URBAN ROMAN ARCHITECTURE: CITIES

Cities help to form the cultural and social structure of Roman civilization: commerce was
centralized, conquered lands were communicated and population was usually under
control.


Urban design of
Roman cities follows
clear laws for the
development of
public and military
services.

Roman city is
basically composed
by a number
of identic
components,
disposed in a special
way -parallel and
equal-distant-
separated by streets.
The whole forms a
unit
of rectangular desig
n surrounded by
a perimetral
wall with
watchtowers. All the
streets are equal except for two: the North-South one -kardo maximus- and the East-West
one -decumanus-. Both are wider and end at the four doors of the exterior wall.

At the cross of both streets is the city's forum and the market.

These components were necessary for the design of public buildings: amphitheatre -two
components long and one-and-a-half wide-, theatre -one component-, market -one
component-, the whole forum -two components-, and so on.

These urban rules were developped during nearly 10 centuries in order to create the
different cities.

In these cities, kinds of housing could be divided into house, domus, insula and villa. There
also were casae or housings for slaves and low classes. Because of their weak systems of
building they have all dissapeared in our days. Indeed, there were also great communitary
buildings as basilicae,termae and the very important social and cultural systems
called forums. In Roman Hispania there was a lot of capital cities. Today we can point out to
the researchs of:

Corduba (Cordoba)BASIC
INFORMATION
Colonia

Model for the plan of a Roman city
Asturica Augusta (Astorga) BASIC
INFORMATION
Clunia
Sulpicia BASIC
INFORMATION
Barcino (Barcelone)BASIC
INFORMATION

Emerita Augusta (Merida) BASIC
INFORMATION
Segobriga
(Saelices)BASIC
INFORMATION

Carthago Nova (Cartagena)BASIC
INFORMATION
Italica (Santiponce)BASIC
INFORMATION
Tarraco
(Tarragona)BASIC
INFORMATION
The Walls. Defence of cities has been one of
the capital problems that civilizations had to solve
in order to project the futur of their citizens, goods,
culture and ways of life. Romans were the first in
the technique of improving different kinds of
defence, using walls. We have many instances in
Hispania. Most of them belong to the first years of
domination -1st and 2nd centuries b.C.- and have
been restored or rebuilt, showing the weight of
these constructions in Roman world. After the "Pax
Augusta" the reduction of these kind of walls was
clear, being reactivated from 3rd century because of
the presence of barbaric invasions.

Walls did usually consist of two parallel covers or paraments of masonry -opus
quadratum- of a different size. There was between them a stuffing of mortar, stones
or even Roman concrete. These exterior walls had often padded ashlars and were
separated by 4 m. from each other. They were up to 10 m. in rare cases.

There are many remainings in Hispania. The most outstanding are:
o Roman wall of Lucu Augusti, (Lugo) BASIC INFORMATION
o Roman wall of Tarraco, (Tarragone) BASIC INFORMATION
o Roman wall of Asturica Augusta (Astorga, Leon) Page on Asturica Augusta
o Roman wall of Termantia Page on Termantia
o Roman wall of Segobriga (Saelices, Cuenca) Page on Segobriga.
o Roman wall of Barcino (Barcelone) Page on Barcino.
o Roman wall
of Corduba (Cordoba) Page
on Corduba.
o Roman wall
of Caesar Augusta,
(Zaragoza). As a Roman city
with a new plan it was
protected by a big wall with
a rectangular perimeter. It
was about 1.000 m. long and
500 m. wide. The wall was
built at 1st century b.C. and
reinforced at 3rd century
A.D. because of the barbaric

Picture on the different constructive
ways of a wall

Roman wall of Zaragoza
(Bank of Images of National Centre
of Information and Educational Communication)
threat. Original construction of exterior walls was made of ashlars without
stuff on similar files with an inner core of opus caementicium. It could be 10 m.
high and up to 7 m. wide. Usual defensive watchtowers were placed at 15 m.
from each other and got a semicircular plan. The whole were about 120
towers.
o Roman wall of Ampurias (Girona). This Roman city founded close to the
"Greek neapolis" was endowed with walls that enclosed a rectangular city of
more than 22 has.
o Roman wall of Carmo (Carmona, Seville). Roman city strategically placed on
a tableland, on an old Carthaginian settlement. In fact, the wall was
composed by many buildings from different civilizations -Phoenicians,
Carthaginians, Romans, Arabians...-, that made it the most secure city in
Southern Peninsula. The whole, constructed on foundations from 7th century
b.C., includes defensive buildings made by Romans at 3rd. century b.C. Its
Roman origin can be seen today because of its ashlars in many areas. Main
element is the Gate of Seville.
o Roman wall
of Caurium (Coria,
Caceres). Built at 3rd-
4th centuries, it has
been used as a fortress
in many warlike
conflict. It has been
well preserved until
our days. It was
constructed
with ashlars without
stuff. Today many
doors or gates for
access can be seen -
Saint Peter's one and Our Lady of the Guide- with their towers, but the most
part has been deeply changed.
o Roman wall of Gerunda (Girona). It is curious its building from a triangular
plan. It was mostly rebuilt and reinforced keeping, in many cases, the Roman
factory in its inner part. Cyclopean ashlars can be seen on it. They were used
as bases for the original construction. In other areas, as St. Christopher
gate, ashlars without stuff are perfectly preserved.
o Roman wall of Leon. It was conceived as a wooden wall for sheltering and
defending militar camp of "Legio VII Gemina Pia Felix". Later, when civil
population settled down there, wall was rebuilt with stone. Today, scholars
cannot assure whether remainings are Roman or not, since Arabian Almanzor
and his sons destroyed the city many times. It is probable that its walls were
rebuilt at Middle Ages.

Roman walls in Caceres, Ilipa (Alcala del Rio), Osuna, Baelo-Claudia (Cadiz),
Italica and Acinippo (Ronda, Malaga) are also outstanding.


Wall of Coria
(Bank of Images of National Centre
of Information and Educational Communication)
The house, or basic Roman nucleus for
living, is the older, more usual and poor of
constructions for lodging people in Roman
world. First ones got a circular plan with a
vegetable cover. Later, they got better in
their factory, being made of stone, wooden
structure and rectangular plan, keeping
their vegetable cover.
o Ruins of Numantia, in Garray, Soria,
with remainings of basic and
porticated Roman houses.BASIC INFORMATION


Roman rich house or domus, was the usual housing for important people in each
city. Perfectly described by architects, it was endowed with a structure based on
distribution through porticated
patios: the entry
-fauces- gives access to a
small corridor -vestibulum-. It leads
to a porticated patio -atrium-. Its
center, the impluvium, is a bank for
the water falling from
the compluvium. At both sides -
alae- there are many chambers used
as rooms for service slaves, kitchens
and latrines. At the bottom,
the tablinum or living-room can be
found, and close to it,
the triclinium or dining-room. This atrium gave also light enough to next rooms. At
both sides of the tablinum, little corridors led to the noble part of the domus. Second
porticated patio peristylium, was bigger and endowed with a central garden. It was
surrounded by rooms -cubiculum- and marked by anexedra used as a chamber for
banquets or social meetings. Weather or available room caused that houses had one
or two floors. There were also domi with a single porticate patio as an axis for the
whole housing. At both sides of the building many doors for access to chambers
could be open. These chambers were -tabernae-: little shops belonging to the domus
or else rented to other merchants.

In Hispania many domi remainings are outstanding:
o Domus of Amphitheatre, in Merida (Emerita Augusta) BASIC INFORMATION
o Domus of Mitreo, en Merida (Emerita Augusta) BASIC INFORMATION
o House of the Birds, in Italica. BASIC INFORMATION
o House of Hilas, in Italica. BASIC INFORMATION
o House (collegium) of the Exedra in Italica. BASIC INFORMATION
You can also see other important remaninigs in general pages of the cities

Roman house in Numantia.
Press to enlarge.

Roman domus. Press to enlarge.
of: Termantia, Asturica Augusta (Astorga), Corduba
(Cordoba), Emerita Augusta (Merida), Italica (Santiponce) and Tarraco
(Tarragone).

Insula is a good sample for a popular urban house. It can be said that it is the
forerunner of our modern buildings with apartments. In order to take advantage
from the room in cities, buildings up to four floors were constructed. The ground
floor was for shops -tabernae- and the ohers for apartments of different sizes. Every
room was communicated through a central communitary patio decorated with
flowers or gardens. We can imagine a building with these features between the ruins
of Termantia.

The villae, houses far from cities, were thought for realizing agricultural explotations -
villae rustica-, or else as places for the rest of important persons -villae urbana-.
Entertaining villa was endowed with every comfortable element in its age as well as gardens
and splendid views. Country villae got stables, cellars, stores and orchards apart from the
noble rooms.
In Hispania there are many remainings, often by rivers. We can point out to:
Villa of Centelles -today Mausoleum of Centelles-, in Tarragone BASIC INFORMATION
Villa of Munts, in Tarragone Page of the city of Tarraco
Villa Fortunatus in Fraga, Huesca. it was built at 2nd century and is placed at the
bank of Cinca river. Its main element is a big porticated patio measuring 21 x 17 m.
long with 22 columns for subjection. There were several rooms around it. It was
endowed with termae, decorative aquariums and underground heating. On a part
of it, using its foundations, was built a paleochristian basilica at 6ht century.
Villa La Olmeda at Pedrosa de La Vega,
Palencia is supposed to be built at 2nd
century for the first time, but most part of
actual remainings are from the end of 3rd
century. It has not been easy doing clear
researchs because the area was used as a
Visigothic necropolis at Middle Ages. It was
an agricultural explotation with high level.
Its center was a house with porticated patio.
Basic plan of the residential whole
was square with four towers, one at each
corner. Those placed at northern faade got
a square plan, those at southern
one, octogonal. Between them an exterior portico with solarium was open at the
upper floor. It weas endowed with its own termae -frigidarium and swimming-pool-
at the north-eastern side. Among the rooms there was an important Reception
chamber "oecus" with 15 m. x 12 m. long, placed at the back part of the patio.
Doubtless, the most outstanding in the villa is its spectacular and
numerous mosaics covering nearly every floor. The prettiest are those from the

Plan of the Villa La Olmeda
already named "oecus" and those from the peristile's corridor.
Villa Quintanilla de La Cueza, Palencia. Built at 2nd century was an agricultural
villa, specially designed for cereal crop. It was left at 4th century, probably because
of the arrival of a new Visigothic order. Its plan is slightly disordered with three
groups of rooms with different positions. It is very important its system
of underground heating, hipocaustum, with furnace and distribution pipes.


The basilica, a social center for trading, was also for political meetings. Judgements could
be celebrated there.


Its plan is rectangular and composed by three
or five naves separated by columns being
wider the central one. Those composed by five
naves had often two levels at the central one in
order to open doors for receiving sunlight.
This nave was headed by an exedra or apse,
where presidence was located. At the bottom
there was the fauces or entering.

The cover, with gabled roof, got a flat inner ceiling though sometimes vault was used.

Scholars point out to the remainings of basilicae in the cities ofSegobriga and Clunia.

Termae were buildings of great
proportions for public use. They were baths
distributed in swimming-pools: the warm -
caldarium were the minor ones-; moderate
-or tepidarium, the biggest ones- at the
center of termal whole, and the coolest -
or frigidarium-. They were endowed with
changing-rooms (apodyterium) and next
buildings with gymnasiums and recreative
functions. Apart from their elemental
function, baths had a social one, since they
were a point for meetings, business and
politics as an expression of Roman
greatness for general population. Because
of that, baths got not only a magnificent
size, but also a magnificent quality in
constructive and decorative materials. Its plan showed usually a symmetrical structure:
equal elements in relation to an axis.

Every important city had to offer a great termal building. In fact there was a lot of them at
Rome, competing between them. Famous termae of Caracalla are outstanding.

In order to regulate water temperature there were underground rooms where water was

Plan of a Roman basilica

Plan of Caracalla Termae. Press to enlarge.
heated up with fire proof bricks -praefurnium-. Water ran through pipes under rooms until
it came to final swimming-room. Paving was made with opus signinum -brick with mortar-
in order to make easy the circulation of heat and make ground like a radiator.

Most outstanding in Hispania are:
Monumental termae of Segobriga. BASIC INFORMATION.
Termae of Clunia, Coruna del Conde, Burgos. BASIC INFORMATION.
Termae of Merida and Alange at Emerita Augusta Page of Emerita Augusta.
Major and minor Termae at Asturica Augusta (Astorga) Page of Asturica Augusta


Forums were cultural centers in cities. They were often placed at the crossroads of
important urban ways: kardo maximus and decumanus. A great porticated square was the
center of a group of buildings around it. They were communicated through it. Temples
for Imperial worship, schools, basilicae, markets or even termae had a direct access
through forum. In many cases even buildings for spectacles -circus, theatres and
amphitheatres- were communicated so. Forums were a way in for important persons to
tribunals.

Forums were in every Hispanic city.Forum of Tarraco is outstanding for being the biggest of
the whole Peninsula. We can also point out to:
Forum of Tarraco BASIC INFORMATION
Forum of Asturica Augusta Page of Asturica Augusta
Forums -provincial and municipal- of Emerita Augusta Page of Emerita Augusta
Forum of Clunia Page of Clunia
Forum of Segobriga Page of Segobriga