessarily
dence of a head priest. The hypothesis is strengthened form, of the great temple to this triad atop the Capit-
by the nature of the upper terrace, an impressive plat- oline Hill in Rome, such temples were dubbed Capi-
form bounded by polygonal masonry walls and reached tolia, and usually were distinctly Italic in layout, with
by a monumental staircase. Opening to a broad and three cellas, a deep pronaos, and broad frontal stair to
optimal field of vision, this could have a platform for climb up the podium. These shrines became hallmarks
augury, or an auguraculum. We agree with the Gabii team of Roman cities, standing frequently at high points
that this new discovery “represents one of the very few commanding broad urban views. At the flat site of
examples of (monumental) public architecture other Ostia, the Capitolium of the Republic may have had
than temples and fortifications known from the mid- an extra high podium (as it did when rebuilt under the
Republican period, and sheds important light on the emperor Hadrian with brick-faced concrete).
development of Latin cities in the crucial period After the conquest of North Africa in the mid-second
between (the fourth and the beginning of the second century bce, Ostia gained further wealth as the entry
century)” (Johnston and Gallone 2015, 275). As in the point for grain to feed the hungry masses of Rome. By
acropolis walls of Alatri, the structure’s ambitious size this time the city had long outgrown the walled castrum.
and monumental construction counter the characteriza- The decumanus split at a fork right after the west gate of
tion of mid-Republican architecture as unassuming. the old city; urban buildings lined this and other roads
leading to Ostia (Figures 1.23 bottom). Such ad hoc
development clearly indicates the Romans did not plan
O ST I A
for future expansion of the urban grid. The local aris-
Rome created an early gridded castrum close to home to tocracy dedicated significant buildings, including
protect access to the sea and the coastal salt beds near temples, along the main roads branching out in different
the mouth (ostium in Latin) of the Tiber River. Known directions. For example, an Italic-style stone temple to
today as Ostia Antica, the camp stood a mere 25 kilo- Hercules stood on the oblique Via della Foce moving
meters from Rome, on flat land easily reached by river west from the original camp; an ensemble of four small,
barges and a highway, the Via Ostiensis, which ran wood and mud-brick temples fronted a plaza with
through the center of the new plan (Figure 1.23, top). porticos parallel to the Via Ostiensis. Land flanking
Given its military and commercial importance, the the most important transportation route, the river, was
Ostians were considered citizens of Rome until the made public and closely regulated. Responding to a
first century bce. The Romans devised a venerable series of attacks and plundering, the Ostians erected a
history for the site, associating Ostia’s founding with much larger wall around the city, encompassing an area
a semi-legendary king of the seventh century bce. The almost thirty times larger than the original settlement.
archaeological evidence, however, supports a date three Built of concrete faced with opus incertum, the wall had
centuries later, in the middle of the fourth century bce. impressive towers and gatehouses at the three main
After the sack of the Gauls and coastal sorties by entries; the edge along the river was not walled, though
pirates, Rome created a series of maritime colonies. the large warehouses fronting the river may have pro-
Approximately three hundred citizen colonists settled vided a partial barrier to attack. Within Ostia’s large
in Ostia’s rectangular garrison (c. 194 126 m), sur- new circuit of fortifications, distinct neighborhoods
rounded by a strong ashlar wall of tufa blocks (opus evolved. Wealthy residents chose houses in the south-
quadratum). Two main streets ran gate to gate, dividing west region facing the sea, while those of less means
the castrum into four quadrants, with parallel smaller gathered in the unorganized zone to the southeast (for
streets. Subsequent development and a major Ostia’s remarkable development during the Imperial
reworking in the Imperial period (second century ce) period and its well-preserved public buildings and
obliterated most Republican architecture. There are high-rise housing, see later).

A Civic Forum with Capitolium

B Temple to Hercules bed
nt Tiber
C Late Republican City Wall ancie
D Garden Apartments
E House of Diana
F Horrea Epagathiana
G Theater N
H Forum Baths
se us

card
J Plaza of the Corporations s tiesnmaxim
A O
Via manu

o
u
Via de dec
lla Foce B

an
cie
nt
sh
or Ostia Castrum, 2 century
eli
ne

0 100 200 m bed

ient Tiber
anc

J
E C

F
G
B

A
H
D

an C
cie
nt
sh
or
eli
ne

Ostia, Imperial City, 2nd century CE

figure 1.23 Plans of Ostia, showing the castrum of the second century BCE (top) and the city of the second to third century CE
(bottom); rendered by Diane Favro.

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

A Capitolium
B Basilica A
C Curia
D Temple to Roma
and Augustus
(hypothetical reconstruction)

D E C U M A N U S M A X I M U S

D N
0 10 20 30 m

figure 1.24 Plan of the forum at Ostia, Hadrianic period; rendered by Diane Favro.

CO S A
in 273 bce, possibly on land conﬁscated from the
Etruscans (Figure 1.25). Approximately 300 settlers
One hundred and forty kilometers north of the capital and their families settled on the site, a promontory
city, the Romans established the Latin colony of Cosa 113 meters above the sea. A few decades later, the Via

A B

A Ty
C rrh
en
ian
Se
a

E
HJ
D G K
B
B F

A Gate D
B Reservoir D
l
C Warehouse
D Houses
E Arch
F Forum N
A
G Basilica/cistern
H Comitium
J Curia
K Shrine A N M
M Arx 0 50 100 m

N Capitolium
figure 1.25 Plan of Cosa with site map; rendered by Güzden Varinlioğlu.

Aurelia connected the new city with Rome, offering edges. Impressive stone walls enclosed an urban area of
the possibility of trade to the north by land as well as 13.25 hectares, with three main gates providing access.
sea. The Punic wars stalled development. Despite the The polygonal stone masonry emulated construction at
assignment of one thousand additional settlers in 197 other central Italian sites, while the addition of
bce, Cosa did not flourish (Livy 33.24). Residents on strengthening with interval towers attached to the
the hilltop site struggled to keep the city alive. Pirates outer face indicated awareness of Hellenistic military
sacked the city around 60 bce. Resettlement in the architecture. The wall circuit exploited the hilly terrain
Augustan period and the building of large neighboring for maximum protection. Within, a grid street plan
villas such as that at Settefinestre (see later) might have appears arbitrarily applied to the irregular terrain; on
slowed the process down, still the “intermittent city” closer inspection it reveals subtle adjustments to the
languished and was abandoned by the third century ce. landforms. Designers placed the religious focus on the
Although not a successful colony, its well-preserved eastern outcrop and the Forum on the relatively flat
state and documentation by American archaeologists area in the saddle between three heights, a multicen-
have accorded Cosa a dominant position in Roman tered urbanism that pervaded early Italy. After the
architecture. With its circuit walls and gates, blocks of resettlement of Cosa in the second century bce, an
houses, early bath, and small forum accommodating a estimated 248 houses began to fill in the network of
basilica, comitium, curia, temples and arch – all dom- streets, with plot sizes allocated according to the occu-
inated by a sacred hill or citadel (the Arx) with Italic- pants’ status.
style temples – Cosa is a textbook example of a In the early days of the colony, boundary stones
modest, but well thought-out Roman town. Excavator defined the future streets and Forum. The civic center
Frank Brown used the site to effectively portray how of Cosa lay at the junction of the main street from the
ritual and functional concerns interwove to make a northern gate and the broader processional way lead up
Roman city (Brown 1980). He described the founda- to the Arx. A large cistern at the Forum provided
tion ceremonies, with the mundus pit dug on Cosa’s settlers with water as they struggled to create a city.
southern citadel, and ritual plowing to define the urban Two generations passed before the civic center gained

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

formal definition (see Figure 7.1). Gradually architectural houses were almost twice the size of other domus
interventions defined the rectangular forum. A large, excavated at the site. Best studied is the large House
tripartite commemorative arch of faced concrete marked of Diana (18 25 m), which had an atrium with a pool
the entry to this civic space (c. 170 bce), one of the over a cistern, rear kitchen garden, small bath, and two
earliest Roman uses of this building form along with large shops facing outward, a form comparable to the
those at Pisaurum, Potentia, and Fundi. The regular- contemporary House of Sallust in Pompeii (see later).
ized shape of the forum may have responded to the Based on an analysis of Greek colonial precedents, as
rough configuration of the Forum Romanum in Rome, well as the houses in the colonial settlements of Fre-
as well as to the specific spatial needs of gladiatorial gellae, Alba Fucens, and Paestum, Jamie Sewell sug-
events and other public events. Holes found in the gests that the Romans utilized standardized house
open central space imply that temporary barriers may designs to minimize the economic and social challenges
have delimited areas for communal gatherings (includ- of new settlements.
ing voting) in the period before the construction of Climbing westward from the Forum, city dwellers
permanent facilities. The Comitium seems to have entered a fortified religious enclosure, the Arx, domin-
been circular, like those at Alba Fucens and Paestum ating the site and commanding the spectacular view of
(see later). This stepped, open-air assembly space could the shoreline toward both north and south (Figures 2.4
accommodate approximately six hundred people. and 2.5). Recent reassessment of the archaeological
Behind rose the Curia for meetings of the municipal data indicates early settlers erected a temple on the site
leaders. Surprisingly, the architects used polygonal in an Etrusco-Italic style with terracotta ornament and
masonry for the foundations of this hall, rather than a square plan. Residents in the second century bce
more economical mortared rubble. The Curia- replaced it with a grander structure. Rectangular in
Comitium configuration brings to mind Italian sanctu- plan, with a deep porch, three cellas, the new temple
aries with curved stepped seating fronting a rectangular was a Capitolium modeled after the great sixth century
structure as found at Tivoli and Gabii (see later). By bce temple to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva on the
the second century bce, the forum at Cosa boasted a Capitoline Hill in Rome (see Figures 2.1 and 2.2).
modest basilica with tribunal, temple, porticos, tree While Capitolia are found in numerous Italian cities,
planters, and paving (see Figure 7.1). this example is the only one in a Latin colony, perhaps
The basilica at Cosa, a good, early example of this indicating an attempt by the Cosans to underscore
type of Roman building, was one of the last additions their loyalty and identification with Rome during the
to the forum (c. 150–120 bce), fitting into the unoccu- lengthy Punic wars. Excavations by Elizabeth Fentress
pied northwest corner. A short rectangle (c. 40 by 16.5 have identified another Republican shrine (Temple E)
m) which opened into the forum along its full six- on the city’s eastern promontory. The building was
column frontage, the design was “simplicity itself”: an consciously archaizing, with a platform of large irregu-
internal colonnade (6 by 4 columns carrying tufa Ionic lar blocks similar to those used in the city walls.
capitals) defined a tall central “nave” lighted by a A smaller temple to the north, possible dedicated to
clerestory surrounded by a flat-roofed ambulatory. Mater Matuta, dates slightly earlier.
The roof of the nave was carried by wooden trusses While there is scant evidence for other religious
spanning circa 15 meters and rising to a height of circa buildings within the city wall, a temple to a sea god
10–12 meters. The back wall was articulated by a small, stood down by the water. Also along the coast were
rectangular exedra, or alcove, which would be used, as a lagoon, spring, natural harbor, and extensive fish-
Vitruvius tells us, as a tribunal. The form, location, eries, all sources of revenue. The Romans exploited
and structure bespoke of stark functionality, yet step- these assets, cultivating fish, making amphora and
ping over the two-steps that separated the building garum (a food paste made of fermented fish guts), and
from the forum space, the citizens of Cosa were transporting agricultural goods, most notably wine.
embraced by an expanse of generously proportioned, Along with other coastal and riverine settlements,
well-lighted hall under what could be seen in the Cosans developed the separate port facilities in the
context of this modest colony to be a daring roof. It late third to early second century bce, constructing
is likely that the Cosa basilica, in its Vitruvian typ- breakwaters and piers of pozzolana - lime concrete that
ology, was a “standard” recommended by a central set underwater – whose excavations and investigations
planning office in Rome, as can be seen by another in the 1960s and 1970s by a team lead by Margaret
late Republican basilica of comparable type at Herdo- McAnn was one of the high points of early underwater
nia (see Figure 7.10). archaeology. Over time, the Cosans widened a natural
The colony’s elite resided in houses flanking the crevice to regulate water entering the lagoon and
three sides of the Forum, providing city dwellers with developed an ingenious bucket-chain wheel system to
visible representatives of civic order. The Forum raise spring water. Despite the growing dominance of
40

Ostia and the ravages of pirates and storms in the first architectural influence were multidirectional, and
century bce, Cosa’s port endured, serving a large villa occurred across Italy, with similar configurations
complex. found throughout the peninsula, including at Etrus-
Ostia and Cosa display features that came to can and Greek sites. In the mid-Republic, Rome was
characterize Roman planned cities. In addition to a prominent participant in the evolution of broad
being directly connected to the Roman highway Italic trends in architecture, not an omnipotent gen-
system radiating outward from Rome, each colony erator of models. Rather than export specific build-
had an orthogonal urban layout, prominently placed ing forms, the state fostered commonality of designs
Capitolium, and forum. This rectangular civic space by establishing a robust communication infrastruc-
lay at the crossing of major streets flanked by the ture and promoting a shared governmental structure
structures associated with urban life: the Curia, and way of life that resulted in similar urban physical
Comitium, basilica, and portico. Given the Roman features and configurations. At the same time, local
centralization of power and influence at the capital developments exploited rich cultural exchanges to
city, it is tempting to see these urban forms as compete, and even outdo, the capital in architectural
generated in the capital and distributed throughout inventiveness.
Italy. For example, after examining the pairing of a
circular Comitium and Curia at Cosa, Fregellae, and
F R E GE L L AE
other Latin colonies, some scholars argued the com-
bination originated in Rome, reconstructing a simi- Fregellae stands as a model of a more advanced and
lar configuration in the Forum Romanum even prosperous inland Latin colony directly on the Via
though the remains there are fragmentary and not Latina, circa 95 kilometers southeast of Rome
securely dated. In recent years, close readings of the (Figure 1.26). Following the destruction of the earlier
archaeological evidence indicate that the lines of settlement by the Samnites, the Romans established a

0 100 200 m
F

A Forum
B Comitium
C
B C Curia
N D Houses
E Bath
F Sanctuary of Asclepius
D
VIA
LA
TIN
A

figure 1.26 Plan of Fregellae; rendered by Güzden Varinlioğlu.

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

colony of citizens in 328 bce, an incendiary act that Fregellan houses provide invaluable information about
precipitated the Second Samnite War (the Samnite Republican architecture. One domus displays an invent-
Wars were a string of battles from 348 to 290 bce ive decorative scheme merging the style and typology
between the Roman Republic and the Samnite tribes of a narrative frieze familiar from Greek examples, with
powerful in the Apennine Mountains and Campagna, historical Roman military subject matter – a painted
which ended with Rome’s domination of the entire terracotta frieze at eye level documenting the victorious
Italian peninsula from the Po River in the north to efforts of Fregellan troops in Eastern campaigns (early
Magna Graecia in the south). Throughout the numer- second century bce; Figure 1.27). The residences also
ous conflicts of this war in the early third century bce, reveal experimentation with various building tech-
Fregellae’s residents remained fiercely loyal to Rome. niques, including compressed clay (pisé) walls resting
The site lay in the lush valley of the Liris River close to on tiles. At Domus 7 it is possible to trace occupation
the venerated shrine of Jupiter Latiaris in the Alban throughout the city’s two-hundred-year lifespan, docu-
Hills and the temple to the all-important healing god menting gradual expansion until the last phase, when
Asclepius on the slopes directly above the city. Its the structure underwent a radical change to accommo-
critical location promoted interaction with the diverse date repurposing as a fullonica (fullery or wool processor),
cultures occupying this part of Italy. As a leading and perhaps in response to the immigration of Italic peoples
prosperous city center, Fregellae attracted immigrants involved with wool production.
from several regions. Livy recorded that in a single year Nestled between houses is a spectacular bath complex,
(177 bce) 4000 families of Samnites and Peligni perhaps the most important and advanced architectural
relocated there (Livy 41.8.8). After a revolt over citi- feature of the city (Figure 1.28). Dated from the late third
zenship rights broke out in 125 bce, the Romans to early second century bce, the baths at Fregellae are
reacted harshly in an attempt to prevent a general among the earliest known in Italy. Despite the early
uprising among the Italian Allies. They razed the city date, the complex is fully formed, with all the major
and relocated citizens to Rome and allowed other components of a Roman bath in full operation. The
survivors to rebuild nearby at the docking area on plan follows what was later called the “Pompeian” row
the river. type (although the Fregellae baths are earlier!) with the
The walls of Fregellae enclosed an area of major spaces and functions well differentiated. A central
approximately 80 hectares, which was bisected by a furnace heated water for bathing, as well as heated air to
major road (or Cardo Maximus) identified as the Via circulate under floors raised on proper hypocausts and
Latina. The north-south highway passed directly through clay pipes in the walls. Even the vaulted roof of
through the long axis of the rectangular Forum the caldarium was heated by a system of hanging terra-
(144 55 m), an arrangement that must have pre- cotta tiles similar to the system described by Vitruvius.
sented unresolved traffic issues, although similar The building has two isolated sections (one larger, one
arrangements of a Roman town or forum bisected smaller) indicating the separation of users, probably by
by a major road occur elsewhere (see Philippi, later in gender. These baths predate known examples at Rome
this book). Excavations begun in the 1970s (not yet and even Campania, underscoring that the dynamism of
fully published), uncovered double rows of pits or Italian cities during the Republic was not simply attrib-
post holes along the short sides of the forum. Lead utable to the Greek dominated Campania or to the
excavator Filippo Coarelli postulates these were used Naples region. Drawing on the rich influences of
to divide the space for voting in the same way as Latium, Samnium, Campania, and Magna Graecia, Fre-
occurred at Rome. At the Forum’s northeastern gellae appears to have been a resourceful provincial
corner are a circular Comitium conjoined with a center, in some respects even more advanced than the
rectangular Curia (senate house) with rooms along famously conservative capital city.
the east and west sides, with a surrounding U-shaped
portico. These features are now re-buried.
P A E S T UM
Excavated streets indicate the city had an orthog-
onal layout, with blocks about 67 meters in width. In the wars between Greeks and Romans in the third
Along the street east of the Comitium excavators have century bce, Greek Poseidonia south of Naples chose
carefully preserved a series of houses displaying the the wrong side. The victorious Romans claimed the city,
canonical plan type and axial configuration of the renaming it Paestum and imposing a colonial settlement
typical Republican domus. Traces of an aqueduct along in 273 bce. In contrast to Cosa, born the same year,
the street affirm the availability of water, negating any Paestum had a long history. Founded as a Greek colony
need for tanks under the pools in the atria. The three centuries earlier, it was conquered by the

figure 1.27 Detail of interior wall decoration with terracotta reliefs, Domus 2 at Fregellae; rendered by Diane Favro.

Lucanians in the late fifth century bce. Arriving at this unorthodox capitals with female heads. Adjacent stood
well-established city with its grid plan and three grand a circular stepped Comitium dated to the early years of
Doric temples, the Romans colonists pragmatically Roman occupation. In contrast to examples in northern
chose to insinuate themselves within the existing urban Republican cities, the round assembly area lay before a
framework rather than undertake a traumatic reworking long building with several rooms, rather than a more
(Figure 1.29). They first repaired the city walls and then identifiable senate house placed on center. The overall
began to add Roman components acculturated to the conceptualization of Paestum’s Forum recalls Hellenis-
local traditions, as evident in the construction of atrium tic market places rather than Roman fora. Designers
houses and laying out of a forum (Figure 1. 30). The situated the buildings without regard for symmetry or
Romans imposed a prominent Italic temple (possibly to the primary axes. Small post holes surrounded the entire
Bona Mens) on one side of the existing civic center, central forum, perhaps once used to support awnings or
possibly to Bona Mens. The structure had an Italic plan to segregate voting groups. The addition of a portico
with three cellas, a high podium, and deep porch. At the composed of reused Doric columns, unified the large
same time, this building boasted a Greek-influenced space (57 150 m) and masked the more Greek-style
superstructure including a Doric entablature and structures such as the gymnasium.

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F
N

C G

0 5

E C
H F?
A Entry
E B Peristyle
C Pool
D D Apodyterium/tepidarium
D E Caldarium
F Service
G Palaestra?
H Praefurnium (furnace)
B C
Womens section

figure 1.28 Plan of Republican bath at Fregellae, showing men’s and women’s sections; rendered by Diane Favro.

ALBA FUCENS
dominated the surrounding mountainous territory.
The high position (1000 m) and relative proximity to
Wherever highways went, architectural and urban Rome (100 kilometers) made Alba Fucens a preferred
ideas followed. After defeating an Italic alliance of detention center for important state prisoners and
tribes (led by the local Aequi) in 303 bce, Rome other detainees. Like Cosa, the site encompassed three
settled six thousand colonists at Alba Fucens (Fucen- hills. Around the city rose massive walls and beyond
tina) in the height of the Appenine Mountains in them the high mountain peaks that protected as well as
central Italy. At the crossing of major roads leading contained the occupants (Figure 1.31). The Romans
to the Adriatic and Campania, as well as the Fucine expanded and strengthened the city’s fortiﬁcations
Lake, the city commanded a strategic location and (Figure 1.32). The well-preserved walls, originally from

figure 1.29 Plan of Paestum; rendered by Diane Favro.

F E
D

C
A

A Shops
B B Carcer
C Comitium
D Italic Temple
E Piscina of gymnasium
F Market
figure 1.30 Reconstruction of Republican forum at Paestum; rendered by Diane Favro.

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

the mid-third century bce but modified later, follow a planting. The plan was geometrically precise, with the
circuit of circa 3 kilometers built of polygonal masonry nave measuring twice the width twice of the aisles,
and concrete faced with opus incertum. A faithful sup- and half that of the entire structure. The basilica’s
porter of the state during the Samnite and Social Wars, wider central intercolumniation reinforced the align-
Alba Fucens reaped the benefits. The city continued to ment with the forum. Directly behind this large meet-
flourish in the first century bce even after opposing ing hall was a market structure with a central, circular
Sulla who in response gave surrounding land to his open space. Four of the market’s rooms impinged on
veterans. the basilica; these have been identified as either a later
The grid plan of Alba Fucens predated Roman commercial expansion or as storerooms created in the
occupation. During the boom years of the late substructures or the basement of the basilica’s tribu-
second and early first centuries bce, the Romans nal. Southeast of the market a small, early Temple to
refined and enhanced the orthogonal layout. They Hercules could not be enlarged due to religious
developed several long rectangular blocks as the city’s restrictions. To compensate, Roman architects created
civic center, combining structures for governing, wor- a large fronting quadriporticus (35 75 m) with
ship, and commerce, with baths and an adjacent double rows of columns. Conceptually (if not liter-
theater for leisure. A large forum (142 43.5 m) ally) the long colonnaded space reinforced the dom-
spread southward from the Comitium, possibly first inant axis running from the Comitium, across the
defined by the early colonists (Figure 1.33). Porticos forum, through the basilica and market building to
probably flanked the stepped circular assembly area the temple complex, a configuration that presages the
inscribed in a square stone base (20 m); no traces of designs of later Imperial fora. On the south edge of
an adjoining Curia building remain. At the opposite the city, an elliptical amphitheater was created in the
end of the forum rose a basilica begun in the late first century bce, pragmatically nestled into a natural
second century bce. The wide façade fronted a porti- slope. Along with the amphitheater of Pompeii (see
coed platform with regularly aligned pits, probably for later), it provides a good, simple, and early example of

figure 1.31 General view of Alba Fucens looking northeast; CaesarGJ via Wikimedia.

A Comitium
B Forum
C Basilica/public structures
D Temple complex to Hercules
E Theater
F Amphitheater
G North terrace
H City gate
J Temple
G

B H

H
J
C D E

H
F
J

0 200 m

figure 1.32 Plan of Alba Fucens; rendered by Youssef Maguid and Diane Favro.

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

A Comitium
B Forum
C Temple
C D Portico with postholes
E Basilica
F Market (macellum)
G Baths
H Temple and portico to Hercules
B J Republican houses
K Theater
N

D
0 50 m

F J

figure 1.33 Plan of forum at Alba Fucens; rendered by Diane Favro.

this basic Roman building type set in an impressive sculpture, and acres of wall paintings which appeared
natural setting. to be preserved almost intact in their architectural
settings.
The popularly imagined picture is not wholly
P OM P E II
correct. In what actually happened a very large por-
In the Last Days of Pompeii (1834), Edward Bulwer- tion of the population was able to escape, taking with
Lytton’s popular Victorian novel, now hardly read, them whatever they could carry and trying to hide the
the suspenseful story is set against the historic and rest. Soon after the city was destroyed and for
quasi-mythic background of the doomed Campanian decades to come, legitimate owners of properties as
city. Ione, the Greek girlfriend of Glaukus, an Athen- well as ordinary looters returned, and dug through
ian nobleman, is admired by all for her charming the buried city, opening tunnels, crudely cutting
ways which could magically transfer this “trite and through walls and removing whatever they could.
commonplace earth” into a beautiful place – the Thus, quite contrary to appearances, Pompeii is
“trite and commonplace earth” implying, presum- hardly a city whose remains present us with undis-
ably, the commercial setting of pre-eruption Roman turbed archaeological layers and contexts. Further-
Pompeii filled with newly-rich shopkeepers where more, the city had suffered an earlier major
Ione and Glaukus lived. When the couple miracu- earthquake in 62 ce, which left almost all of it in
lously escapes the sudden devastation of the town by ruins. Many of the damaged buildings were still under
Vesuvius, they settle, not in Rome but in magical repair and reconstruction seventeen years after the
Athens, their happy turn symbolizing the civilized quake when the city was terminally struck. This par-
superiority of Greece over Rome. While Bulwer- tially explains why the recent, heroic surveys of tens of
Lytton had shaped his story to court and to confirm thousands of objects from dozens of houses and hun-
the pro-Hellenic prejudices of his Victorian audi- dreds of rooms (now mostly in museum basements)
ence, the belief in the presence of an all-pervading with the goal of better illuminating the nature of
and superior Greek culture in Hellenized Campania domestic and public space have largely been somewhat
and Pompeii romantically echoes down to our day. inconclusive because what was left or stored did not
Yet this popular vision is now being transformed in necessarily belong to the space in which it was dis-
large and small ways by the archaeological work of covered. A loom in the atrium might mean that this
the last two or three decades. important space of the house was at least partly
Pompeii holds a special place in Roman studies women’s domain, or that the loom had been dragged
because of its sudden and tragic devastation when there during the last, untidy reconstruction of the
Mount Vesuvius erupted on 24 August 79 bce, house. Still, these methodical explorations have been
burying the town and the region around it in thick invaluable in giving us a sense of architectural contexts,
layers of volcanic ash and pumice 3–5 meters deep, as well as social and gender uses. We realize that
and in the case of Herculaneum, a city close on the contrary common expectations, there was a great deal
southwest slopes of the mountain, in volcanic mud of flexibility and practicality in the use of domestic
down to 15–18 meters. Discovery and excavation space in Pompeii; spaces altered their function easily
which started in the mid-eighteenth century were at according to the season, the time of the day, and the
first little more than a glorified form of treasure hunt need of the moment. Thus, unlike a Greek house (or a
mainly to benefit the art collections of the Bourbon Victorian, or an Islamic one) where privacy and gender
kings of Naples (and plain looting for everyone else) separation was paramount, the Roman atrium house
until the systematic and scientific excavations started allowed men and women (and often the slaves, too) to
in 1860 by the brilliant Italian archaeologist Giuseppe occupy and use the same rooms with remarkable ease.
Fiorelli. Work continued in the twentieth century by As pointed out by L. Nevett, short-term and long-term
his capable countrymen V. Spinazzola (1910–1923) and activities designed for major spaces often overlapped as
Amadeo Maiuri (1923–1963). What was unique, the practical and messy needs of daily life trumped
immensely exciting, and tragic was the early discovery hard definitions of grand architectural scenarios
of life interrupted on its tracks by the eruption – (Nevett 2010, 116–118).
people and animals trapped in volcanic debris – not Pompeii’s excellent location on the southern
the usual partial and piecemeal destruction and dis- coast of the Bay of Naples, on a high spur of land
placement of the material context achieved over time. overlooking the mouth of the Sarno River, connected
Generations of archaeologists and art historians have by coastal and inland routes to Naples, Stabiae and
been at work sifting through, recording, evaluating, other Campanian cities, largely explains its success as
and conserving the tens of thousands of artifacts, a regional commercial center (Figure 1.34). Evidence

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

Cumae
Puteoli Naples VESUVIUS
Baiae
Herculaneum

r
ive
Misenium

oR
rn
Sa
Oplontis Pompeii
Nuceria
ISCHIA BAY OF NAPLES
Stabiae

Sorrento
Rivers
Aqueducts
Roads

Villa d’Iovis
CAPRI
0 10 20 km

figure 1.34 Plan, Bay of Naples; rendered by Michael Rocchio and Diane Favro.

of agrarian communities on the lava hill reaches back and entrance porch are the works of the Julio-Claudian
to the seventh and sixth centuries bce. These were period (Figure 1.37).
indigenous Samnite/Oscan tribes. However, contrary
to earlier beliefs, recent investigations indicate no
SAMNITE PERIOD
densely built, Hellenized Samnite town occupying the
southwest quadrant of the present day Pompeii during The next long stage in Pompeii’s urban history roughly
the sixth and fifth centuries (Figure 1.35). The Hellen- covering the period from the fourth through the
ized Altstadt (Old Town) theory is largely a myth. In second centuries bce is also one that stamped the city
the words of an Italian scholar who conducted some of with a distinct architectural color and character. But,
the cutting-edge research on the city, archaic Pompeii oddly, it is also the most vague, with open questions
was “still a settlement with wide open, undeveloped about the chronology, development, and interpretation
spaces with occasional wooden structures and some of its architecture. Traditionally referred to as the
soft lava masonry buildings” (Carafa 1997, 28). There Samnite Period, (and vaguely paralleled by wars
were two monumental exceptions to this bucolic pic- between the Republic and the Samnite tribes for the
ture of archaic Pompeii: the Temple of Apollo, a large control of central Italy; see earlier), it is represented by
peripheral temple of the Greek type next to the market important but incremental changes in the shaping of
place (later forum); and the Doric temple (c. 530 bce) the city and its public image, rather than by distinct
located southeast of the settlement on a separate high, architectural advances propelled by grand notions of
narrow terrace, which was later called the Triangular Greek city planning. The crucial creation of the street
Forum, really a sanctuary (Figure 1.36). Only the fine grid for the whole of the city, a more orderly develop-
tufa capitals of the latter remain. The Doric temple, ment of the crude and irregular pattern that was
probably originally dedicated to Athena/Minerva and restricted to its southwestern quadrant, happened
Hercules, might have been a wood and terracotta through the late third and second centuries bce. This
structure elevated on a podium like many central was also the period when the new grid was gradually
Italic temples of that period. A wooden fence and filled with houses (see Figure 1.35). Many residences
ditches surrounded the open space around the faced the street with shops, restaurants and the ubiqui-
temple. After several rebuildings, the temple was tous Pompeian thermopolia (bars or fast-food stores
redecorated in the second century bce; the area with open marble counters for snacks and drinks);
around it was furbished by altars and a colonnaded some were connected to a pleasant back garden or an
tholos sheltering a well. The elegant Doric peristyle of inn for the convenience of travelers. Public fountains
the sanctuary and the monumental Ionic colonnade flanking, or in, the streets provided cool water

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rendered by Michael Rocchio.
figure 1.35 Plan of Pompeii;
Porta di Capua

Porta di Nola

A Porta del Vesuvio UNEXCAVATED

Via
del
le T Porta di Sarno
om
be
UNEXCAVATED
Porta di H
Ercolano
B

G J nza
C da R
A Villa of the Mysteries bon T
ll ’ Ab
B Villa of Diomedes de
Via
C House of Sallust E S
D Forum Baths
E Temple of Fortuna Augusta D
F Forum K
G House of the Faun Q
H House of the Golden Cupids F
P UNEXCAVATED
J Central Baths N
K Stabian Baths ina
Mar N
Via
M Triangular forum M
Porta
N Large Theater
Marina
P Sanctuary of Isis Porta di Stabia
Q House of Menander
R House of Loreius Tiburtinus
S Palaestra 0 150 m
T Amphitheater

51
Urban Design and Architecture in Rome and Italy during the Republic and the Early Empire

via
H

St
ab
B

ian
a
J M

K
D
G E

A
N
A City Walls G Bench
B Ionic Porch H Samnite Palaestra
C Triangular Forum J Large Theater
D Doric Temple K Colonnaded courtyard
E Altars M Odeon 0 20 40 m
F Tholos with well N Temple of Isis
figure 1.36 Plan of Triangular Forum (“Doric Temple”), Samnite Palaestra and the theater quarter, Pompeii; rendered by Güzden
Varinlioğlu, Diane Favro.

(Figure 1.38). The city’s irregular circuit of defense neighborhood north of the “old settlement” (south-
walls and gates in fine tufa and limestone ashlar were west quadrant). These large tufa houses with their
constructed during this period. However, even at the lofty atriums in the old, austere Tuscan style and
end of the city’s life in 79 ce the area within the walls strong axial layouts duly impress (Figure 1.39). The
had not been quite filled, leaving plots of land undevel- sober elegance of their street facades, imposing door-
oped, or kept as vegetable gardens. ways, lightened by finely-cut, discreet ornamentation
Some of the largest and wealthiest residences, bear witness to Pompeii’s deep roots in its indigen-
such as the House of the Faun and the House of ous Samnite/Oscan past (Figure 1.40; see Figure 5.8).
Pansa, are located in the new, regularly laid out Despite a superficial resemblance of the larger houses

figure 1.37 View of the Ionic porch of the Triangular Forum, Pompeii; photo by Wilhelm von Plüschow (c. 1895) via
Wikimedia.

with sumptuous peristyles to the Hellenistic resi- language and culture that spread weakly over Cam-
dences and palaces of eastern Mediterranean, there pania, and when convenient, cultivated it. In some
is really little that is Greek about their architecture. way they must have felt that their subscription into
Yet, the Samnite elite who spoke Oscan at home, and this distant but more advanced culture of the plains
preferred slap-stick Oscan comedies to Greek drama pulled them away from the lifestyle of their proud
in their newly arrived Greek-style theater, were per- and rough mountain ancestors. Copies of Greek
fectly aware of the sheen and glitter of the Greek sculpture and paintings inspired by Greek subjects

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

figure 1.38 Typical street view, Pompeii; Photo by Diane Favro.

0 5 10 25 m

House of the Faun House of Pansa House of the Labyrinth

figure 1.39 Plans of the House of the Faun (VI.12); House of Pansa (VI.6.1); House of the Labyrinth at Pompeii (VI.11.10); rendered
by Diane Favro.

filled their houses and mirrored their desire to adopt Another favorite haunt of the youth and their
and display this socially prestigious, but imported, parents would have been the newly constructed
culture. This prominent artistic taste might be theater (c. 100 bce) mentioned earlier (see Figures
judged in some cases as superficially acquired, but 1.35 and 1.41, Plate 1B). This structure was situated at
one has to be exceptionally cynical to think that such the southwest end of the town, next to the Doric
widespread exposure to the refinements of Greek Temple, on the natural slope down toward the Sarno
culture, borrowed or not, would not have created River. A couple of generations earlier than any per-
some genuine appreciation and a genuine desire to manent theater in Rome (the earliest was the Theater
emulate it – and for some, perhaps, even a genuine of Pompey, c. 55 bce), the design followed the Greek
understanding of it. How can one otherwise explain type, with the great semicircular seating (cavea or
the creation of a major masterpiece like the “Alexan- auditorium) separated from the small, free-standing
der Mosaic” (“Battle of Issus”) which occupied its stage building (scaena). The connection of the cavea
own shrine-like chamber in the House of the Faun? with the stage by a vaulted passage and the expansion
Or the so-called Samnite Palaestra tucked behind of the upper cavea seating belong to the Augustan
the Large Theater and the Triangular Forum (see period. The large colonnaded courtyard behind the
Figure 1.36), whose modest outlay (its running track, stage with its seventy-four Doric columns in tufa
arranged as a simple xystus, was probably laid under might have been added soon after the theater was
the east colonnade of the latter) belies its import- completed and could have served to protect the spec-
ance as the quintessential Greek educational insti- tators “when sudden rain interrupts the play”
tution frequented by the town’s privileged youth? as Vitruvius usefully recommended (5.9.1) (see

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

figure 1.40 Reconstruction of a typical street view of Pompeii in the Samnite period; Hugo Horn (1938).

Figures 1.36 and 1.42). But that is a lot of colonnade forum of Pompeii, the focus of its public life and
for a relatively low-use building, and sudden showers public ambitions (Figure 1.43). L. Ball and J. J.
are not that often in the region. Its primary use could Dobbins, who have been conducting an intense study
have been, as Matteo della Corte once suggested, a of the forum since 1997 (“Pompeii Forum Project”)
special gymnasium for the town’s elite, Hellenized recommend caution: even in the second century bce
youth (later organized as the Juventus under Augustus). the architectural outlook of the forum was “relatively
Some later time in its life this ample facility appears slight” and there was no built up urban center (Ball
to have been given over (perhaps partially) for the and Dobbins 2013, 464). At the end of the second
training and use of gladiators as suggested by the century, the oblong forum clearing was neither paved
discovery of copious gladiatorial combat gear found nor its boundaries firmed up by colonnades (thus still
in its premises. keeping its one-time “village green” memory). How-
While there is much work waiting to be done in ever, the enclosure wall of the precinct of Apollo
the field (not to speak of in the notebooks and store (which had replaced the old archaic temple) defined
rooms of old excavations), all indicators point to its western side, and its eastern side retained the
the second century bce as the period when the urban alignment of a row of shops (tabernae) and atrium
development of Pompeii took a distinct and some- houses. If an earlier, Samnite version of the
times monumental form – and continued through the Capitolium (state temple to Jupiter, Juno, and Min-
decades when Pompeii became a Roman colony and erva) existed around 120–100 bce, it disappeared later
was eventually folded into the empire. Nowhere is the to make room for the massive structure built during
record of this civic, institutional and architectural the Sullan period dominating axially the north end of
advancement more cogently expressed than in the the forum.

figure 1.41, plate 1b View of the Large Theater and palaestra (partial at right) at Pompeii; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

T HE S U L L AN CO L O NY
mixed, multi-ethnic communities of traders and mer-
chants and could easily take the rising power of Rome
Pompeii backed the wrong side during the Social Wars in its stride, adapting to its benefits and burdens.
of 90–88 bce, when Rome fought its rebellious Italian Romanization in Campania, just as Hellenization had
allies and after some serious setbacks, won; the city was been, was a practical and relative concept. Nonetheless,
besieged by Roman forces led by the general Sulla and change was in the air and nothing shows this datable,
surrendered. No severe punishment ensued except its measurable change better than the accelerated pace of
loss of nominal independence. In 80 bce Pompeii was establishing new Roman institutions and buildings to
made a Roman colony with the resounding name house and express them.
Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum, echoing both Sul- Foremost in the new order of business was the
la’s clan name Cornelia, and his alleged link to Venus, forum that assumed a formal look with the addition
the mythic progenitor of Roman people. It was settled of a three-sided colonnade defining its southern side
by a large contingent of Sulla’s veterans, possibly as (“Portico of Popidus” as designated by an inscription
many as three to four thousand. Hence started a new in Latin), as well as three administrative offices at its
period which saw the Samnite town fold into the south end and a Comitium for assembly at the south-
Republic’s cultural and political life as Latin gradually east corner (Figure 1.44). More ambitious and visible
replaced Oscan and the Roman foot replaced the was the building (or, rebuilding) of the Capitolium.
Oscan foot as the standard of measurement. The old Raised on a tall podium whose simple, handsome tufa
Samnite aristocracy, the owners of the fine tufa houses profile is still impressive; the massive temple with its
with grim entrances must have lost some of their social wide porch and six Corinthian columns properly
privileges, but not their prosperity. Soon gaining the belongs to the central Italian type. It forcefully domin-
coveted Roman citizenship, they enjoyed both wealth ates the space. Set against the distinctive profile of
and even greater privileges. Pompeii, located at the Mount Vesuvius behind it, the Capitolium defines
crossroads of sea and land, had always supported Pompeii’s forum (see Figure 1.56). Equally distinctive

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figure 1.42 Detail of palaestra colonnade behind the Large Theater, Pompeii; Photo by Fikret Yegül.
58

and ambitious in shaping civic authority and presence massive, single roof with no clerestory. The columns
was Pompeii’s basilica, probably started very early in and their engaged counterparts on the sidewalls are
the life of the colony if not somewhat before that, circa constructed in specially molded wedge-shaped bricks
120 bce, as earlier scholarship maintains. In either case, veneered in white stucco, a practical, old-fashioned
it is one of the oldest Roman basilicas built touch. There is a two-story high tribunal at the west
(Figure 1.45). Located at the southwest corner of the end displaying a wide, low pediment carried by Cor-
forum and entered from its short side by way of a inthian columns rising on a podium. The entrance
columnar porch, the basilica is a long, rectangular from the short side with a tribunal at the end of the
building measuring 68 meters by 26 meters (c. 300 long axis is atypical in standard Roman basilica design
88 RF). The central nave is surrounded by aisles on (Vitruvius ﬁrmly recommends long side entrances, as
four sides; monumental columns rise over 10 meters his own basilica at Fanum had, and as many early
supporting a gallery over the aisles and above a basilicas such as those at Cosa and Alba Fucens

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

A Macellum
B Cult Building
M C Precinct of Imperial Cult
A D Eumachia Building
N E Comitium
F Curia
M G City Oﬃce
B
L H Basilica
J Via Abbondanza
C K Temple of Apollo
L Vegetable Market
D M Arch
N Capitolium (Temple of Jupiter)
J
K N

H E
G G 0 40 80 m

figure 1.44 Plan of Forum in the ﬁrst century CE, Pompeii; rendered by Diane Favro.

figure 1.45 General view of the Basilica from the forum, Pompeii; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

indicate); however, the narrow frontage available at the appropriate for the premier administrative and judicial
Pompeii forum shows how ﬂexible such theoretical building of a newly minted “Roman” city, which was
rules and recommendations were in their application. probably anxious to take its ofﬁcial duties with self-
The size, design, and details of Pompeii’s basilica conscious seriousness. The east side of the forum
reveal a provincial sense of classicism and formalism appears to have been little changed with its motley of

shop fronts hiding the older Samnite houses behind entertainment center, a gift to the new colony by two
them. An early version of the macellum, market building, Roman magistrates, Quinctius Valgus and Marcus
without the distinctive central tholos of its later phase, Porcius (Figure 1.47).
might have occupied the northeast corner of the forum. By the end of the first century bce, the main theater
was enlarged by increasing the seating capacity along
the upper cavea and encircling it with a vaulted passage
T HE O D E U M A N D T HE A M P HI T H E A T E R that connected the building with the Triangular Forum
The Roman presence and taste in the city was estab- and the Samnite Palaestra. These major renovations
lished early on by two major projects serving recre- were paid by Marcus Holconius Rufus, three-times
ational and sportive purposes. The first was an odeum duumvir, the descendent of an old family, which made
(referred to as the “small theater” or as the theatrum its fortune as wine merchants; Rufus inscribed his
tectum/“covered theater” in the inscription) next to the name on a marble seat reserved for him on the desir-
large theater (see Figures 1.36 and 1.45). Seating some able sixth row of the theater.
twelve hundred to fifteen hundred spectators, it was Described by its inscription as a spectacula, or a
mainly used for concerts and music, as well as civic “viewing area,” the amphitheater of Pompeii was
assemblies like a Greek bouleterion. Its traditionally another massive entertainment facility dedicated to
designed curved seats were confined into a box meas- gladiatorial combat, an activity that would have natur-
uring c 30 28 meters; timber trusses made possible ally appealed to the tastes of the newly settled ex-
the daring span of 26 meters, eliminating the need for soldiers. Its capacity (twenty to twenty-two thousand
internal supports. Concrete was used for vaulted spectators) far exceeded the town’s needs and was
internal passages and for exterior walls with opus incer- clearly intended to also serve the cities and commu-
tum facing. The odeum’s fine design and decoration – nities of the whole region. The dedicatory inscription
elegant curved steps terminating the cavea accentuated (c. 80–70 bce) identifies the donors as Quinctus
by telemone figures carved in tufa – indicate its Valgus and Marcus Porcius, the two magistrates whose
importance as a component of the newly fashioned generosity to the odeum has already been mentioned,

figure 1.46 General view of the Odeum, Pompeii; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

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figure 1.47 Detail of curved seating, Odeum, Pompeii, viewed from the entrance; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

and emphasizes the distinctive meaning of this gift ima cavea, respectively) separated by parapet walls and
honoring the colony and its privileged colonists. divided into wedge-shaped sections (cunei) by stairs.
Pushed to the southeast corner of the city, the The upper portions of the cavea are supported by a
amphitheater is an experimental structure and the concrete peripheral wall 2.2 meters high, strengthened
earliest of its kind in the Roman world (see Fig- on the outside by shallow barrel vaults. Six exterior
ures 1.35, 1.48, and 1.49). The typical activities of an stairs, four of them in pairs, provided the direct
amphitheater, like gladiatorial combat and wild means of access to the upper level seats (Figure 1.50).
animal shows or hunts (venationes), previously took In addition, four vaulted tunnels led directly from the
place at ad hoc locations such as the forum or the exterior to a vaulted interior ring corridor and an
circus, which did not offer the best conditions for open sunken passage between the lowest and middle
the games or the spectators. Rome’s ﬁrst permanent cavea seats (Figure 1.51). Two of these long tunnels are
amphitheater dates no earlier than 29 bce. The connected to the major northwest and southeast gates
marginal location of the amphitheater in Pompeii opening into the arena on its long axis. These internal
allowed easy access to the crowds coming from the tunnels and the ring tunnel (ambulationes) provide a
neighboring cities, but also offered the structural relatively easy access to most of the middle and lower
advantage of using a section of the city wall for seats but unlike the amphitheaters of later periods,
support. Further advantage was gained by sinking part they do not create a complete and efﬁcient network of
of the amphitheater (c. 138 102 m) into the ground circulation. Subterranean facilities for gladiators and
thus resting the lower tiers of seats on natural earth wild beasts typical of the fully developed imperial era
embankments. The cavea is divided into three zones, amphitheater are also absent, not because venationes
upper, middle, and lower (summa cavea, media cavea, and (animal hunts) had not yet been introduced in

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figure 1.49 General view of interior of the amphitheater, Pompeii, with Vesuvius in the distance; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

figure 1.50 Exterior view of the amphitheater with stairs, Pompeii; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

Pompeii at this point in time, but rather because the seats well separated from the rest by an annular
structural and architectural reﬁnements of the amphi- sunken corridor and parapet walls, was undoubtedly
theater had not yet been worked out. In contrast, reserved for magistrates, prominent citizens, and pos-
reﬁnements dealing with social hierarchies had. Assur- sibly for the veteran colonists; the uppermost seats
ing the class divisions of spectators, the lowest tier of were for women and slaves. Pompeii’s auditorium and

0 10 20 30 40m

figure 1.51 Lower level plan of amphitheater, Pompeii, showing vaulted interior corridors; rendered by Alex Maymind.

its combative and competitive entertainments appear (floor raised on small pillars under which hot air and
to have been well liked and popular. A fight that gasses could circulate). This is one of the earliest
erupted during a game in 59 ce between the towns- applications of the superior hypocaust heating system
folk and the visiting Nucerians spilled out well (“floor heating”) although it is preceded by the baths
beyond the arena into the Great Palaestra west of at Fregellae, a Latin colony in Latium, southeast of
the building and became the subject of a well-known Rome (Figure 1.28). The latter boasted hypocaust-
painting. Decorating the house of a former gladiator, heated floors, a heated pool, and partially heated
the spirited depiction presented in partial bird’s-eye walls and vaults, and dated from the early part of
view, kindled a sense of immediacy and reality that the second century bce (see earlier).
underscores the crucial importance this institution and The Stabian Baths were renovated in the Sullan
building played in the colonial life and culture of period (c. 80 bce) by the addition of a circular, domed
the city. laconicum (sweat chamber), which was later trans-
formed into a frigidarium by adding a circular cold
pool in the middle of the chamber. The rudimentary
P OM P E IA N B A TH S
courtyard of the Samnite building was replaced by a
Pompeii stands at the source and crossroads of proper palaestra encircled by a three-sided colonnade
another quintessentially Roman recreational (and with a large outdoor swimming pool (natatio) on the
hygienic) institution – the public baths, or balneae. west side, underscoring the social and sportive import-
One of the earliest examples of the type, the ance of exercise as a part of the bathing agenda
Stabian Baths, situated east of the forum at the (Figure 1.54). During the Augustan era, these and all
corner of Via Stabia and Via dell’Abbondanza, Pompeian baths received running water from the aque-
began its life in the late fourth century bce with duct that supplied the town.
a Greek-style row of hip-baths in unheated dark The design of the Stabian Baths with its row of
chambers warmed by braziers and supplied with parallel, functionally related and barrel-vaulted rooms
water from a deep well by buckets (Figures 1.35, 1.52, (apodyterium-tepidarium-caldarium-frigidarium) satis-
and 1.53). This setup was replaced in the late second fies structural efficacy and reflects the proper order
century bce by a larger building with separate men’s or usage in Roman baths, a progression from the
and women’s sections heated by a proper hypocaust unheated to heated areas and return in the reverse

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

A Apodyterium
T Tepidarium
la E C Caldarium
F Frigidarium
F/A
/ A N Natatio
b b
E Entrance
E
T V Vestibule
Pa Palaestra
se C la latrine
se se service
se b hip baths
sh N Sh shops
Pa
Women’s section
C

F T

V A

sh E sh

figure 1.52 Plan of the Stabian Baths, Pompeii; rendered by Fikret Yegül (after Eschebach).

figure 1.53 Restored perspective of Stabian Baths, Pompeii; rendered by Marie Saldaña (after Eschebach).

order. This arrangement represents the most common of the work started during the Sullan period; both
and rational bath plan known as the “single-axis shared the same goals and served the same physical
row type;” it is composed of a number of parallel, and symbolic needs of the new colony. In another
rectangular, barrel-vaulted spaces placed next to a col- sense, they brought fresh vision and impetus in
onnaded courtyard, or palaestra. Once established in expanding the ideas and projects that underscored the
Fregellae and Pompeii, the type and its numerous ideologies of the empire.
variants remained popular in the West and the East There is no doubt that the most visible of these
well into the Byzantine era. Pompeii provides us with developments were centered in the forum. But, let
several examples of the row-type baths, such as the us first consider a few special projects outside of it.
Forum Baths located north of the forum and dated One that impacted the life of the whole city was
by an inscription to 80 bce, clearly a bath that the aqueduct of early Augustan date that brought
responded in some haste to the newly swelling needs running water to the growing number of public
of the veterans. Like the Stabian Baths, the Forum baths and numerous public fountains distributed
Baths has separate men’s and women’s sections across the city. These urban water sources with
with shared heating and water supply services between simple stone basins and carved spigots have become
them. The wide apse of the men’s caldarium housing civic icons (see Figure 1.38). The aqueduct was a
a labrum (a basin around which the bathers could branch of the larger line serving the fleet at Mis-
stand) is probably a later refinement; the windows cut enium, the naval harbor at the west end of the Bay
in the barrel vault are awkward and provide scant of Naples. It entered the city at the Vesuvian Gate
illumination to dispel the atrabilious atmosphere where the main collecting tank, castellum aquae, was
(Figure 1.55). located. Considering that Rome by that date had
Even as the last decades of the Republic were five or six major aqueducts (the first was Aqua
drawing to a close, the design and technology of baths Appia, 312 bce), one wonders why it took so long
were undergoing major changes. Aqueducts supplied for Pompeii to enjoy piped water – and, realize, with
copious running water to public baths preferentially. a healthy dosage of realism, that despite its growing
Baths began to use water not only for washing, or wealth and fancy houses, Pompeii was at heart a
functional purpose, but for extravagant displays, fea- provincial Samnite town and aqueduct supplied water
turing pools, fountains, and cascades for visual enjoy- was a privilege, or even a luxury, only sophisticated
ment; the most elaborate and luxurious aquatic displays cities enjoyed.
became characteristic of the great Imperial thermae of If the Augustan aqueduct served the city’s long
the later years of the empire (admired by Seneca when overdue water needs, the building of the Temple of
he exclaimed: “quantum aquarum per gradus cum fragore Fortuna Augustus at the visible corner of the two main
labentium!” “What masses of water falling, crashing streets north of the forum served the double political
down in cascades!” Letters 86.7). The Suburban Baths goals of pleasing and honoring the state and its new
of Pompeii, located just outside the Porta Marina and emperor (see Figure 1.35). It was erected early in
dated to the beginning of the first century ce, are a Augustus’ imperial career (c. 20–10 bce) by Marcus
good example of the new design: a single set of larger Tullius, a one-time duumvir and a leading citizen, on his
bathing rooms with an indoor swimming pool placed own land and with his own money, significantly
next to a small palaestra. The caldarium features a extending the visibility of the emerging “cult of
wide, projecting apse with large windows, confirming emperor” from its usual locus in the forum to the
the emphasis on well-lighted interiors. The clearest streets (Figure 1.57). The temple, raised on a podium
statement of the new, rationally conceived row-type supporting four tall Corinthian columns, with a deep
plan is provided by the Central Baths in Pompeii, porch, wide cella articulated by a shallow apse and side
whose orderly arrangement of parallel vaulted halls niches for statuary, exploited the typical Italian
next to the palaestra created a unified frontage with a emphasis on height and frontality, but its lower plat-
row of windows separated by brick half-columns form holding the altar and projecting well into the
(Figure 1.56). They were still unfinished at the final public space like a street stage, is an unusual and
destruction of the city. effective feature. Even if tight land conditions were
responsible for this, the joining of the street with the
sanctuary was a good design touch. Although the
A U G U S T AN AN D J U L I O- C LA U DI AN
temple had undergone restorations after the earthquake
P OM P E II
of 62 ce, the lavish use of white marble and fine
In one sense, the Augustan architectural and urbanistic ornament, part of the original building, indicate the
achievements in Pompeii were a natural continuation influence of Rome on early imperial Pompeii.

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figure 1.54 View of the palaestra in the Stabian Baths, Pompeii, looking northwest; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

figure 1.55 View of men’s caldarium with labrum; windows cut into the vault and semidome, Forum Baths, Pompeii; Photo by Fikret
Yegül.

figure 1.56 Exterior of Central Baths, Pompeii, with windows and half columns; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

T HE E A R L Y I M P E R I A L F O R U M
peristyle building with a double-story interior colon-
nade which terminated on the far side by a central
Starting with the reign of Augustus and continuing apsidal exedra flanked by smaller apses – Eumachia’s
into the decades of his Julio-Claudian followers, the complex (Figure 1.60). The central space was prob-
forum of Pompeii achieved the appearance of a ably planted as an “urban garden” surrounded by
cohesive and defined civic space by the addition galleries of statuary. A three-sided, vaulted crypto-
peripheral colonnades (especially the west side in porticus ran behind this colonnade. Recorded by an
front of the precinct of Apollo) and a fine paving inscription on the side entrance from the Via del-
in travertine (see Figures 1.43, 1.44, and 1.58). The l’Abbondanza, the complex was dedicated by the
sense of imperial presence was enhanced by the priestess Eumachia, the patroness of the powerful
placement of commemorative monuments honoring corporation of wool-makers and wool merchants
the imperial princes and local heroes in the central (fullones) to Concordia Augusta and Pietas. Since
area of Pompeii’s Forum, equestrian statues in front the cult statue of Concordia found in the building
of and flanking the steps of the Capitolium, and displays a marked resemblance to Livia, Augustus’
portrait and sculpture displays inside the porticos as wife, the allusion to the empress and the popular
depicted in a wall painting from the house (or Augustan themes of harmony, peace, and prosperity
paedia) of Julia Felix (Oliveti 2013; Figure 1.59). At are justified. It is likely that Eumachia knew the
the north end of the forum a pair of triumphal empress and was inspired by her lavish gift of the
arches served as civic gates, giving a sense of formal Porticus Livia in Rome (c. 7 bce), also dedicated to
entrance to the forum and setting off the great Concordia Augusta. If so, Eumachia’s marble-veneered
temple dramatically. building in Pompeii, smaller but more elaborately
By far the greatest changes in the forum were conceived, serving complex honorific, cultic, as well
made on the east side. The cozy-looking row of as practical functions related to the wool guild sur-
shops and old atrium houses behind them were razed. passed its larger model in the capital.
At the south end, behind a monumental Doric por- A late Augustan addition on the east side, directly
tico, a wide marble doorway gave access to a large north of the Eumachia Building, is the precinct for

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figure 1.57 Temple of Augusta Fortuna,

Pompeii: reconstruction by W. Weichardt
(1907), above and contemporary view,
below; Photo by Diane Favro.

the imperial cult or cult of Augustus, formerly known north of the Augustan shrine. Entered from the
as the Temple of Vespasian (Figure 1.61). Still under forum through a prominently composed façade of
repair and reconstruction at the time of the catas- eight columns, the main space is nearly a square
trophe, the rectangular enclosure has no internal (19.9 18.2 m) dominated at the far end by a broad
colonnade; instead its walls are articulated by shallow and deep apse to display statuary framed inside a
aediculae with alternating triangular and segmental niche (Figure 1.62). Deep rectangular exedrae, smaller
pediments separated by brick pilasters. At the far niches, recesses, and podiums provide a sense of
end, elevated on a podium and approached by side dynamism to the side walls. Displaying a marble
steps, is a small temple with four frontal columns, paved floor and rich marble veneered walls termin-
probably dedicated to the genius of Augustus, as ated by a strong, undulating cornice, the central space
indicated by its dedicatory inscription on a marble was probably open to the sky. In view of the spatially
architrave by the priestess Mammia, sacerdotes publica. articulated design, quite unmatched in Pompeii, we
A handsome marble altar in front of the shrine agree with Filippo Coarelli’s suggestion that this cult
depicts the sacrifice of a bull in front of a cult temple enclosure was probably a Neronian project, perhaps
in low relief. originating from a Roman workshop (Coarelli
Another building dedicated to the imperial cult 1976, 122). The building was still in ruins and left
and probably conflated with the worship of the unrepaired (its marbles severely looted) at the time of
Lares, the city’s protecting deities, was located just the eruption.

figure 1.58 General view of the forum, Pompeii looking toward the Capitolium with Vesuvius in the distance; Photo by Fikret Yegül.

figure 1.59 Reconstruction view of the Forum north end with Capitolium, Pompeii, by W. Weichardt (1907).

Yet another latecomer to the Pompeian forum north of it (see Figures 1.35 and 1.44). The present
was the market building, or the macellum, occupying a building, a large rectangular enclosure with a colum-
relatively unobtrusive location at the northeast nar, circular pavilion in the middle surrounded by
corner also accessible easily from the main street internal and external shops, must be a post-62 ce

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A
B C

N A Portico facing forum

B Entrance
C Statue of Concordia Augusta
0 10 m D Passage to Via Abbondanza
E Statue bases
figure 1.60 Plan of the Eumachia Complex in the forum at Pompeii; rendered by Youssef Maguid.

figure 1.61 View of the precinct of the Cult of Augustus, also known as the “Temple of Vespasian”(left), Pompeii; Photo by Fikret
Yegül; reconstruction of the same by Weichardt (1897, right).

construction. The main entrance from the forum was the east side of the forum, the center position of the
preceded by a columnar portico and a row of shops far end of the macellum, too, was sanctiﬁed by an
which mask the slightly divergent orientation of the aedicular structure associated with the imperial cult,
macellum – most likely a leftover from an earlier, simpler a podium inside a recessed chamber approached by
market building. As in the other complexes occupying frontal steps. Partial remains of a statue indicate that

0 5 10 15 20 m

figure 1.62 Plan and structural diagram of the Imperial Cult Hall (“Lararium”) at Pompeii; rendered by Marie Saldaña (after J. J.
Dobbins 1997).

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Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

it was occupied by the seated image of an emperor, ones being rebuilt and renovated, and all seemed to
like “Jupiter on his throne.” The middle chamber be undergoing redecoration. Prominent examples
was flanked by rooms that probably served as market include the House of the Menander, the House of
offices. Statues of tutelary deities of commerce, other Vetii, and the miniature villa known as the House of
members of the imperial house and high ranking Loretius Tiburtinus with its extensive garden and
local officials connected to the market must have sumptuous water display (see later). The quality of
accompanied the imperial image in the central cham- the newly introduced so-called fourth style in wall
ber. With its characteristic central tholos (compare painting was often compromised in proportion to its
to other market buildings such as the one in Lepcis popularity. Leaving behind its centuries old Hellenized
Magna; see later), the market in Pompeii represents a Samnite past, Pompeii was becoming a newly rich
relatively simple and early example of a widely known town enjoying its affordable luxuries and populist
type that goes back to the macellum in Morgantina, tastes.
Sicily, dated to the second century bce. And it might It is interesting that the Roman state which
have served as a real, or memory model, for the more typically sent out massive measures of help to its
elaborately designed and better-preserved macellum of distant provinces struck by natural disasters (such
nearby Pozzuoli, probably started soon after Pompeii as western Asia Minor after the earthquake of 17
ended its life. ce) seems to have done little to alleviate the ravages
The inclusion of the imperial cult in one architec- of the earthquake suffered by towns and communities
tural context or another in almost all of the complexes in its Italian backyard. Pompeians were largely left to
in the forum, in addition to the free standing imperial their own devices and commercial tastes when
images under its porticoes, is a telling reminder of rebuilding their devastated city. Having given priority
Pompeii’s special position as a latecomer into the to their residences, this situation might explain the
political fold of the Roman state and thus its extra somewhat unorganized, piecemeal fashion in which
sensitivity to promote the state cult; it also shows the public buildings and institutions were being returned
remarkable pertinacity and flexibility of the protean to life: while some seem to have been finely restored
cult in popular and civic contexts. Perhaps, this was at the time of the eruption, others were limping
one acceptable, traditional way the former Samnite along; some were hardly touched, lying in ruins.
(and one-time rebellious) town could display its Scholars have noted that contrary to expectations,
redemptive political piety. Another was the architec- none of the major, municipal temples of the city,
tural and visual prominence of its “streets of tombs” even the Capitolium, received priority attention. Yet,
outside its gates – Vesuvian, Nucerian, Herculanean. a small, privately funded shrine to a foreign cult with
Although these had started centuries back, the growing a small, devoted following – the Temple and Sanc-
size, variety, and creativity of these sepulchral monu- tuary of Isis behind the Large Theater and the
ments as altars, exedrae, tricilinia, towers, and mini- Triangular Forum – was rebuilt immediately after
ature temples lining the street leading to a gate impress the earthquake (see Figure 1.36).
the visitor even now (Figure 1.63). In Pompeii, as in any The unusual architecture of this temple and its
Italian city, they were designed to display perhaps the precinct deserves a moment’s notice, all the more so
personal piety, but certainly also the wealth and social because public architecture in Pompeii (perhaps,
status of its leading citizens. As succinctly observed by with the exception of the amphitheater) is conserva-
Paul Zanker: “Travelers through Italy could make tive and traditional. The same is true for building
comparisons and assess the consequences of a city even technology which, despite Campania’s well-known
before they entered it; they could also learn the identity contributions to the development of opus caementicium,
of the most prominent local households . . .” (Zanker retained a preference for trabeated structures and
2001, 76). traditional materials. Hemmed inside a walled and
porticoed enclosure (23 20 m, 8 x 7 columns), the
Temple of Isis has a shallow cella and broad porch
T H E L A S T Y E A R S O F P O M P E II
with four Corinthian columns. The podium is
Pompeii must have looked like an untidy construction ascended by steps rising only between the widely-
site in the seventeen years between the earthquake and spaced, central pair of columns (Figure 1.64; see also
its final curtain call in 79 ce. Yet, as much as we can Figure 1.36). The construction, including the
tell from our incomplete archaeological record, there columns of the precinct, is in brick finished in
was randomness to what was being rebuilt and repaired stucco; the columns and the capitals of the temple
and what was not, and to what degree and in what are in Nucerian tufa. Flanking the cella and
manner. New houses were being constructed, older expanding the porticoes like wings is a pair of small

figure 1.63 Reconstruction of the “Street of Tombs,” Pompeii, looking southeast toward the Porto Ercolano; rendered by Marie
Saldaña.

pedimented pavilions with arched niches; the effect compassionate goddess promising salvation and eternal
would have been like miniature, independent aediculae life through purification and redemption. Closely knit,
dominated by, but not integrated into, the compos- it was a cult generally favored by soldiers, slaves,
ition created under the main pediment. Located on working class, and women. Although the cheaper,
the southeast exterior corner of the temple complex, practical construction of the precinct reflects the
facing directly the precinct entrance, is a small free- modest nature of the cult and its followers, the lavish
standing shrine, the purgatorium, serving the purification use of fine detailing, stucco ornamentation, and paint-
rituals of the Isis cult (Figure 1.65). The façade of this ings belies this notion of modesty. In fact, the complex
structure is simple and starkly distinguished: four and its decoration was made possible by the wealthy
pilasters with Corinthian capitals carry a pediment freedman N. Popidus Ampliatus, whose generosity
broken by an arch – an early form of the so-called honored his six-year-old son and aimed to provide
Syrian pediment (frontone siriaco) in the West recalling him a position in the city council and the elite society
the oriental nature and origins of the cult. It is also that had eluded his once-slave father.
a rare example of an architectural motif that finds One last question – or, a set of related ques-
many complex and sophisticated variations in two- tions – remains. Following the fantasy of historical
dimensional form in second and fourth style paintings reconstruction, one can ask what Pompeii would
common in the city. have looked like in the later centuries of the empire
The cult of Isis, originated in Egypt, was estab- if Vesuvius had not done its grim and ghastly job.
lished, or at least popularized in Pompeii, by the Would it have continued to rise with the empire’s
large infusion of the veteran soldiers of Sulla. The rising fortunes, and grow as a larger and wealthier
present complex is a rebuilding of an earlier one, version of itself? Having outlived its formative years
probably from the last decades before the establish- in the elegant shadow of Greek culture, would it
ment of the colony, c 100–80 bce. The cult was have succumbed to lackluster provincialism fostered
intensely personal, emphasizing beliefs in a by a society of newly rich merchants and

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https://doi.org/10.1017/9780511979743.002
Roman Architecture and Urbanism: From the Origins to Late Antiquity

figure 1.64 Plan and reconstruction of the Temple and Precinct of Isis, Pompeii; rendered by Diane Favro.

figure 1.65 View of the Purgatorium (with “arched pediment”) in the Sanctuary of Isis, Purgatorium, Pompeii; Photo by Fikret
Yegül.

shopkeepers, occupying the “trite and commonplace Ball, L. F. and J. Dobbins. 2013. “Pompeii Forum Project:
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famous river harbor eclipsed by the new maritime 461–492.
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Rome and Timgad

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Rome and Timgad

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1

City wall 0 500 1000 m

Lake Bracciano Capena

Pyrgi Allia Alba Fucens

figure 1.3 Topographic map of central Italy; rendered by Diane Favro.

figure 1.5 Plan of Marzabotto; rendered by Güzden Varinlioğlu.

figure 1.16 Reconstruction diagram of the rotating

figure 1.17 Plan of Theater

A Civic Forum with Capitolium

0 100 200 m bed

Ostia, Imperial City, 2nd century CE

figure 1.26 Plan of Fregellae; rendered by Güzden Varinlioğlu.

figure 1.29 Plan of Paestum; rendered by Diane Favro.

figure 1.33 Plan of forum at Alba Fucens; rendered by Diane Favro.

A Porta del Vesuvio UNEXCAVATED

figure 1.38 Typical street view, Pompeii; Photo by Diane Favro.

House of the Faun House of Pansa House of the Labyrinth

figure 1.57 Temple of Augusta Fortuna,

N A Portico facing forum

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