Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was the catalyst to the spread art and civilization across the world. Rome ruled a vast majority of land, and their empire included land from the Persian Gulf to Spain and also from North Africa all the way to Britain. Because Rome controlled so much of the land its influence was far spread as well. Ancient Rome can be credited with many inventions and advancements such as mastering road building, advances in columns (both decorative and structural), creating of vault and dome, and the discovery of concrete. 

Perhaps one of the greatest creations of the Romans, architecturally speaking, was the creation and construction of the Colosseum. The Colosseum was commissioned around 70 A.D. and was officially opened in 80 A.D. The opening of the Colosseum was kicked off with 100 days of games that included gladiator and wild animal fights. The Colosseum was the first arena of its kind and seated at least 50,000 people; it was created of concrete and stone and used the arch and barrel vault that Rome was known for. A couple images of the colosseum are below. 

Roman furniture was much for extravagant than furniture in the previous eras. Their furniture was typically made of wood, metal, and/or stone. Popular colors in Roman design were black, red, and gilt. Some popular Roman furniture included chairs ("cathedra"), stools ("sella") multi-purpose marble tables, and beds that had the addition of the back creating our modern day couch. Below is an image from the Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring an ancient Roman couch and footstool. You can clearly see the red and gilt that was so popular in Ancient Roman design. 

Modern Application 

This is an image of Soldier Field in Chicago, it hold around the same amount of people that the Colosseum did. As you can see, the Colosseum had a huge influence on the design of modern arenas. 

I thought that this interior was a modern application of ancient Rome design because of the red and gold colors as well as the extravagant furnishings. 

Peer Reviews

Calley E did a great job giving tons of back ground and details about Ancient Rome and I also thought that all of her modern application pictures showcased Roman influence on design so well!

I also read Paige S's blog; she did a really good job overviewing the main architectural wonders of ancient Rome such as the Pantheon , Colosseum, and Maison Carree. I also really liked the modern application photo she shared of the interior of an apartment building that was very influenced by ancient Roman design. I thought that the ceiling of that interior was so great and beautifully intricate!