Location: Rome, Italy

Architectural style: Ancient Roman Architecture

Material: Marble

Ara Pacis, which is also known as Ara Pacis Augustae (Latin for “Altar of the Augustan Peace”) is a shrine consisting of a marble altar which is enclosed by walls. This was erected on January 30th, 9 BC in Rome’s Campus Martius (Field of Mars) in honour of the emperor Augustus. This can be referenced to Ovid’s Fasti and “Res Gestae Divi Augusti” (Achievements of the Divine Augustus) by Augustus himself.

As Augustus came back from the provinces of Gaul after spending three years supervising the administration of the region, the structure was commissioned in 13 BC to honour his return. Augustus chose to put the altar near his mausoleum in the Campus Martius, even though the Senate proposed building it in the Curia. However, the building was eventually buried by the sedimentation from the rising Tiber River.

It is speculated that parts of the shrine may have been uncovered before 1536 during the construction of the palace which has been built on the site. This can be seen in an engraving by Agostino Veneziano that replicates a frieze that is known to have come from the shrine. Several of the marble components were discovered in the 1800s; however, it was not until 1937 when a full-scale operation was launched that the remaining portions of the building were unearthed. A monument was built beside the Tiber known as Museo dell’Ara Pacis in 1938, which housed the reconstituted edifice. This was replaced by a structure designed by Richard Meier, a famous American architect of the time, in 2006. All throughout the 20th-century restoration of the Ara Pacis continued, both to reverse the effects of earlier unsuccessful attempts at repair and to stop the decay of the material due to its age.

The altar comprised of an interior space surrounded by a stone precinct wall. The structure was raised on a marble base with steps leading into that space. Most of the elements of Ara Pacis were heavily ornamented with relief carvings. These sculptures represented the shrine’s dedication ceremonies, events from Roman legend and floral motifs.

These works are said to be amongst the most excellent and most beautiful examples of Roman art.

Dimensions: 189m (long side) and 156m (short side), 48m high

Base Area: 24,000m²

Perimeter: 545m

Capacity: 50,000 – 70,000 (90,000) people

Built for: Vespasian

Material: Travertine

The Colosseum is a Roman Architectural Marvel, commissioned by Emperor Vespasian as a gift for his people of Rome. It was officially opened by Vespasian’s Son Titus with 100 days of games including gladiator wars and wild animal fights. It was named as Flavian Amphitheatre and is still considered as one of the seven wonders of the modern world.

Architecture
The Colosseum is elliptical, measuring approximately 190 by 155 metres. The centre of the arena is an oval, 87m long and 55m wide. Its façade consists of four levels with 80 arches each on the bottom three levels. These arches are the reason that the Colosseum was structurally possible at that time and is still stable.

The interior of the Colosseum provides seating for almost 90,000 spectators. These seatings were based on the social status, with the elite class sitting at the bottom and the lower class at the top farther away from the centre. The Colosseum includes all ancient orders, Doric on the ground floor, Ionic on the second, and the third floor features Corinthian.

Material
The Colosseum is built of travertine limestone, tuff, and brick-faced concrete. The Romans quarried over 100,000 cubic metres of travertine stone for the main structure, pillars, and radial walls of the Colosseum. The same quantity of tuff and brick-faced concrete was also used to improve the elasticity of the whole arena.

Remains
Only one-third of the original structure is still present. Most of it was affected by time, earthquakes, fires, wars, and neglect. Restoration efforts began in the 1990s, and it’s still one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.