The architecture of Rome and the Empire, from the complexes of the republican era to the Pantheon, maximum expression of construction based on the vault and opus incertum, all the way to Late Antiquity.
[Roman Architecture] The starting point is the comparison between the Parthenon and the Pantheon, which with its fascinating simplicity and dignity of concept represents the height of achievement of architecture based on the vault and opus incertum. The first part of the book examines the experiences stemming from central Italy, then the large complexes of the republican era, and finally the works in the reign of Augustus, culminating in the organization of the Forum. This is followed by analysis of opus caementicium with admirable examples of works in which the potential of brick and concrete is fully utilized, from the complex of the Trajan markets to the works built by Hadrian. The volume also covers the architectural interpretations of northern Italy and the provinces, as well as the late Roman antiquity, when very important works were completed, the final manifestations of that complex, mutable phenomenon that was Rome and its Empire.