Travertine TRAVERTINE is a form of massive calcium carbonate, CaCO3 resulting from deposition by springs or rivers. It is often beautifully colored and banded as a result of the presence of iron compounds or other (e.g., organic) impurities. This material is variously known as calc-sinter and calcareous tufa and (when used for decorative purposes) as onyx marble, Mexican onyx, and Egyptian or Oriental alabaster. Travertine is generally less coarse-grained and takes a higher polish than stalactite and stalagmite, which are similar in chemical composition and origin. Travertine, the stone of the Colosseum and St. Peters as well as of several structures in New York and Philadelphia, is not a volcanic tufa but calcareous sediment that was deposited on the ground by the hot springs that first began to flow during the earliest eruptions of the Alban volcanoes. The best quality, in fact the only reliable one in Latium, is that which is found between Bagni and the Sabine hills below Tivoli. Lanciani, who has fascinatingly described the quarries there, estimated that five and a half million cubic meters of stone had been extracted from the ancient quarry alone. And yet, because of its position under a flat grass-grown plain, the Romans did not discover the existence of this remarkable stone till after the middle of the second century B. C.; and even after that they failed for a century to develop a system of extracting the stone in a sufficiently easy way to make the extensive use of it practicable. In the later decades of the second century B. C. it displaced peperino for inscriptional monuments for obvious reasons. Its employment in large structures cannot with certainty be posited before the construction of the Mulvian bridge in 109,...
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...lonade, as well as for the door posts and the horizontal arch over the door near the ground on the Forum side. The builder, therefore, chose it not only for parts that needed decoration but also for points of great strain, and that he knew its ability to stand wear is proved by his employment of it for the long staircase of 66 steps which lead up inside from the Forum to the Capitoline. Peperino and stone from Grotta Oscura are not found as integral parts of the masonry. Most of the vaults are of concrete. There seems to be only one piece of marble, and that is the threshold of the small door on the Forum side; a strange piece of luxury; it is Pentelic. References Frank, Tenney. Roman Buildings of the Republic: An Attempt to Date Them from Their Materials. American Academy in Rome: Rome. 1924. p. 34 Travertine http://www.antalya-ws.com/english/underwat/falez.asp#
Themistocles contribution to the defence of Greece was more significant than any other Greek individual. To what extent do you agree?
Pantheon and Hagia Sophia Pantheon and Hagia Sophia are two extremely outstanding architectural pieces of their times. They have been built according to the traditions of those particular times. The materials used to built these buildings and the purpose for which they were used are all very important aspects and have been briefly covered in this report. Pantheon The statesman Agrippa built pantheon in 27 B.C. Then it was completely rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian. The Pantheon is remarkable for its size, its construction, and its design. The dome was the largest built until modern times. The present structure was probably originally built as a temple for all the pagan gods. We do hear of it as being a law-court and a reception area for Emperor Hadrian meeting his quests too. Some say that the rotunda of the building was once a Roman bath. Due to all this mystery, the Pantheon is often referred to as the Sphinx of Rome. The visitor will probably not appreciate the construction as much as the Flavian amphitheatre, but it is still a great masterpiece of engineering and well worth a visit. Most Roman and Greek temples at the time of the Pantheon's construction were large, colonnaded, rectangular enclosures with sanctuaries situated in their centers. The Pantheon was different. It consisted of a large circular drum topped with a hemispherical dome. It is a masterpiece of both engineering and art a lasting memory of Ancient Rome’s might. Roman architecture is architecture of wall and enclosed tactile space. Individual column with entablature is no longer the basic architectural unity. Spatially, it shows a development from closed, simple space units and regular articulation to more complex spatial relations, more fluid interpenetrati...
The Medici Chapel is located in Florence, Italy and it is a house to the Medici family. The Medici Chapel includes, the Crypt, The Princes’ Chapel (Cappella del Principi) and The New Sacristy (Sacrestia Nuova). The main rooms are the New Sacristy and the Princes’ Chapel, and the entrance is at the back of San Lorenzo. The New Sacristy was designed and built by Michelangelo in 1519. The Princes’ Chapel is where the members of the Medici family are buried.
Before Augustus, there was Julius Caesar. Caesar appointed himself as dictator for life in Rome. Caesar declared himself all powerful and had control over the entire government. However, Brutus and Cassius assassinated Caesar because they believed he was becoming too powerful and had created a monarchy. Caesar was the granduncle of Augustus and because of this, Augustus wanted to avoid a connection with Caesar roots in becoming a dictator. Augustus avoided a tyranny and he could eliminate the risk of being assassinated like Caesar. In turn, Augustus put on a facade of seeming as though he was not becoming all-powerful. In order to deceive the government, Augustus denied any attempts that were given to him to take the throne as an authoritarian and continued to do great things for the will of the people, to be seen in a good light. While putting on a disguise for the Senate and the people, he made it seem as though power was in the hands of the Senate, when in actuality, he was consolidating power into his own hands.
As one of the greatest structures in Rome, the Pantheon was built between 118 and 128 CE. It is described as the most remarkable ancient building surviving in Rome. After being destroyed and rebuilt twice, it was renamed the “Temple of the Gods”. In 126 AD, the Pantheon was restored to its glory, by the architects who at that time has learned and mastered their craft in concrete construction in the Greek Classical order. They constructed a massive 25 foot thick walls which was to support the huge dome made of concrete to be placed at the top. The dome was the largest ever made of unreinforced concrete at 43.4 meters in diameter (Matthews, Roy and Platt pg. 5).
of the greatest architectural structures in the time. Along with the forum he built Trajan's column, which at the base depicted the war against Dacia.
Throughout the readings of both Aristotle and Augustine, each philosopher represented their views on the nature of happiness and their means for achieving that happiness in this life. Aristotle was a Greek philosopher who spent the majority of his life either teaching, studying, and writing known for positioning the majority of the groundwork for western philosophy along with Plato (“Aristotle’s Ethics”). Additionally, he touched on areas focused primarily on biology, physics, morality, and politics which were described in detail in his numerous philosophical treatises. Augustine, who is normally referred to as Augustine of Hippo, wrote an abundance of works which were also groundbreaking for the development of Western philosophy (“Saint Augustine”). His main focus was on the teachings of God as well as directing individuals to find peace with God because in order to achieve happiness, he believed finding peace with God was the first step. Traditionally, humans believe that happiness is achieved through the fulfillment of human nature and accomplishing a specific task or goal, and both Aristotle and Augustine defined this happiness and flourishing state in similar yet distinct ways. Aristotle and Augustine each developed separate views on the nature of happiness and the path to achieve that happiness; however, the best human life and highest fulfillment of happiness are achieved through Augustine’s approach to human flourishing.
The Façade, designed by the architect Carlo Maderno, “Is 114.69 metres wide and 48 metres high, and has an order of Corinthian columns and pilasters, over which lies an imposing cornice with a central tympanum, crowned by a balustrade with thirteen statues (nearly 6 metres high).” There can be found an inscription on the entablature stating that the Façade was built under Pope Paul V Borghese. In the lower order there are five entrances to the atrium, over which are nine windows, three of which possessing a balcony. The main window, the “Benediction Loggia”, where the Pope gives his blessing upon his election, and at Christmas and Easter. When Maderno added the nave, which is the main body of the church,
The Romans discovered many things that would aid the construction of their great civilization. The Romans discovered that a particular mixture of volcanic rock rubble and water could be used to create very strong structures; their concrete mixture could even be used in underwater applications. The Romans used concrete to make foundations for large buildings as well as bridges. They also used concrete as mortar to hold together the stones that made up roads, walls, and bridges. The Romans discovery of concrete allowed them to build very large structures that have survived many centuries.
"National Roman Museum - Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme." Soprintendenza Speciale per I Beni Archeologici Di Roma. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
The Pantheon’s porch is eight columns wide and three deep. The unfluted monolithic columns, brought from Egypt, are made from granite and are 1,5m in diameter at the base, reducing to 1,3m at the top. They have Corinthian capitals of white Pentelic marble and support the inscribed pediment. The original porch roof had trussed framing fabricated with timber and rived bronze plates.
Originally a Gothic town hall, the Palazzo della Ragione or Basilica (commissioned in 1549), was on the verge of crumbling and Palladio won a competition to redesign it. His answer was to encase it on three sides with a two-storey loggia that provided reinforcement and transformed the exterior with classic columned arcades on two levels. Arches were placed between pilasters, Doric on the lower level, Ionic above, supporting entablatures. In each bay, the arch rests on small columns placed away from the larger pilasters with a rectangular gap in between - now known as the ‘Palladian motif’.
The Baroque era was the age of magic. Flat surfaces became three-dimensional and paint on plaster became alive. It was the age of masterful illusion. Nothing exhibits this mastery better than Baroque ceiling paintings.
Opus caementicium or Roman concrete is a synthetic construction substance that’s composed of an aggregate, a binding agent, and water. In Rome’s case, as discovered by UC Berkley with the extensive analysis of a sample of Roman concrete taken from a breakwater in Italy’s Pozzuoli Bay it was developed by using lime and volcanic rock which formed a mortar, the mortar and volcanic rock were then packed into wooden forms and when seawater was added a chemical reaction occurred, bonding everything together to create concrete (History, 2013). It is uncertain when Roman concrete was developed, but it was clearly in widespread and customary use from about 150 BC; some scholars believe it was developed a century before that.
Beginning with the wood construction of the domed ceiling, to the current marble and rock structures throughout the building. “The church has a rectangular shape, and the square nave measuring 102 feet is covered with a central dome that is carried on four pendentives. The arcade around the dome is unbroken with 40 arched windows to bring the light inside. Excluding the two narthexes and the large atrium, the basilica measures 229 x 245 ft. The atrium measures 157 x 106 ft. and the total length of the construction measures 442 ft.” (http://www.hagiasophia.com). Later in time vestibules were built to give royalty privacy and protection during services and meetings. Art works such as the marble jars on the main floor were brought from other countries to decorate the church. Mosaics were made depicting royalty and their signatures at the time. The library created in the time of Mahmut I for school children and other scholars boasted a display of his calligraphic signature called a “Tugra.” The library’s front side has six columns, and in between there are bronze grills that closed the