Pantheon Monument in Rome
Posted by in Architecture on July 15, 2011
What must you know about the famous Pantheon monument in Rome? What is certain is that Pantheon is appreciated throughout the world and its secrets still intrigue us, its beauty and symbolism still inspire. Its story, how it was built and why, still fascinates us.
The Pantheon still stands in Rome where it was built nearly two thousands years ago. Built by the emperor Hadrian, it was completed in about A.D. 128 and it must have seemed awesome to any Roman who walked into it. In fact, its dome is the largest dome anyone had ever built: the Pantheon’s domed ceiling stretches 43 meters across.
The building was designed as a temple for all the Roman gods. Nearly perfect in its shape, the vast dome represented the heaven, which were seen by Romans as an enormous sphere. At the same time, the Pantheon served as one of the emperor’s official places of business.
From an architectural point of view, building dome was not new, but what was new, is the combination between a domed cylinder with a traditional, Greek temple entrance. An innovation that changed architecture permanently.
Pantheon’s greatness sent a specific message to people: the Roman empire, which was ruled by Hadrian himself, was huge watched over and protected by the gods.
Tourists that decide to spend a vacation in the eternal city have to visit this monument, the only one for its particularity. Near to it you can find Rome holiday apartments to stay in one of the most charming location of the city.
By Annelise_Ime
Roman Architecture
Posted by in Architecture on July 15, 2011
Roman architecture is a fusion of traditional Greek and the Etruscan elements, where arches were developed and horizontal beams were supported by columns. Later, three dimensional counterpart of the arch, namely the dome was introduced. Apart from this, Roman architects found their inspiration from the Greek architecture at large.
The basic building materials of the Roman architecture are stones, developed concrete, and highly expensive marble. The idea behind mosaic, a decoration of colorful chips of stone inset into cement, was brought from Greece. Roman homes joined the well known mural decorating floors, walls, and grottoes in geometric and pictorial designs.
Architecture of the Romans was always eclectic and was characterized by varying styles attributed to different regional tastes and diverse preferences of a wide range of patrons. In general, Roman monuments were designed to serve the needs of their patrons rather than to express the artistic ability of their makers.
Roman architecture was also considered to be an exact copy of the Greek building style. But, the Romans have also contributed to the classical architectural styles. The two developments of Roman buildings styles are the tuscan and composite orders. Tuscan is a shortened, simplified variant on the doric order of the Greek style. Composite is a tall order with the floral decoration of the Corinthian and the scrolls of the ionic building style of the Greeks.
The Roman Colosseum is the best-known amphitheatre in the world, which is more correctly termed the Amphitheatrum Flavium, after the Flavian dynasty that built it. The Pantheon is a building in Rome, which was originally built as a temple to the seven deities of the seven planets of the Roman state religion. Since 7th century, it has been a Christian church. The Colosseum and the Pantheon are some of the buildings built during this period. Read the rest of this entry »