1. Ancient Roman Architecture
The ancient Romans inherited the architectural techniques of the Etruscans from the Apennine Peninsula and built upon the achievements of ancient Greece, reaching the peak of Western ancient architecture between the 1st and 3rd centuries AD. Large-scale buildings are characterized by a grand and solemn style, harmonious and unified composition, and diverse forms. In some structures, the importance of internal spatial artistic treatment surpasses that of external form. The most significant innovation was the creation of combinations of columns and arches, such as arcuated colonnades and continuous arches, which served both structural and decorative purposes.
The types of ancient Roman architecture were varied. There were religious buildings like the Roman Pantheon, the Temple of Venus and Rome, and the Baalbek Sun Temple, as well as public buildings such as palaces, theaters, arenas, baths, squares, and basilicas (rectangular halls). Residential architecture included courtyard-style houses, combined courtyard and peristyle courtyard residences, and even four to five-story apartment-style dwellings.
In terms of wooden structure technology, the ancient Romans had reached a relatively high level, being able to distinguish between tension and compression members in trusses. The Trajan Basilica in Rome had a wooden truss span of 25 meters. The Colosseum, built in the 1st century AD, could accommodate 50,000 spectators and was completed in just 5-6 years. It was constructed on a filled-in lake, yet there was no noticeable settlement of the foundation.