EXECUTIONS.

OVER TIME, HOWEVER, ROMAN INTEREST

WANED, LEADING TO THE COLOSSEUM'S GRADUAL DECLINE
AFTER THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE'S FALL. EARTHQUAKES
IN THE FIFTH CENTURY AND NEGLECT FURTHER DAMAGED
THE COLOSSEUM, ALSO KNOWN AS THE FLAVIAN
THE STRUCTURE.
AMPHITHEATER, STANDS AS A GRAND AMPHITHEATER IN ROME,
GIFTED TO THE ROMAN PEOPLE BY THE FLAVIAN EMPERORS. ITS
BY THE 20TH CENTURY, ROUGHLY TWO-THIRDS OF THE
CONSTRUCTION, INITIATED BETWEEN 70-72 C.E. UNDER EMPEROR
ORIGINAL COLOSSEUM HAD VANISHED. FORTUNATELY, A
VESPASIAN, LASTED NEARLY A DECADE, RESULTING IN A
RESTORATION INITIATIVE IN THE 1990S REJUVENATED THE
COLOSSAL STRUCTURE MEASURING APPROXIMATELY 189 BY 156
SITE, TRANSFORMING IT INTO ONE OF ROME'S MOST VISITED
METERS. WITH FOUR STORIES, EIGHTY ENTRANCES (76 FOR
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS, DRAWING MILLIONS ANNUALLY.
PATRONS, 2 FOR PARTICIPANTS, AND 2 EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE
EMPEROR), AND A CAPACITY EXCEEDING 50,000 SPECTATORS,
THE COLOSSEUM'S EXTERIOR HAS FOUR LEVELS WITH 80
THE COLOSSEUM BECAME A HUB FOR VARIOUS EVENTS.
ARCHES, PROVIDING STABILITY AND AN APPEALING LOOK.
UPON ITS OPENING, EMPEROR TITUS THE ARCHES SYMBOLIZE TRIUMPH, REPRESENTING JUDEA'S
CELEBRATED WITH A HUNDRED SPOILS. INSIDE, SEATING IS ORGANIZED BY SOCIAL STATUS,
DAYS OF GLADIATORIAL GAMES, A AND VAULTING MAINTAINS STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY,
TRADITION CONTINUED BY DIRECTING SPECTATORS BY CLASS. NOTABLE ENGINEERING
SUBSEQUENT EMPERORS. FEATURES INCLUDE VELA, LARGE SUN-SHIELDING AWNINGS
BEYOND GLADIATOR MANAGED BY A THOUSAND SAILORS. BENEATH THE ARENA
CONTESTS, THE COLOSSEUM IS THE HYPOGEUM, INITIALLY SIMPLE BUT LATER EXPANDED,
HOSTED DRAMAS, LIKELY BY DOMITIAN, SERVING VARIOUS PURPOSES,
REENACTMENTS, AND PUBLIC INCLUDING STORING PROPS AND PROVIDING DRAMATIC
ENTRANCES FOR GLADIATORS AND ANIMALS.
THE PANTHEON IN ROME, COMPLETED AROUND 125 CE, IS AN INCREDIBLY WELL-PRESERVED ANCIENT BUILDING. ITS ICONIC
CONCRETE DOME SHOWCASES THE BRILLIANCE OF ROMAN ARCHITECTS. THE PURPOSE OF THE PANTHEON IS NOT ENTIRELY
CLEAR, BUT IT MIGHT HAVE SERVED AS A TEMPLE OR A PLACE FOR THE EMPEROR'S PUBLIC APPEARANCES, EMPHASIZING
THEIR DIVINE STATUS. ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED BY MARCUS AGRIPPA, IT WENT THROUGH MULTIPLE REBUILDS, AND THE
VERSION WE SEE TODAY LIKELY DATES BACK TO EMPEROR TRAJAN'S REIGN.

THE BUILDING HAS A PORCH WITH CORINTHIAN COLUMNS AND A CIRCULAR MAIN SECTION RESEMBLING ROMAN BATH
ARCHITECTURE. THE DOME, MADE OF CONCRETE, ONCE HAD A BRONZE COVERING. THE INTERIOR OUTSHINES THE EXTERIOR,
WITH A PERFECTLY HEMISPHERICAL DOME FEATURING A DECORATIVE OCULUS. THE ROTUNDA HAS ALCOVES WITH STATUES,
MARBLE COLUMNS, AND WINDOWS. CONVERTED INTO A CHURCH IN 608, THE PANTHEON HAS SURVIVED VARIOUS
HISTORICAL CHANGES. IT HOUSES TOMBS OF THE ITALIAN MONARCHY AND NOTABLE FIGURES LIKE RAPHAEL. DESPITE
MODIFICATIONS, IT REMAINS ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS AND WELL-PRESERVED ANCIENT MONUMENTS.
 A TRIUMPHAL ARCH IS A BIG STRUCTURE WITH AT LEAST ONE ARCHED PASSAGEWAY BUILT TO HONOR AN IMPORTANT PERSON
OR REMEMBER A SIGNIFICANT EVENT. IT'S OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH ANCIENT ROMAN ARCHITECTURE BUT ISN'T FULLY
UNDERSTOOD IN TERMS OF ITS ORIGINS AND PURPOSE. THE ARCH HAS A BASIC FORM WITH TWO PIERS CONNECTED BY AN
ARCH AND A SUPERSTRUCTURE ON TOP FOR STATUES AND INSCRIPTIONS.

TRIUMPHAL ARCHES WERE NOT COMMON DURING THE TIME OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, BUT MORE WERE BUILT DURING THE
EMPIRE PERIOD (27 BC TO AD 476). THEY USUALLY HAD RELIEF SCULPTURES DEPICTING THE EMPEROR'S VICTORIES. IN ROME,
THREE TRIUMPHAL ARCHES STILL STAND TODAY: THE ARCH OF TITUS, THE ARCH OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, AND THE ARCH OF
CONSTANTINE. SIMILAR ARCH FORMS HAVE APPEARED IN THE DESIGNS OF CHURCHES AND FOUNTAINS.

AFTER THE RENAISSANCE, MORE TRIUMPHAL ARCHES

WERE BUILT, INCLUDING NOTABLE EXAMPLES LIKE THE
ARC DE TRIOMPHE IN PARIS, MARBLE ARCH IN
LONDON, AND THE WASHINGTON SQUARE ARCH IN
NEW YORK CITY.

IN CONCLUSION, THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH, A HALLMARK

OF ROMAN ARCHITECTURE, SYMBOLIZED TRIUMPHS
AND EVENTS ACROSS THE EMPIRE. NOTABLE
EXAMPLES, SUCH AS THE ARCH OF CONSTANTINE AND
THE ARCH OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS, SHOWCASED RICH
DECORATIONS AND INSCRIPTIONS. ORIGINATING IN
THE 2ND CENTURY BCE, ROME BOASTED OVER 50
TRIUMPHAL ARCHES, WITH SURVIVING EXEMPLARS
LIKE THE ARCH OF TITUS. THE COLOSSAL ARCH OF
CONSTANTINE, COMPLETED IN 315 CE, LEFT A LASTING
IMPACT ON WESTERN ARCHITECTURE, INFLUENCING
MONUMENTS LIKE THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE IN PARIS.
THE ENDURING MOTIF OF THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH
PERSISTED, SHAPING ARCHITECTURAL EXPRESSIONS
WELL INTO THE 15TH CENTURY AND BEYOND.
TRAJAN'S COLUMN, AN ICONIC ROMAN MONUMENT ERECTED AROUND 113 CE,
STANDS AS A TESTAMENT TO THE ARCHITECTURAL AND ARTISTIC PROWESS OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE. CRAFTED FROM CARRARA MARBLE, THE COLUMN REACHES A HEIGHT
OF 29.78M AND SITS ATOP A 5.29M PEDESTAL, SHOWCASING THE METICULOUS
CRAFTSMANSHIP OF 29 MARBLE PIECES. THE COLUMN'S SHAFT, COMPOSED OF 17
DRUMS, FEATURES A DORIC CAPITAL AND A BALCONY, OFFERING A TOTAL HEIGHT OF
APPROXIMATELY 35.07M. NOTEWORTHY ARE THE 185 STEPS LEADING TO THE
BALCONY, PROVIDING VISITORS ACCESS TO AN UNPARALLELED VIEW AND
UNDERSCORING THE ENGINEERING PRECISION OF THE STRUCTURE.

THE PEDESTAL OF TRAJAN'S COLUMN IS ADORNED WITH INTRICATE MILITARY

EQUIPMENT SCULPTURES ON EACH OF ITS FOUR SIDES, COMPLEMENTED BY A
DEDICATORY INSCRIPTION ON SIDE 1. THE COLUMN'S SHAFT BOASTS A REMARKABLE
HELICAL FRIEZE, SPIRALING UPWARDS WITH 23.25 WINDINGS AND DISPLAYING AN
ASTONISHING 2,662 HUMAN FIGURES. THESE SCULPTURAL DEPICTIONS CHRONICLE
TRAJAN'S MILITARY VICTORIES IN INTRICATE DETAIL, OFFERING A VISUAL NARRATIVE
THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE EMPEROR'S TRIUMPHS. THE CAREFUL PLANNING AND
EXECUTION OF THIS FRIEZE ILLUSTRATE THE ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE AND ATTENTION
TO DETAIL CHARACTERISTIC OF ROMAN CRAFTSMANSHIP DURING THE EARLY 2ND
CENTURY CE.

IN CONCLUSION, TRAJAN'S COLUMN NOT ONLY SERVES AS A HISTORICAL RECORD OF

MILITARY ACHIEVEMENTS BUT ALSO STANDS AS AN ENDURING SYMBOL OF ROMAN
ENGINEERING AND ARTISTIC INNOVATION. ITS INFLUENCE EXTENDS BEYOND ITS
TIME, WITH THE MONUMENT INSPIRING SUBSEQUENT ARCHITECTURAL ENDEAVORS
AND SERVING AS A TESTAMENT TO THE GRANDEUR AND SOPHISTICATION OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE. TODAY, TRAJAN'S COLUMN STANDS AS A REMARKABLE FUSION OF
ART AND ENGINEERING, PROVIDING A CAPTIVATING GLIMPSE INTO THE GLORY AND
LEGACY OF ANCIENT ROME.