The Romans built lavishly across their empire, founding or refounding magnificent cities like Carthage and Petra. Discover the wonders of Roman architecture, from the city of Rome itself to Palmyra and Pompeii.

A unique, eye-opening guide to Rome, one of the world s most magnificent cities"

This groundbreaking study traces the development of Roman architecture and its sculpture from the earliest days to the middle of the 5th century BCE. Existing narratives cast the Greeks as the progenitors of classical art and architecture or rely on historical sources dating centuries after the fact to establish the Roman context. Author John North Hopkins, however, allows the material and visual record to play the primary role in telling the story of Rome’s origins, synthesizing important new evidence from recent excavations. Hopkins’s detailed account of urban growth and artistic, political, and social exchange establishes strong parallels with communities across the Mediterranean. From the late 7th century, Romans looked to increasingly distant lands for shifts in artistic production. By the end of the archaic period they were building temples that would outstrip the monumentality of even those on the Greek mainland. The book’s extensive illustrations feature new reconstructions, allowing readers a rare visual exploration of this fragmentary evidence.

Accompanied by the masterpieces and memories of illustrious figures, we follow the arc of a city and a civilization from its beginnings to its height and fall, leafing through pages of history from the various eras. Rome was the final act of antiquity, and a dramatic conception of a new world."--BOOK JACKET.

In this comprehensive, accessible and beautifully illustrated book, Frank Sear traces the evolution of Roman architecture during the four centuries from the late Republic to AD 330, when Constantine moved the empire's capital to Constantinople. With over 200 diagrams, maps and photos, this lucid and eminently readable account is a detailed overview of the development of architecture from Augustine to Constantine. Covering building techniques and materials as well as architecture and patronage, features include: * deployment of the most recent archaeological evidence * consideration of building materials and methods used by Roman engineers and architects * examination of stylistic innovations * analysis of the historical and cultural contexts of Roman architecture * detailed exploration of key Roman sites including Ostia and Pompeii. In high demand since its initial publication, this book will not disappoint in its purpose to educate and delight those in the field of Roman architecture.

An authoritative account of political and military history, art, architecture and culture, sumptously illustrated throughout.

Examines the nexus of learned culture and architecture in the 1730s to 1750s, including major building projects in Rome undertaken by the popes.