It is well known that Roman architecture was inspired by two great cultures: Greek and Etrusca. Of the former, the Romans made the sense of beauty, and appropriated marble and the well -known classic orders: the Doric, the Ionic and the Corinthian. However, the use of these orders used them to a merely aesthetic and unstructural use, unlike the Greeks. For their part, from the Etruscans learned the construction techniques that would make them reach their splendor: the arch and the vault. Later, the mixture of both cultures would give rise to two more classical orders: the Tuscan, which is a reinterpretation of the Doric order, as it adds a basement to the lower part of the column, and also, it keeps it smooth, and the compound, whose capitel combines the scrolls, of the Ionic, with the acanthus leaves, of the Corinthian.
However, for the Roman architecture He reached his cusp, he had to appeal to durability, and achieved it thanks to the selection of his materials. The stones and marble were fundamental to their constructions, but The concrete was the key material for the Roman legacy. Thanks to concrete, the arch and the vault were explored to the maximum by the Romans, and created buildings such as the Colosseum, which still stand.
Despite the time, some works of Roman architecture are still maintained.Ryszard Zaleski / Pexels.
What architecture left the Romans?
The civil character of Roman architecture is its greatest legacy. The Romans concentrated their efforts to build a functional city, and therefore allocated their resources to buildings whose uses were essential for society, that is, the cultural, religious, funeral, engineering, commemorative, and finally, and finally, housing.
Cultural architecture demonstrates the interest of the Romans in public spaceand is probably responsible for his triumph over the rest of ancient civilizations; By recognizing the need to give their residents a recreation space, he created a sense of union and community that promoted them as a nation. The theaters, amphaters, circuses and public bathrooms are some of the most notable examples within this category. On the other hand, the religious character held great temples and the first basilicas. These buildings had the characteristic of being built with the best materials, because not only ceremonies were held, they were also destined for political events. The pantheons and mausoleums, within the funeral use, were vital for the organization of Roman cities, since there was great respect for the dead, in addition to controlling the spread of diseases by incinerating the deceased and placing the ashes in niches. As for the area of engineering, it is considered one of the most important contributions to future cities, since its road network made evident the cosmopolitan vision of ancient Rome. The bridges were other of the great Roman infrastructure, but the aqueducts represent innovation made architecture, since they were those that allowed a prosperous and lasting settlement. Roman architecture demonstrates its capacity in the commemorative spherebecause the only purpose of these buildings was to glorify their military triumphs. It was common for the Romans to build large columns and arches, called «triumph.» Finally, is the Roman house, which highlighted the user's habitability. With the typical columns of classical orders, the Domus It was divided into two volumes, the first was of a social nature, and the second, the private. Each of the volumes had its own central courtyard (or peristyleas the Romans called it), and the rest of the covered spaces were distributed around them.