Ancient Rome buildings

History, Facts and Information about Roman Buildings
The content of this article provides interesting history, facts and information about Roman Buildings. As in modern day society and culture the type of buildings that people lived in were dictated by how rich a person was however, opulent public buildings were available to all Romans.

ifferent Types of Roman Buildings
The following list of Roman Buildings quickly conveys the living styles available to the Ancient Romans and some of the building refer to those specifically found in Ancient Rome. A description of Ancient Roman Cities provides an insight into the layout and organisation which was utilised in the construction of Roman Buildings. The different types of Public Roman Buildings included Forums, Markets and Shops, Temples, Basilicas, Colosseum and arenas or amphitheatres, Circus Maximus, Theatres, Baths and Bath houses, Forts, Gymnasium, Stadia and Xysti, Campus Martius, Triumphal arches and triumphal columns, Ancient Roman Aqueducts and Factories. Private Buildings and Houses included the Palaces of the Emperors, Town Houses for wealthy Romans, Country Villas and small, dark and crowded houses and tenement buildings for the poor.

Many of the public Roman Buildings are detailed in separate articles as indicated by relevant links. A fast overview and brief description of the public buildings are as follows:

• Forums

  • Ancient Roman Forums were the public spaces found in the middle of Roman cities. Typical Ancient Roman forums might be surrounded by temples, shops and basilicas

• Markets

  • included Trajan's forum, market and his column which were all constructed to commemorate his victories over the Dacians. Whilst some markets consisted of the type of stalls we still find in markets today Trajan's market was different. The market was a semi-circular building, three storeys high above which was a large vaulted hall, resembling a basilica. The Trajan's market consisted of shops, all of which faced on to a corridor allowing passers by to see the goods on sale such as luxury items such as silks together with everyday items and fresh food. There were also restaurants and bars. Sounds like a modern day shopping mall but Trajan's market was built almost 2000 years ago!

• Temples

  • Roman Temples were built to provide places of worship for their Gods and Goddesses and were located in important positions such as at one side of the forum or alongside one of the major roads. Roman Temples generally had gabled roofs, a deep porch called a portico with high columns and a frontal staircase giving access to a high platform which was called a podium.

• Basilicas