Rome boasts a vast and splendid art and architecture heritage. As one of the main centers for Classical architecture, it saw new forms emerge – including domes and two new orders of columns – come into being.
Rome quickly moved away from monarchy when its constitution was written into place and became a republic, giving Rome an advantage in competing against other major European cities for riches, grandeur and culture.
Ancient Rome
From its humble roots on Italy’s Tiber River, Rome rose to become one of the greatest empires ever seen in human history. At its height, its influence extended across much of Europe, Britain and parts of Africa and Asia – leaving an advanced culture behind that included Greek art, philosophy and religion alongside Western alphabet and calendar technologies, Christianity becoming its dominant world religion.
Its founding myth credits the legendary culture hero Romulus and Remus with creating it; these were sons of Mars and an Alban princess raped during Hercules’ tenth labor (killing of Nemean Lion). While being fed to wolves on Tiber banks by she-wolves for sustenance while being raised by shepherds. Later they founded Rome.
Roman society was marked by internal strife and class conflict despite its military success, widening gaps between rich and poor as wealthy landowners dispossessed small farmers from public lands; access to government was reserved solely for elite classes; attempts at reform such as those initiated by Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus led directly to their deaths by opponents of their reform efforts.
Rome’s bureaucracy was also a source of instability. Land purchases and property ownership disputes took years to be settled; consequently there were 26 emperors within 49 years– a sure sign of political instability.
Roman politics were dominated by two powerful forces – the aristocracy and Church. Idealistic rebels angry with both institutions were determined to disrupt any further abuses or interference with secular matters by rebelling against Church property exploitation, interference or intervention into secular affairs, leading to the creation of Rome’s first commune in 1143 – causing violent revolts which only subsided during late 13th century revolts.
Early Christian Rome
In the late AD 30s, Europe’s once-mighty Roman Empire began disintegrating. Government was failing, Rome had been destroyed, and marauding tribes were terrorizing the countryside – yet one institution stood strong: The Roman Church.
At first, early Christians met in small house churches or modified pagan temples that had fallen into disuse for worship purposes. Once legal recognition came through in the 4th century, however, larger and grander public worship buildings such as basilicas with wide central aisles and apses developed to accommodate larger numbers of worshippers.
At this time, Christianity was persecuted both by state authorities and private individuals. While its cause remains uncertain, Christians were attacked on numerous occasions by Roman authorities such as Emperor Nero who were notorious for their brutality towards Christians.
By the time Christianity was legalized by Emperor Constantine in AD 313 it had already taken a significant presence within Rome. Even so, its full integration into Roman society did not occur until around AD 500 and even then often conflicted with political power of Emperors and their courts – something which can be seen reflected in art of that period – early Christian images often borrowed heavily from classical Roman traditions like portrait busts and sarcophagus reliefs while continuous rows of biblical scenes appeared (albeit quite high up) within some early churches as well as catacomb paintings.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages (also referred to as medieval period) span a time period in European history from approximately 500 to 1500 AD and are commonly divided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. They can further be subdivided by geography into Early, High, and Late Middle Ages periods; all characterized by dominant agriculture economies with peasants being exploited and slow interregional communication being the norm as well as weak central government authority structures.
Medieval society was an unequal one, with upper and lower classes living vastly dissimilar lives. Nobles enjoyed wealth, power and status while the lower class was expected to serve others – this divide was only partially bridged through religion.
Medieval architecture was an artistic feat of great significance during this period, as evidenced by Chartres Cathedral which remains today one of the most magnificent structures ever made. An outstanding example of organic architecture – where forms reflect natural shapes seen throughout nature.
Medieval literature was highly imaginative. From Beowulf’s epic poem to Sir Thomas Malory’s Arthurian tales, medieval writing emphasized military values such as valor and honor.
As such, society at large was marked by deep misogyny towards women. Men were seen as representative of reason, intellect and culture whereas women were associated with emotion, nature and disorder.
No formal training was required of artists of this era, yet they did not lose their skill of realistic drawing. Their images often featured allegorical and symbolic imagery rather than literal representations of reality – an attempt to transcend physical realities into spiritual ones; to achieve this aim they frequently employed simplified forms and shapes without adhering to predefined ideals of beauty or realism.
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement which flourished between 15th and 16th century Europe. Its name derives from Italian for “rebirth,” as participants rediscovered and studied ancient Greek and Roman art, culture and thought. They believed that their own time since Rome’s fall had been an inhospitable Dark Age; so they attempted to revive classical traditions through scholarship writing etc.
Although the Renaissance made many significant advances in science, mathematics, and political theory, its most well-known contribution lies within art. Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Donatello are just a few well-known Renaissance artists renowned for their creative endeavors during this period. Their paintings and architects employed realistic portrayals of people and objects while using mathematical and optical techniques for special effects like perspective.
Renaissance thinkers highlighted the value of humanism, an ancient intellectual paradigm which celebrated human body and mind beauty. Additionally, Renaissance philosophers held that humans could accomplish great things, citing ancient Greek and Roman achievements as proof.
The Renaissance brought with it great prosperity for northern Italy, which enabled rich patrons to fund artistic and scientific study. However, poverty was far from guaranteed at this time; many of the same famines, plagues, wars, and shifting trade routes which marked other parts of Europe also affected northern Italy.
The Renaissance saw an unprecedented explosion of knowledge, which in turn gave rise to new relationships and ways of seeing the world. It saw the debut of scientific methodology – an approach to knowledge acquisition emphasizing observation, experimentation and logic – at this time.
Modern Rome
Rome became world-famous during its golden age of Roman rule, yet not without controversy. Ancient writers such as Livy, Plutarch and Dionysius of Halicarnassus asserted that seven successive kings ruled over it but historians are uncertain if this account is accurate.
Rome today is an exciting, bustling city with an abundant cultural scene and lively nightlife scene. Rome’s architecture has seen substantial development throughout history; once being one of the primary epicentres for classical development before becoming an epicenter for Renaissance and baroque styles in later centuries. Today Rome also hosts some modern structures, such as Massimiliano Fuksas’ EUR New Convention Centre which draws its inspiration from both sweeping curves of the Colosseum as well as organic forms found in Bernini’s work.
Notable modern buildings include the Museum of Contemporary Art Rome (MACRO), which was created from two decommissioned industrial sites located in Porta Pia and Testaccio districts of Rome. Odile Decq designed an extension to this museum which connects its surroundings of late 19th-century buildings for visitors to experience Rome from another viewpoint.
Studio Fuksas’ EUR Civic Center stands out as another emblematic building of modern Rome, representing Italy internationally through the Universal Exhibition held there in 1940, known as Esposizione Universale di Roma or EUR. Due to its striking similarity with Rome’s real Colosseum, some refer to this futuristic symbol of central Rome as its Square Colosseum.