Roman Architecture Research Articles

A MONUMENTAL MID-REPUBLICAN BUILDING COMPLEX AT GABII

Excavations at the Latin city of Gabii in 2012–15 conducted by the Gabii Project have uncovered a monumental building complex, hitherto known only very partially from previous excavations in the 1990s. Organized on a series of three artificial terraces that regularized the slope of the volcanic terrain, it measures some 60 m by 35 m, occupying an entire city-block. It is prominently situated at one of the most central locations within the city, on the main urban thoroughfare at the important intersection of the roads from Tibur, Praeneste and Rome. Stratigraphic evidence and construction techniques date the original phase of the building to the mid-third century BC. This report focuses on a contextualization and description of this first, mid-Republican phase and offers a preliminary interpretation of this complex as a public building, with spaces designed for a variety of functions: bathing, public feasting, and ritual activity. If this is correct, it now represents one of the very few examples of public buildings other than temples and fortifications known from the mid-Republican period, and sheds important light on the development of Roman architecture and of the Latin cities in a crucial and obscure period.

Biology and Architecture: Two Buildings Inspired by the Anatomy of the Visual System.

Architectural production has been influenced by a variety of sources. Forms derived from nature, biology and live organisms, had often been utilised in art and architecture. Certain features of the human anatomy had been reflected in design process in various ways, as imitations, abstractions, interpretations of the reality. The correlation of ideal proportions had been investigated throughout centuries. Scholars, art historians starting with Vitruvius from the world of ancient Roman architecture, described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the classical orders of architecture. This study aims to investigate two contemporary buildings, namely Kiasma Museum in Helsinki and Eye Museum in Amsterdam, inspired directly from the anatomy of visual system. Morover the author discussed the relationship of biology and architecture through these two special buildings by viewing the eye and chiasma as metaphors for elements of architecture.

Русский дипломат в Риме: миссия князя Б. И. Куракина (1707 г.)

The relations between Russia and the papal state in the first years of the Northern war are analyzed. Describes the background to the trip B. I. Kurakin in Rome in 1707, gives a brief overview of the contacts of the Russian state with the States of the Apennine Peninsula at the turn of XVII - XVIII centuries. The personal qualities of the first Russian Ambassador to the court of the Pope are evaluated. Particular attention is paid to the tasks and negotiations held by Kurakin during the execution of his instructions. The description of court ceremonial, diplomatic traditions of Rome is investigated. For a better understanding of the personality, mentality of Kurakin, the article considers the attitude of the Ambassador to the religious holidays of the Catholic state, the everyday life of the population, the ways of spending leisure time by the representatives of the Italian aristocracy. The interest of the Russian diplomat to the historical monuments of Rome, as well as other attractions is noted. The author comes to the conclusion that the trip to the Pope had a contradictory result. Because of the difficult international situation Kurakin failed to achieve support from the Holy see. On the other hand, the information he received enriched domestic diplomacy with valuable experience of relations with a foreign state, and the Russian society with knowledge of traditions and customs of one of the European countries.

Urbanizacija bosanskohercegovačkih prostora u vrijeme rimske uprave / The urbanisation of Bosnian and Herzegovinian areas under the Roman rule

After the conquest of the Bosnian and Herzegovinian territory, the Romans launched numerous campaigns so this region and its population could be incorporated into the Roman life and Roman civilization of that period as quickly as possible. They believed that this is the only and the best way to make themselves the masters of this region. As part of their extensive activities, those that focused on systematic and full implementation of urbanization in the present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina were especially important. This long process encompassed the infrastructure construction, modelled on the Italic cities, villages, economic and other facilities. The first steps of the Roman authorities were to construct modern and high-quality roads, i.e. a powerful road network that would facilitate a faster and stronger connection between settlements and economic resources around present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Publius Cornelius Dolabella, who served as an imperial governor of the province of Upper Illyria from 14 th to 20 AD, had a special role in the implementation of this plan. The construction of the first roads began upon his initiative and under his strict supervision. He intended to establish a better connection between the regions of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina with the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. These first roads created good foundation for a complete urbanization of this area. th Along with the road construction, the Romans launched the activities that included new settlements, firstly along the Roman roads, then at the crossroads, and then in the regions had were rich in resources. Each settlement, in its appearance, dimensions and layout of facilities and its infrastructure, had to correspond to the Roman building standards. The first settlements were built along the roads. The most famous sites of urban settlements include: Grkovci and Pelva (Livno plateau), Halapići and Salvium (Glamoč plateau), Pecka (the Sana river valley), Baloie (Šipovo), Bjelajac (Mrkonjić Grad), Castra, Laktaši, Gornji Šeher (Banja Luka), Servitium (Bosanska Gradiška), Delminium (Duvno plateau), Varvara (Rama river valley), Ad Matricem (Gornji Vakuf), Bistue Nova (Bugojno), Višnjica (Kiseljak), Ilidža (Sarajevo plateau), Domavia and Skelani (central Podrinje), Blagaj, Maslovare and Bosanski Novi (the Sana and Japra rivers valley), Golubić (Bihać), Bigeste (Čapljina), Leusinium (Bileća), Diluntum (Stolac), Ad Drinum (Drinjača) as well as many others, but less known. Urbanization had many positive effects in all aspects of work and life of local inhabitants from that period in the region of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. A road network was established, as well as numerous economic activities, lifestyle standard and social relations were raised to a significantly higher level, many settlements (cities and villages) and many cultural monuments were built.

Diana E. E. Kleiner. Review of "The Genesis of Roman Architecture" by John North Hopkins.

Diana E. E. Kleiner. Review of "The Genesis of Roman Architecture" by John North Hopkins.

Visibility analysis of the Roman communication network in southern Scotland

This paper uses GIS and visibility analysis to examine if Rubers Law fits into the known Roman communication and infrastructure network of towers, forts, camps and roadways in southern Scotland. Rubers Law is a prominent hill in the Scottish Borders with an extensive archaeological history, and the discovery of approximately 30 Roman building stones on the summit in the early 20th century led to the conclusion that it had been the site of a Roman signal station, despite a lack of concrete evidence for a Roman occupation. Visibility and intervisibility from the Roman towers was analysed using four types of viewshed analysis: regular, cumulative, fuzzy, and probable. The results were analysed to determine what would be visible from Rubers Law from a tower between 7m and 10m high. The various viewshed methods were also compared; it was determined that regular and cumulative viewsheds over predict visibility, while fuzzy and probable methods are more robust. Based on this analysis, a tower on Rubers Law could have been a major relay station, passing messages from Brownhart Law and Craik Cross Hill to Eildon Hill North and Newstead Roman Fort.

I romani grandi costruttori

Hubstract made for art produced two documentary videos for Calce viva, exhibition set up during the restoration of the complex and the hemicycle at the Museum of the Imperial Fora at the Markets of in Rome. The first video “Techniques and materials of ancient construction” descr ibes the construction techniques and the constituent materials of the roman building with 3D models, technical diagr ams, films, etc.. The second video “The monument and the city” tells the story of the building complex Mark ets of Trajan from its foundation to the present day.

Urban Heat Island Effect on the Energy Consumption of Institutional Buildings in Rome

The urban heat island (UHI) effect is constantly increasing the energy consumption of buildings, especially in summer periods. The energy gap between the estimated energy performance - often simulated without considering UHI - and the real operational consumption is especially relevant for institutional buildings, where the cooling needs are in general higher than in other kind of buildings, due to more internal gains (people, appliances) and different architectural design (more transparent façades and light walls). This paper presents a calculation of the energy penalty due to UHI in two institutional buildings in Rome. Urban Weather Generator (UWG) is used to generate a modified weather file, taking into account the UHI phenomenon. Then, two building performance simulations are done for each case: the first simulation uses a standard weather file and the second uses the modified one. Results shows how is it necessary to re-develop mitigation strategies and a new energy retrofit approach, in order to include urbanization ad UHI effect, especially in this kind of buildings, characterized by very poor conditions of comfort during summer, taking into account users and occupant-driven demand.

Giles Worsley Rome Fellowship: Living heritage: the adaptive reuse of ancient buildings in Rome

Giles Worsley Rome Fellowship: Living heritage: the adaptive reuse of ancient buildings in Rome

Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology

Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archaeology

Valorisation of Cultural Heritage in Sustainable Tourism

The paper reflects upon the models of development of cultural tourism in the city of Pula, Croatia, through cross-border international partnerships. Confronting global trends with local commitment to sustainable development, the authors set the hypothesis that heritage tourism, based on the strategic valorisation of unique cultural resources, could strengthen the identity and economy of the local community, create new jobs, increase the quality of life of local residents and the pleasure of visitors, improve the image and attract investors. The analysis of European examples of good practice indicated possible models of sustainable management and valorisation of specific categories of heritage, which could at the same time enhance the process of urban regeneration and social revitalization. The conducted research research indicated advantages of transnational cooperation in improving capacities for the sustainable use of the city’s most valuable assets: the oldest historic city core on the eastern coast of the Adriatic, the Roman monuments including the Amphitheatre, the nearby Brioni islands and the legacy of the former Austria’s main naval port with its powerful fortification system.

Three‐dimensional reconstruction of a masonry building through electrical and seismic tomography validated by biological analyses

ABSTRACTIn this paper, we present an integrated approach, for assessing the condition of an ancient Roman building, affected by rising damp and cracking phenomena. The combination of high‐resolution geophysical methods, such as seismic and electrical tomography, with biological information, allowed a more detailed evaluation of the state of conservation of the masonry building. A preliminary three‐dimensional electrical survey was conducted to detect the existing building foundations and to determine the variation of the resistivity in the ground. Then, electrical and seismic tomography investigations were carried out on an inner wall of opus caementicium, subjected to rising damp effects and cracks. This approach was adopted to obtain a high‐resolution image of the wall, which allowed to identify the inner mortar and the outer brick component from resistivity and velocity contrasts. Furthermore, the geophysical results revealed evidence of wall fractures (indicated by low velocity and high resistivity values) and a significant volume where rising of damp was taking place (resulting in a low resistivity zone). Biological analyses validated the geophysical model: in fact, the biological proliferation occurred up to a height of 0.75 m, where the interface between high and low resistivity values was recovered. This approach can be employed to reconstruct a three‐dimensional model of masonry structures in order to plan recovery actions.

The Spaces of Citizenship: Mapping Personal and Colonial Histories in Contemporary Italy in Igiaba Scego’s La Mia Casa È Dove Sono (My Home is Where I Am)

As Italy has changed from emigration country to immigration destination, the growing body of literature by migrant and second generation writers plays an important role in connecting discourses on race and national identity with the country’s increasing diversity and its colonial past. This essay investigates the 2010 memoir La Mia Casa È Dove Sono (My Home is Where I Am) by Igiaba Scego, the daughter of Somali immigrants, as life writing that responds to these changing demographics and, more broadly, to the migration trends affecting contemporary Europe. The self Scego constructs through her narration integrates her Roman identity and Somali background as the narrative returns colonial history to Italian public discourse and public space. I argue that by narrating the personal and historical in the context of Roman monuments and neighborhoods, Scego’s memoir challenges and redefines who can be “Italian,” modeling a more inclusive Italianità. I discuss the memoir in terms of its use of collective memory and its development of a narrative “I” that claims a position within a collective identity while challenging the exclusionary tendencies of that very group. This article was submitted to the European Journal of Life Writing on June 8th, 2016, and published on July 17th, 2017.

Comment nourrissait-on les oiseaux dans la rotonde de la voliere de Varron (rust. 3, 5, 4)?

Abstract: This article proposes a new interpretation of part of varro’s description of his aviary, i.e. rust. 3, 5, 14-15. more precisely, it considers the method of feeding the birds in the cage in the tholus, which is different from the method of feeding them in the cages in the porticoes (rust. 3, 5, 11). in the cages in the porticoes, the birds are fed per retem, while in the cage in the tholus they receive their food sub retem. the reason for this difference is to be found in the materials chosen for building the cages and the reasons for these choices. Keywords: roman villa, varro’ res rusticae book iii, varro’s birdhouse, Casinum, roman architecture, luxus.

An Attempt to Integration of Different Geophysical Methods (Magnetic, GPR and ERT); A Case Study From the Late Roman Settlement On the Island of Rab in Croatia

AbstractIn 2016 within the RED Project Roman Economy in Dalmatia: production, distribution and demand in the light of pottery workshops, 5 selected areas around the Podšilo Bay were geophysically surveyed. During the fieldworks in the Lopar protected area, located in the northeastern part of the Island of Rab a gradiometer, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were used. The main aim of the project was to document presence of the Roman architecture in two areas of the bay’s hinterland as suggested earlier by finds of pottery and glass. Geophysical studies conducted in the Lopar area revealed presence of underground remains of ancient structures, probably from the late Roman period and connected with a ceramic production centre at the present seashore. The most interesting results were obtained for the area no. 4, the site where magnetic, georadar and ERT surveys revealed an ancient regular building at 0.4-0.6 m depth. The survey performed in the Lopar area clearly indicates that integration of different geophysical methods enables detailed and effective identification of buried archaeological structures.

A numerical prediction of the passive cooling effects on thermal comfort for a historical building in Rome

In recent times, numerical simulations are increasingly gaining ground for the energy saving and thermal comfort evaluation of historical buildings.In the present paper a transient 2D model of the Pavilion 2B of the Ex-Mattatoio (Past abattoir) in Rome is presented, created by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software based on the finite element method (FEM). The simulations take into account time variations and interactions between indoor and outdoor thermal conditions, with the aim of evaluating different usage profiles and of estimating passive cooling effects in presence of natural ventilation and high thermal masses.The main goal of this work is to show the CFD numerical models potential in quantifying the cooling effects and the indoor thermal comfort conditions, in order to enhance passive and hybrid strategies based on natural ventilation and nocturnal thermal masses precooling.

Chemical analyses of Roman wall paintings recently found in Paphos, Cyprus: The complementarity of archaeological and chemical studies

The ancient city of Nea (New) Paphos lies on the south-western coast of Cyprus. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1980. Archaeological surveys and excavations led on Fabrika Hill, on the north-east acropolis of the ancient city of Hellenistic and Roman Paphos revealed the existence of important Hellenistic quarries, water supplies and houses of the same period. An important Roman building was found, with traces of wall paintings in different spaces. In order to confirm the relative chronology of this Roman building given by archaeological stratigraphic and stylistic analyses, as well as technical observations, twenty-five samples of different kinds of wall paintings were collected for chemical analyses of inorganic and/or organic constitutive materials. Frescoes have been identified and all the pigments were of mineral origin. At least two different phases in the Roman building on the northern part of the site and another probably older kind of wall painting on the southern part have been successfully differentiated.

Review: Roman Architecture in Provence, by James C. Anderson Jr.

James C. Anderson Jr. Roman Architecture in Provence Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012, 303 pp., 155 b/w illus. $99.99, ISBN 9780521825207 James C. Anderson Jr.'s Roman Architecture in Provence aims to provide a survey of Roman architecture and town building in the modern French region of Provence. While Provence was not a Roman province in itself, it is notable for the survival of a number of impressive buildings that have played a pivotal role in our understanding of the architecture of the Roman west, such as the amphitheaters at Arles and Nimes, the theater at Orange, and the houses of Vaison-la-Romaine. These monuments provide tantalizing material for any architectural historian of the Roman period, and they deserve the attention they receive within the scholarly literature. Anderson seeks to describe this evidence, discussing some of the dating issues connected with the buildings’ construction. This focus raises the question of whether the dating and description of buildings is enough in itself, or whether this material would be better served by an examination of broader historical and architectural issues. The book is divided into four very unequal chapters. The first, titled “Historical Overview: Roman Provence/‘Provincia Nostra,’” provides a chronological narrative of the development of Provence/Narbonensis as an administrative entity from the late second century BCE through to the fourth century CE. It also raises two key ideas to be explored within the book: the process of cultural change or Romanization seen …

Caput Mundi: An Analysis of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus as a Case of Etruscan Influence on Roman Religious Architecture

While Roman architecture is often generalized as being primarily of Greek influence, there are important periods where other influences can be clearly identified. This paper considers the Etruscan, Greek, and Villanovan influence on Roman religious architecture through an examination of the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maxmius, also known as the Capitolium, and argues that the temple is ultimately of primarily Etruscan influence.

In This Issue

Other| June 01 2017 In This Issue Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians (2017) 76 (2): 138. https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2017.76.2.138 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation In This Issue. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 1 June 2017; 76 (2): 138. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/jsah.2017.76.2.138 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of the Society of Architectural Historians Search While Le Corbusier's famous “journey to the east” has been the subject of numerous investigations as an important chapter in the great modernist's formative years, his days in Romania while en route to Constantinople are thinly covered. Le Corbusier and the Romanian Cula helps to fill that gap by focusing on one important detail: discovery of the identity and location of a much-discussed building he sketched while there and its importance for both traditional Romanian architecture and Le Corbusier's emerging vision of modernity. Judith Bing's discussion of her long search and unexpected discovery draws on firsthand knowledge of vernacular architecture in the Balkans, including Romania, and a long-standing interest in the early travels and subsequent modern architecture of Le Corbusier. Public spaces of protest in ancient cities, whether deliberately crafted or organically formed, can prove elusive, but the existence, appearance, and function of such spaces should not be ignored... You do not currently have access to this content.