Architecture of Rome
Encyclopedia
Rome
's architecture
over the centuries has greatly developed, especially from the Classical and Imperial Roman styles to modern Fascist architecture
. Rome was for a period one of the world's main epicentres of classical architecture, developing new forms such as the arch
, the dome
and the vault
. The Romanesque
style in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries was also widely used in Roman architecture, and later the city became one of the main centres of Renaissance
and Baroque
architecture. Rome's cityscape is also widely Neoclassical
and Fascist in style.
, most Roman buildings were made of concrete and bricks, but eversince about 100 BC and the Roman Empire
, marble and gold were more widely used as decoration themes in the architecture of Rome, especially in temples, palaces, fora and public buildings in general. Most buildings, just like in Classical Athens
, had caryatids and atlantises supporting balconies or structures, mainly rapresenting standing women or muscular men. The caryatids found in ancient Roman architecture were mainly copies of the Greek ones, just like in the Forum of Augustus. Temples in ancient Roman architecture were usually raised with an elongated staircase, and were usually built on a podium or a dais. They usually had a portico and a triangle-roofed porch with columns. Romans mainly copied their orders from the Corinthian order
s, the Doric order
s and the Ionic order
s, but created a new Composite order
which was used in the Arch of Titus
. Domes, vaults, Aedicules (small shrines designed as small temples) and coffers were also popular elements of Classical and Imperial Roman architecture. The Colosseum
is the most prominent element of ancient Roman architecture, but also the Roman Forum
, the Domus Aurea
, the Pantheon
, Trajan's Column
, Trajan's Market
, the Catacombs
, the Circus Maximus
, the Baths of Caracalla
, Castel Sant'Angelo
, the Mausoleum of Augustus
, the Ara Pacis
, the Arch of Constantine
, the Pyramid of Cestius
, and the Bocca della Verità are renowned ancient monuments.
, the San Paolo Fuori le Mura
(the later part being largely rebuilt in the 19th century), Santa Maria in Trastevere
, Santi Quattro Coronati
, Santa Prassede
, Torre delle Milizie
, the Torre dei Conti
, and the Santa Maria in Ara Coeli. Elaborate tabernacles were popular especially in the 13th century, and basilicas were often full of rich mosaics. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Cosmati family was famous for their mosacis and elegant decoration. They created beautiful marble floors with mosacis, often with inlays of green and red porphory. Their designs in Rome became so popular that they were known as cosmatesque.
, and was one of the most important architectural and cultural centres of the time. It derived its main designs frn the Classical models. Loggia
s, ore open-sided galleries, were fashionable, and palaces, or palazzi often had rusticated blocks decorating the grand entrances to their houses. In churches, especially in St. Peter's Basilica
, baldacchini or a column-supported canopy, were widely used. Examples include the Palazzo del Quirinale
(now seat of the President of the Italian Republic
), the Palazzo Venezia
, the Palazzo Farnese
, the Palazzo Barberini
, the Palazzo Chigi
(now seat of the Italian Prime Minister
), the Palazzo Spada
, the Palazzo della Cancelleria
, and the Villa Farnesina
.
, Piazza di Spagna
, Campo de' Fiori
, Piazza Venezia
, Piazza Farnese
and Piazza della Minerva
. One of the most emblematic examples of Baroque art
is the Fontana di Trevi
by Nicola Salvi
. Notable 17th-century baroque palaces
are the Palazzo Madama
, now the seat of the Italian Senate
and the Palazzo Montecitorio
, now the seat of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
.
. During this time, neoclassicism
, a building style influenced by the architecture of antiquity
, became a predominant influence in Roman architecture
. During this period, many great palaces in neoclassical styles were built to host ministries, embassies, and other governing agencies. One of the best-known symbols of Roman neoclassicism is the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II or "Altar of the Fatherland", where the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, that represents the 650,000 Italians that fell in World War I
, is located.
district, designed in 1938 by Marcello Piacentini
. It was originally conceived for the 1942 world exhibition
, and was called "E.42" ("Esposizione 42"). The world exhibition, however, never took place because Italy entered the Second World War
in 1940. The most representative building of the Fascist style at E.U.R. is the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana
(1938–1943), the iconic design of which has been labelled the cubic or Square Colosseum.
After World War II, the Roman authorities found that they already had the seed of an off-centre business district of the type that other capitals were still planning (London Docklands and La Défense
in Paris). Also the Palazzo della Farnesina
, the current seat of Italian Foreign Ministry, was designed in 1935 in Fascist style.
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
's architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
over the centuries has greatly developed, especially from the Classical and Imperial Roman styles to modern Fascist architecture
Fascist architecture
Rationalist-Fascist architecture was an Italian architectural style developed during the fascism regime and in particular starting from the late 1920s. It was promoted and practiced initially by the Gruppo 7 group, whose architects included Luigi Figini, Guido Frette, Sebastiano Larco, Gino...
. Rome was for a period one of the world's main epicentres of classical architecture, developing new forms such as the arch
Arch
An arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
, the dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
and the vault
Vault (architecture)
A Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that require a counter resistance. When vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required...
. The Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
style in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries was also widely used in Roman architecture, and later the city became one of the main centres of Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
and Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
architecture. Rome's cityscape is also widely Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
and Fascist in style.
Classical and Imperial Rome
During the Roman RepublicRoman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
, most Roman buildings were made of concrete and bricks, but eversince about 100 BC and the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, marble and gold were more widely used as decoration themes in the architecture of Rome, especially in temples, palaces, fora and public buildings in general. Most buildings, just like in Classical Athens
Classical Athens
The city of Athens during the classical period of Ancient Greece was a notable polis of Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Hippias...
, had caryatids and atlantises supporting balconies or structures, mainly rapresenting standing women or muscular men. The caryatids found in ancient Roman architecture were mainly copies of the Greek ones, just like in the Forum of Augustus. Temples in ancient Roman architecture were usually raised with an elongated staircase, and were usually built on a podium or a dais. They usually had a portico and a triangle-roofed porch with columns. Romans mainly copied their orders from the Corinthian order
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
s, the Doric order
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
s and the Ionic order
Ionic order
The Ionic order forms one of the three orders or organizational systems of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian...
s, but created a new Composite order
Composite order
The composite order is a mixed order, combining the volutes of the Ionic order capital with the acanthus leaves of the Corinthian order. The composite order volutes are larger, however, and the composite order also has echinus molding with egg-and-dart ornamentation between the volutes...
which was used in the Arch of Titus
Arch of Titus
The Arch of Titus is a 1st-century honorific arch located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c.82 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of...
. Domes, vaults, Aedicules (small shrines designed as small temples) and coffers were also popular elements of Classical and Imperial Roman architecture. The Colosseum
Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...
is the most prominent element of ancient Roman architecture, but also the Roman Forum
Roman Forum
The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum...
, the Domus Aurea
Domus Aurea
The Domus Aurea was a large landscaped portico villa, designed to take advantage of artificially created landscapes built in the heart of Ancient Rome by the Emperor Nero after the Great Fire of Rome had cleared away the aristocratic dwellings on the slopes of the Palatine...
, the Pantheon
Pantheon, Rome
The Pantheon ,Rarely Pantheum. This appears in Pliny's Natural History in describing this edifice: Agrippae Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Atheniensis; in columnis templi eius Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum, sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudinem loci minus celebrata.from ,...
, Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...
, Trajan's Market
Trajan's Market
Trajan's Market is a large complex of ruins in the city of Rome, Italy, located on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, at the opposite end to the Colosseum...
, the Catacombs
Catacombs of Rome
The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, underground burial places under or near Rome, Italy, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together, they began in the 2nd century, much...
, the Circus Maximus
Circus Maximus
The Circus Maximus is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire...
, the Baths of Caracalla
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy were Roman public baths, or thermae, built in Rome between AD 212 and 216, during the reign of the Emperor Caracalla.- History :...
, Castel Sant'Angelo
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as the Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family...
, the Mausoleum of Augustus
Mausoleum of Augustus
The Mausoleum of Augustus is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC on the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The Mausoleum, now located on the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, is no longer open to tourists, and the ravages of time and carelessness have stripped the ruins bare...
, the Ara Pacis
Ara Pacis
The Ara Pacis Augustae is an altar to Peace, envisioned as a Roman goddess...
, the Arch of Constantine
Arch of Constantine
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome, situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill. It was erected to commemorate Constantine I's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312...
, the Pyramid of Cestius
Pyramid of Cestius
The Pyramid of Cestius is an ancient pyramid in Rome, Italy, near the Porta San Paolo and the Protestant Cemetery. It stands at a fork between two ancient roads, the Via Ostiensis and another road that ran west to the Tiber along the approximate line of the modern Via della Marmorata...
, and the Bocca della Verità are renowned ancient monuments.
Romanesque, Gothic and Medieval Rome
Rome has an often overlooked, yet rich and diverse Romanesque and Gothic heritage. Many of the first Christian churches in the world were constructed in Rome, and Byzantine churches were mainly based on the Roman basilica. They were often oblong or geometric, long, with three naves and full of rich golden mosaics. Later Romanesque churches in Rome were more round, using the Roman arch. There are few Gothic churches in Rome. Examples of buildings from this period includes the Santa Maria MaggioreBasilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
The Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major , known also by other names, is the largest Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, Italy.There are other churches in Rome dedicated to Mary, such as Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, but the greater size of the...
, the San Paolo Fuori le Mura
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
The Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls , commonly known as St Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of four churches that are the great ancient major basilicas or papal basilicas of Rome: the basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Peter's and Saint Paul Outside the Walls...
(the later part being largely rebuilt in the 19th century), Santa Maria in Trastevere
Santa Maria in Trastevere
The Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere is a titular minor basilica, one of the oldest churches in Rome, and perhaps the first in which mass was openly celebrated...
, Santi Quattro Coronati
Santi Quattro Coronati
Santi Quattro Coronati is an ancient basilica in Rome, Italy. The church dates back to the 4th century, and is devoted to four anonymous saints and martyrs. The complex of the basilica with its two courtyards, the fortified Cardinal Palace with the St...
, Santa Prassede
Santa Prassede
The Basilica of Saint Praxedes , commonly known in Italian as Santa Prassede, is an ancient titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, located near the papal basilica of Saint Mary Major...
, Torre delle Milizie
Torre delle Milizie
The Torre delle Milizie is a tower in Rome, Italy, annexed to the Trajan's Market in the Imperial fora.One of the main medieval monuments of the city, the tower is on a square plan, its base sides measure 10.5 x 9.5 m, and it currently stands at almost 50 meters...
, the Torre dei Conti
Torre dei Conti
The Torre dei Conti is a medieval tower in Rome, Italy, located near the Colosseum and the Roman Forum.It was built in 1238 by Pope Innocent III as a fortified residence for his family, the Conti di Segni, over one of the four apses of the Forum of Nerva's portico...
, and the Santa Maria in Ara Coeli. Elaborate tabernacles were popular especially in the 13th century, and basilicas were often full of rich mosaics. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Cosmati family was famous for their mosacis and elegant decoration. They created beautiful marble floors with mosacis, often with inlays of green and red porphory. Their designs in Rome became so popular that they were known as cosmatesque.
Renaissance
Rome is widely regarded as being the second Renaissance capital of Italy after FlorenceFlorence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, and was one of the most important architectural and cultural centres of the time. It derived its main designs frn the Classical models. Loggia
Loggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
s, ore open-sided galleries, were fashionable, and palaces, or palazzi often had rusticated blocks decorating the grand entrances to their houses. In churches, especially in St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
, baldacchini or a column-supported canopy, were widely used. Examples include the Palazzo del Quirinale
Quirinal Palace
The Quirinal Palace is a historical building in Rome, Italy, the current official residence of the President of the Italian Republic. It is located on the Quirinal Hill, the tallest of the seven hills of Rome...
(now seat of the President of the Italian Republic
President of the Italian Republic
The President of the Italian Republic is the head of state of Italy and, as such, is intended to represent national unity and guarantee that Italian politics comply with the Constitution. The president's term of office lasts for seven years....
), the Palazzo Venezia
Palazzo Venezia
The Palazzo di Venezia is a palazzo in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval house intended as the residence of the cardinals appointed to the Church of San Marco...
, the Palazzo Farnese
Palazzo Farnese, Rome
Palazzo Farnese is a High Renaissance palace in Rome, which currently houses the French embassy and the Ecole Française de Rome ....
, the Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini
Palazzo Barberini is a palace in Rome, facing the piazza of the same name in Rione Trevi and is home to the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica.-History:...
, the Palazzo Chigi
Palazzo Chigi
The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Via del Corso. It was begun in 1562 by Giacomo della Porta and completed by Carlo Maderno in 1580 for the Aldobrandini family. In 1659 it was purchased by the Chigi family. It was then remodelled by...
(now seat of the Italian Prime Minister
Prime minister of Italy
The Prime Minister of Italy is the head of government of the Italian Republic...
), the Palazzo Spada
Palazzo Spada
The Palazzo Spada is a palace in the historic centre of Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione Regola, at Piazza Capo di Ferro, 13, very close to the Palazzo Farnese. It has a garden facing towards the River Tiber....
, the Palazzo della Cancelleria
Palazzo della Cancelleria
The Palazzo della Cancelleria is a Renaissance palace in Rome, Italy, situated between the present Corso Vittorio Emanuele II and the Campo de' Fiori, in the rione of Parione...
, and the Villa Farnesina
Villa Farnesina
The Villa Farnesina is a Renaissance suburban villa in the Via della Lungara, in the district of Trastevere in Rome, central Italy.The villa was built for Agostino Chigi, a rich Sienese banker and the treasurer of Pope Julius II. Between 1506–1510, the Sienese artist and pupil of Bramante,...
.
Baroque
Rome is widely regarded as being the epicentre of Baroque architecture, and was profoundly influenced by the movement. Roman baroque architecture was widely based on Classical symmetry and Renaissance styles, but broke many of the architectural rules, creating a far richer and more elaborate style, preferring grandiosity and opulence rather than Renaissance classicism and elegance. Putti, or child cupids and chrubs, were popular in Baroque architectural design. The city is famous for its many huge and majestic Baroque squares (often adorned with obelisks), many of which were built in the 17th century. The principal squares are Piazza NavonaPiazza Navona
Piazza Navona is a city square in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans came there to watch the agones , and hence it was known as 'Circus Agonalis'...
, Piazza di Spagna
Spanish Steps
The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The Scalinata is the widest staircase in Europe...
, Campo de' Fiori
Campo de' Fiori
Campo de' Fiori is a rectangular square near Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy, on the border of rione Parione and rione Regola. Campo de' Fiori, translated literally from Italian, means "field of flowers"...
, Piazza Venezia
Piazza Venezia
The Piazza Venezia is a piazza in central Rome, Italy. It takes its name from Cardinal Venezia who built the adjacent Palazzo Venezia, the former embassy of the city of the Republic of Venice....
, Piazza Farnese
Palazzo Farnese, Rome
Palazzo Farnese is a High Renaissance palace in Rome, which currently houses the French embassy and the Ecole Française de Rome ....
and Piazza della Minerva
Santa Maria sopra Minerva
The Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
. One of the most emblematic examples of Baroque art
Baroque art
Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. The movement is often identified with Absolutism, the Counter Reformation and Catholic Revival, but the existence of important Baroque art and architecture in non-absolutist and Protestant states throughout Western...
is the Fontana di Trevi
Trevi Fountain
The Trevi Fountain is a fountain in the Trevi rione in Rome, Italy. Standing 26 metres high and 20 metres wide, it is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and one of the most famous fountains in the world....
by Nicola Salvi
Nicola Salvi
Nicola Salvi or Niccolò Salvi was an Italian architect most famous for the Trevi Fountain in Rome, where he was born and died. His work is in the late Roman Baroque style. In addition to the Trevi Fountain, Salvi did minor works such as churches and the enlargement of the Odescalchi Palace with...
. Notable 17th-century baroque palaces
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
are the Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama
Palazzo Madama is a palace in Rome that is currently the home of the Senate of the Italian Republic.It was built atop the ruins of the ancient baths of Nero, next to Piazza Navona...
, now the seat of the Italian Senate
Italian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
and the Palazzo Montecitorio
Palazzo Montecitorio
The Palazzo Montecitorio is a palace in Rome and the seat of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.- History :The building was originally designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for the young Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, nephew of Pope Gregory XV...
, now the seat of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy
Italian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
.
Neoclassical Rome
In 1870, Rome became the capital city of the new Kingdom of ItalyKingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
. During this time, neoclassicism
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
, a building style influenced by the architecture of antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
, became a predominant influence in Roman architecture
Roman architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a new architectural style. The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics...
. During this period, many great palaces in neoclassical styles were built to host ministries, embassies, and other governing agencies. One of the best-known symbols of Roman neoclassicism is the Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II or "Altar of the Fatherland", where the Grave of the Unknown Soldier, that represents the 650,000 Italians that fell in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, is located.
Fascist architecture
The Fascist regime that ruled in Italy between 1922 and 1943 developed an architectural style that was characterised by its links with ancient Roman architecture. The most important Fascist site in Rome is the E.U.REsposizione Universale Roma
EUR is a residential and business district in Rome, Italy, located south of the city center. The area was originally chosen in 1930s as the site for the 1942 world's fair which Benito Mussolini planned to open to celebrate twenty years of Fascism. EUR was also designed to direct the expansion of...
district, designed in 1938 by Marcello Piacentini
Marcello Piacentini
Marcello Piacentini was an Italian architect and urban theorist.-Biography:Born in Rome, he was the son of architect Pio Piacentini...
. It was originally conceived for the 1942 world exhibition
Esposizione universale (1942)
The Esposizione universale of 1942 was planned to be held in Rome.The government projected a new neighbourhood, on the south-west of Rome, called Esposizione Universale Roma, or EUR...
, and was called "E.42" ("Esposizione 42"). The world exhibition, however, never took place because Italy entered the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1940. The most representative building of the Fascist style at E.U.R. is the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana
The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known as the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro or simply the Colosseo Quadrato , is an icon of Fascist architecture. It lies in the district of Rome known as the Esposizione Universale Roma...
(1938–1943), the iconic design of which has been labelled the cubic or Square Colosseum.
After World War II, the Roman authorities found that they already had the seed of an off-centre business district of the type that other capitals were still planning (London Docklands and La Défense
La Défense
La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...
in Paris). Also the Palazzo della Farnesina
Palazzo della Farnesina
The Palazzo della Farnesina is an Italian government building located between Monte Mario and the Tiber River in the Foro Italico area in Rome, Italy...
, the current seat of Italian Foreign Ministry, was designed in 1935 in Fascist style.