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[Music]
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there was once an eternal City Rome
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in the 4th Century A.D Rome is the most
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exceptional of all the cities of the
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Mediterranean
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the emblem of an Empire with a
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population of 90 million
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this represented almost half the
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population of the world
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let's get these quite extraordinary how
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these few ordinary little Hills were to
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become the capital of the whole
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Mediterranean
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we shall discover the face of Rome in
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ancient times and better understand how
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the Romans were able to build so many
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monuments that are now considered
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masterpieces it's natural to think how
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do the Romans calculate this how do they
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do that
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at the origin of their success
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innovation
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with the creation of a revolutionary new
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material concrete
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now this this amazing material Roman
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concrete it has the great advantage that
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can be made by semi-skilled people
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the pantheon the temple to all the gods
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has stood for two thousand years it
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deploys its 43 meter diameter Dome
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weighing 4
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535 tons the equivalent of 16 Airbus
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a380s but what were the secrets of its
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construction
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it's architecture is extraordinary no
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such thing had ever been seen before in
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antiquity
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the pantheon is about the absolute
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maximum they ever got to they never did
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a vault any bigger than that
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architectural Innovations went hand in
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hand with marvels of engineering
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it's at the Coliseum the most visited
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monument in Italy that they start to go
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underground
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[Applause]
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there were a multitude of passages and
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28 lifts for Animals one can only
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imagine what truly Grand spectacles the
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games of the Coliseum were
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and The Spectators were even sheltered
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from the Sun by a giant awning 50 meters
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high that covered an oval of 500 meters
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another surprise the Coliseum was built
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on the ruins of a fabulous Palace the
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domus orea which had been Nero's Palace
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its 200 rooms a lake and Gardens covered
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a quarter of the city
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the construction of the domus Arya was
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an extraordinary project
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he wanted to amaze and impress and he
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wanted great technical Feats it was a
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high-tech House of its day
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how were the techniques of the time were
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the Romans able to create this amazing
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revolving dining room perched atop a 12
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meter high tower so guests could enjoy
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an ever-changing View
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[Music]
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or build the largest wall in the western
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world
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and build in their tens of thousands the
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first apartment buildings over six
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stories high
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and they have buildings like modern
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apartment blocks this is Rome with its
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impressive past ready now to reveal the
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secrets of its construction it's
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colossal a true Megapolis
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Rome as it's never been seen before
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foreign
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[Music]
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[Music]
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centuries ago in central Italy 30
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kilometers from a maritime Outlet on the
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site of Seven Hills Rome is considered
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the second cradle of Western
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Civilization after Athens
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[Music]
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the most populous city in Italy today
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has 4 300 000 inhabitants within its
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urban area
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Rome is also the third most visited city
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in the world with more than 10 million
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foreign visitors every year
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on the one hand because it's the only
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city in the world to contain within it a
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state the Vatican city-state subject to
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the authority of the Pope that attracts
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Christians of all Nations
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but also because of the city's own
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archaeological Heritage grandiose
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here there are so many ancient monuments
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all of them both artistic and Technical
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achievements
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how one wonders did the Romans
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accomplish such feats
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they achieved The Impossible with this
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unique Monument the most complete and
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best preserved of all Antiquity the
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pantheon
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its architecture is extraordinary no
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such thing had ever been seen before in
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Antiquity a gigantic environment in
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which space and light dominated with
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this circular shape completely original
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which was then copied in so many
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Renaissance buildings
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situated on The Piazza De La Rotunda in
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the historic heart of Rome the pantheon
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reflects a desire to welcome all the
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religions of the Empire Gathering all
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their gods in one Great temple
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it is topped by a dome 43 meters in
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diameter and weighing 4 535 tons the
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largest in the entire Roman Empire
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it is destined to be a model of
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architectural Perfection
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the pantheon has been standing for more
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than 2 000 years
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it all starts with a novel plan
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the temple in two parts reconciles two
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types of construction two different
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forms
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one rectangular and the other circular
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this has never been seen before
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what's striking about the pantheon is
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that it's an architectural feat
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created to provoke surprise
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so we look up and we see a temple but we
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barely see the Dome behind it almost not
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at all
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[Music]
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struck by the monumentality of the
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columns
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[Music]
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which are monolithic columns made of a
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single block
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11 meters for each Barrel that's 42 tons
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or so
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each column is the height of a
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four-story building and weighs as much
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as an A320 Airbus
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they they think about how to transport
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these huge long pieces
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they needed ships they could transport
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them from Egypt to Austria
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we know from Egyptian hieroglyphics and
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other ancient texts that the Romans
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could build ships capable of carrying
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loads of over a hundred tons
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the blocks headed up River to the port
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of Rome
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once mounted on a wooden sled the column
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was towed along
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it must have taken 10 teams of 20 oxen
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to haul the column to the foot of the
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pantheon
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when we look at things like these
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columns
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and we're Amazed by the strength of them
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by the fact that the building stands
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here you know all these years it's
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natural to think how do the Romans
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calculate this how do they do that and
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you know we think of modern engineering
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now first of all Roman Architects and
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Engineers weren't separate people they
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were one and the same people and the
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next thing we have to bear in mind is
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they were very practical empirical and
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they had a lot of experience they had
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Decades of experience
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but that is not the big surprise
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[Music]
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one crosses through a building of white
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marble
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and the second space is revealed
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you know well now you and one is under
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this huge dome which is actually a
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complete sphere since the height of the
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lower half is equal to the radius of the
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Dome above 43 meters
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never has a dome of this size been built
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in the history of the world in the
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history of mankind until the invention
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of reinforced concrete it's the largest
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dome in the world
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and there are no pillars this is an
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entirely new type of construction
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incredibly they managed to build it
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without any support you have to stand
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right in the center of it to see how the
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Roman Builders had the idea to use the
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volume of a sphere and thus to create a
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whole new form
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just how did the Romans develop such a
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skill
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by using a revolutionary new material
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concrete
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concrete definitely represents a
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revolution in Roman constructions
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[Music]
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first of all in terms of its composition
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Roman concrete is a mixture of limes
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sand water of course Aggregates
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basically it's modern concrete
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now this this amazing material Roman
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concrete it has the
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um great advantage that can be made by
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semi-skilled people
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what's more
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discovered that when they added to this
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lime mixture some quotes Alana which is
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a type of volcanic stone or some tile
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that is fragments of crushed tiles or
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bricks there was a chemical reaction
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between the lime and the putzalana or
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the tile
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the cause the stone to become stronger
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and more waterproof the more that water
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was added to it
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Roman mortar completely transforms
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Construction
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now their ideas can be realized on a
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large scale quickly and well
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foreign the Romans built using two
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sightings of brick cladding filled with
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small stones or Pebbles
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this technique similar to Casting will
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be as important to ancient Builders as
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concrete is to those of today
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mortar would free the Romans from the
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Greek Heritage of the straight line
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and this meant they could go on to
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perfect the arch and the Vault that will
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both characterize Roman architecture and
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become widely used in all Grand
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constructions
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the design of the pantheon is especially
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Innovative particularly because of its
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circular form and not only for its shape
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its plan but also and above all for its
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roof this extraordinary dome which holds
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up all on its own
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symbolizes the celestial Vault home of
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the Gods
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it weighs 4 535 tons the equivalent of
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16 Airbus a380s but how did these Romans
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build such spectacularly High vaults
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the Dome of the pantheon must have been
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built in several stages
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first of all they built a framework of
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wood whose layout corresponded to the
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Future segments or caseins
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[Music]
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the second stage consisted of a thin
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layer of vaulting composed of ribs made
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of bricks and mortar
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[Music]
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the third step was to manufacture and
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install a negative framework inside each
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Casen
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[Music]
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then they merely had to fill in the
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concrete in bulk thus revealing the
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result without all its framework
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[Music]
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the Dome has 140 cases
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the cells have been deliberately offset
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to increase the effect of perspective on
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the visitor and add to the height of the
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temple making it even more impressive
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[Music]
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hardening the concrete poured into the
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box mold formed a very solid base
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the fourth step was to reinforce the
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Dome with a skeleton of brick arches
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the higher it rises the lighter is the
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mortar incorporating more putzolana the
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Abundant volcanic Stone that's as light
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as pumice
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[Music]
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the Dome will be covered with concrete
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[Music]
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it's a construction principle that
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allows the load borne by the outer part
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of the Vault to overhang it and transmit
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the pressure back to the lateral pillars
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then they covered the building with a
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skin of marble or stucco veneer inside
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and tiles on the outside I wouldn't say
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you could call much of their
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architecture beautiful or refined words
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like pretty no I mean they're solid
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chunky business-like
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sensible
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the daylight is used with theatrical
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skill by the central opening at the
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summit an Oculus or eye nearly nine
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meters in diameter
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the light follows the course of the sun
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giving the impression that the Dome
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rotates to the rhythm of time seeking
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perhaps to restore the Divine mystery
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and that's what makes the pantheon
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unique you enter the pantheon and you
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see this gigantic space with this light
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coming from above
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the building techniques that the Romans
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used were in large part learned from the
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Greeks
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Greek architecture always used columns
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beams and cornices it was based on large
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blocks of marble that that
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it's a kind of different way of thinking
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now the Romans have adopted a completely
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different principle which is of how you
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take small pieces not these large bits
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of marble so you have bits of brick
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fists shaped sized bits of stone of
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various kinds and you mix it together in
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a medium that is the if you like the
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glue
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[Music]
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and so that the pantheon is about the
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absolute maximum they ever got to they
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never did a vault any bigger than that I
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mean I think
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you have to realize that the building
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has got quite severe cracks I mean it's
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something a miracle hasn't fallen down
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and they were probably alarmed by these
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things but it held and they didn't go
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any bigger than that
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you can get an idea of its longevity
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simply by remembering that these walls
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are six meters thick
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coarse in their manufacture the walls
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were then to be adorned and decorated
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with plaster
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the bricks were covered either in
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plaster or in the more luxurious houses
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in Marble veneers unfortunately all
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these marble veneers have disappeared
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and what we are left with are the
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skeletons of monuments
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[Music]
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Stone will remain the largest in the
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world for over a thousand years
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just two kilometers to the southeast of
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the pantheon another Masterpiece for the
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people is still defying the centuries
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Coliseum
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Coliseum the emblem of an eternal Rome
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and a unique testimony to the techniques
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and the modernity of the Roman builders
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at more than 50 meters it is
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impressively high and to build it took
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one hundred thousand cubic meters of
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white stones
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the biggest amphitheater of them all
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designed in the 1st Century 80 under
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Emperor vispasian still stands in the
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Heart of the City
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it Remains the most visited monument in
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Italy with six million tourists a year
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an oval Amphitheater that remained in
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use for 500 years
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told more than 50 000 people
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that's equal to our biggest modern
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football stadiums
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built for the entertainment of the
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people Coliseum was a place of spectacle
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for the Romans these days we can only
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visit 35 percent of it
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its front columns are a real catalog of
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the three Greek Styles Doric Ionic and
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Corinthian
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the Coliseum took eight years to build
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with another two years for the finishing
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touches
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how did the Romans manage to build a
00:18:20
monument like this in such a short time
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the Coliseum was built so quickly for
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two reasons first thanks to using
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concrete as a construction material for
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example the coliseum's foundation is
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extraordinary
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a huge concrete ring and then there was
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the large and low paid Workforce price
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was a factor in all that and the result
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is gigantic constructions built in
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relatively short time
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from the latest archaeological
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excavations we know that the Romans had
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envisaged a system of pipes under the
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Coliseum that both brought in and
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evacuated a large quantity of water
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several thousand cubic meters
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this water would later be used for the
00:19:06
spectacles
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once the pipes had all been laid the
00:19:09
foundations were set in place
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they are gigantic foundations that are
00:19:15
like a kind of ring on which the
00:19:17
structure then sits
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it's incredible a huge concrete ring
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about six meters thick on either side of
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the Ring we have found two brick walls
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12 meters high by three meters wide into
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which they poured concrete cubic meter
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after cubic meter of concrete
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then on an axis radiating from the
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center of the Arena the stone pillars
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were erected
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like the Greeks the Roman used hoisting
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machines for their big constructions
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the treaties on architecture by the
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famous Roman architect Vitruvius
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provides records of the loads lifted by
00:19:54
these machines
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most texts all got lost and the only
00:20:00
Treatise on architecture the only
00:20:02
serious work we have is just one by this
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architect Vitruvius
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and so that's all this knowledge has
00:20:11
been condensed down and come through
00:20:12
this and it's the single text he may not
00:20:15
even have been the greatest writer or
00:20:17
the greatest architecture but it's what
00:20:19
we have
00:20:21
how do you lift a one-ton load
00:20:24
we know that a fit man is capable of
00:20:27
lifting an average of 67 kilos
00:20:29
so just by pulling it would take 15 men
00:20:32
to lift that ton because the force
00:20:34
exerted is equal to the weight of the
00:20:36
load
00:20:39
if you add a pulley the mass is halved
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it takes only seven men
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if you then add a second pulley the
00:20:49
weight is divided by four
00:20:53
so we can infer that it takes four men
00:20:56
to lift a load of one ton
00:20:59
but then the hemp ropes had to be able
00:21:01
to take the load
00:21:03
Vitruvius indicates that a rope four
00:21:05
centimeters in diameter could support a
00:21:07
load of two tons
00:21:11
at ground level there were 76 numbered
00:21:14
passages for ordinary Spectators to
00:21:16
enter by the remaining four were
00:21:18
reserved for the elite
00:21:20
on the upper level are 80 vaulted arches
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all molded and identical
00:21:24
[Music]
00:21:26
more than 50 000 Spectators attended the
00:21:30
shows engraved tokens were used as
00:21:32
tickets
00:21:34
that means that when people arrived at
00:21:37
the Coliseum they had a token with a
00:21:39
number on it for a particular entrance
00:21:42
not just anyone
00:21:45
they showed the number of the arcade the
00:21:48
staircase the row of bleachers and the
00:21:50
seat the Romulus once or twice had
00:21:54
experience with riots and things in
00:21:55
Amphitheater so they were very
00:21:58
um they were very aware of the need to
00:22:00
be able to get people out of the
00:22:02
building quickly with its bleachers its
00:22:05
corridors its stairs and numerous
00:22:07
entrances the Colosseum was every bit as
00:22:09
functional as our current stadiums even
00:22:11
in their security first of all because
00:22:14
it's built on a hollow structure
00:22:17
so you have a whole
00:22:20
um sort of circulation system that is
00:22:22
big and wide and efficient and so it
00:22:25
means that if there's a there's trouble
00:22:27
you can get people out quickly and
00:22:31
efficiently
00:22:33
five minutes was all it took to get all
00:22:35
the audience out if there was an
00:22:37
incident
00:22:40
the Colosseum is 188 meters long by 156
00:22:45
meters wide and more than 50 meters high
00:22:48
no other Roman Amphitheater equals it in
00:22:51
size
00:22:57
[Applause]
00:22:59
here the Romans built the largest
00:23:01
backstage of Rome
00:23:04
a complex of incredible galleries
00:23:06
hundreds of people in the shadows
00:23:08
elevators Gladiators beasts all took
00:23:12
part in these amazing shows
00:23:14
when the people were all wild about
00:23:17
these shows nothing at the time was so
00:23:19
popular with all the Hunts and the
00:23:22
fighting Gladiators of course
00:23:26
it was men fighting against wild animals
00:23:30
they were up against Lions against
00:23:32
tigers against elephants even against
00:23:34
sea creatures
00:23:39
at midday they took advantage of the
00:23:42
animals being there to carry out some
00:23:44
executions The Condemned were devoured
00:23:46
by the animals and this time they
00:23:48
couldn't fight back they were tied up
00:23:50
and unarmed and then in the afternoon it
00:23:53
was Gladiator fights which would of
00:23:55
course end up an injury or death but
00:23:56
which always took place with a referee
00:23:59
and in pairs one Gladiator versus
00:24:01
another
00:24:03
the arena where the spectacle took place
00:24:05
formed a giant stage 86 meters long by
00:24:08
54 meters wide and 4.5 meters high
00:24:12
the underground part of the Coliseum was
00:24:15
divided by a main axis
00:24:18
we can still see from the network of
00:24:20
galleries how the basement of the
00:24:22
Coliseum is like a Swiss cheese made up
00:24:25
of passages and rooms for storing
00:24:26
maintenance equipment
00:24:28
it was the backstage of the shows
00:24:32
Urena was covered with a layer of sand
00:24:35
about 20 centimeters thick
00:24:37
it featured in places moving wooden
00:24:40
plates designed to release from below a
00:24:42
multitude of stage effects
00:24:46
thrilled the crowd to see wild animals
00:24:49
or Gladiators appear as if out of
00:24:50
nowhere
00:24:54
this Wonder was made possible thanks to
00:24:56
a few concealed lifts
00:24:58
in the underground part of the Coliseum
00:25:00
known as the hippogya where a warrant of
00:25:03
passages and 28 elevators for the
00:25:05
animals
00:25:06
each wooden cage measured 1 meter 80 by
00:25:10
1 meter 40 and was one meter high it
00:25:13
weighed 500 kilos and could support
00:25:15
loads of up to 300 kilos
00:25:17
it took eight men to hoist it to a
00:25:20
height of seven meters
00:25:23
the Beast would make their surprise
00:25:24
appearance up a slope and into the arena
00:25:27
they might be lions or Panthers or
00:25:30
sometimes bears
00:25:31
[Applause]
00:25:33
just imagine what a grand spectacle
00:25:35
these games at the Coliseum were
00:25:37
conceived as
00:25:40
some of the spectacles depicted episodes
00:25:43
from mythology in which somebody died
00:25:46
and the person who died was
00:25:49
unfortunately someone who had been
00:25:51
sentenced to death
00:25:54
ingenious stage Machinery meant the
00:25:57
scenery seem to emerge out of nowhere
00:25:59
these platforms would also hoist up fake
00:26:02
mountains rocks and trees to suddenly
00:26:04
create a whole scene in the arena out of
00:26:06
nowhere it was really a great show
00:26:09
they say that the emperor Titus famous
00:26:12
for ordering 100 days of games in a row
00:26:14
sacrificed five thousand wild animals on
00:26:18
the day of the coliseum's inauguration
00:26:23
to the east of the Coliseum stood the
00:26:25
largest Gladiator school in Rome
00:26:28
it was directly connected to the
00:26:30
Coliseum by an underground tunnel
00:26:34
this prestigious school is called ludus
00:26:37
Magnus
00:26:42
today only a part of the Arena that was
00:26:44
used to train Gladiators still stands as
00:26:46
well as a few rooms it could accommodate
00:26:49
3 000 Spectators around the arena
00:26:53
there's still 14 rooms to be seen
00:26:55
presumably they served as accommodation
00:26:59
the Gladiators were either slaves or
00:27:02
enlisted Freeman
00:27:07
it was a rectangular building made of
00:27:09
bricks 100 meters long by 180 wide
00:27:16
there is no doubt that to be present at
00:27:18
the Gladiators training session was a
00:27:20
privilege
00:27:21
[Music]
00:27:22
they were as idolized as the football
00:27:24
stars of today
00:27:31
to heighten an aura of mystery the
00:27:34
Gladiators from the school secretly
00:27:35
entered the backstage of the Coliseum
00:27:37
through this tunnel
00:27:43
Lotus Magnus is just one example of the
00:27:46
incredible number of infrastructures set
00:27:48
up to ensure that the great shows of the
00:27:50
Coliseum would work their magic
00:27:55
archaeologists have Unearthed three
00:27:57
other Gladiator schools
00:28:00
also close to the Coliseum was a morgue
00:28:03
an Armory and the storage buildings for
00:28:06
sets or stage machines for the battles
00:28:10
[Music]
00:28:13
the games went on all day from sunrise
00:28:16
to sunset however summer in Rome is
00:28:19
stiflingly hot and the white stone of
00:28:21
the Coliseum reflected an awful lot of
00:28:23
heat in Mediterranean regions you can't
00:28:26
sit in bleachers all day in full sun
00:28:28
especially in July or August
00:28:31
this made the whole place suffocating
00:28:33
they had to quickly come up with a
00:28:36
solution the Romans came up with the
00:28:38
solution of an impressively huge awning
00:28:41
the total surface area of this Vellum as
00:28:43
it was called was 22 000 square meters
00:28:45
and it weighed 12 tons it was operated
00:28:49
by hundreds of men
00:28:51
thanks to researchers we can now present
00:28:54
a reconstruction of this vellum
00:28:56
how did the Romans manage to stretch a
00:28:59
sun shade 50 meters high to cover a 500
00:29:01
meter oval
00:29:03
well first of all there was a sensual
00:29:06
ring of ropes which was hoisted up with
00:29:09
a system of ropes leading up to the top
00:29:11
of the bleachers attached to pulleys
00:29:14
they were raised on a number of masks
00:29:16
that encircled the whole Arena
00:29:21
these small holes match to one's lower
00:29:23
down two meters from The Summit
00:29:26
there are 240 of them
00:29:28
they served as a solid support for the
00:29:30
240 masts that passed through the holes
00:29:33
and were erected all around the
00:29:35
amphitheater these masks were about 20
00:29:38
meters high and they supported
00:29:40
retractable awnings that left only a
00:29:42
central ring uncovered when there was a
00:29:45
show on all over this great spider's web
00:29:47
were spread linen canvases on the
00:29:50
Coliseum this was a big operation
00:29:52
because it had to cover 22 000 meters
00:29:55
squared
00:29:56
so what with the weight of the canvases
00:29:58
the weight of the ropes the pulleys and
00:30:00
all that that makes 12 tons it's a huge
00:30:03
thing and maneuvered by at least one
00:30:05
person per sector I.E 240 canvas sectors
00:30:08
that makes at least 240 people then they
00:30:11
were the officers who gave the orders as
00:30:13
well as the musicians who transmitted
00:30:15
the orders probably with trumpets or
00:30:17
horns and there were most likely at
00:30:19
least 300 people up on top of the
00:30:21
Coliseum to unfurl the vellum
00:30:24
the ropes were connected to winches
00:30:26
outside attached to Mooring bollards
00:30:30
five of them are still there today
00:30:32
[Music]
00:30:35
and the holes in them tell us just how
00:30:38
the winches were attached to them
00:30:42
so there was a special team of sailors
00:30:45
stationed at a Barracks nearby
00:30:47
Sailors from the town of miseno where
00:30:50
Rome's fleet was harbored
00:30:53
and these Sailors were responsible for
00:30:56
maneuvering the Vellum which had to be
00:30:58
opened and closed as needed
00:31:01
it's a whole military operation to make
00:31:04
everything unfold and be lifted into
00:31:06
place at the same time so these Sailors
00:31:09
were very experienced men they had to
00:31:11
lower those canvases in three or four
00:31:13
minutes flat that's really very fast
00:31:18
but
00:31:20
the canvases were colored mainly in red
00:31:23
and the colors from them would play over
00:31:26
the people in the crowd
00:31:28
nothing was too beautiful when it came
00:31:30
to showing off the power and wealth of
00:31:32
Rome
00:31:34
[Music]
00:31:36
the Colosseum though has an unexpected
00:31:38
Secret
00:31:40
its location
00:31:42
it was built on the remains of the huge
00:31:45
Palace of Nero
00:31:47
foreign
00:31:50
ero wanted a place to live that was
00:31:52
truly exceptional one that only an
00:31:55
emperor could aspire to the golden house
00:31:58
or in Latin domus orea
00:32:05
an illustrious Palace of more than 200
00:32:08
rooms that formed a huge architectural
00:32:10
and Landscape complex of 80 hectares in
00:32:14
the heart of the city of Rome taking
00:32:15
over a quarter of the city
00:32:20
oh
00:32:22
the building of the domus area was an
00:32:26
extraordinary project
00:32:27
extraordinary from a financial point of
00:32:30
view
00:32:31
some authors agree that Nero spent
00:32:33
insane sums of money there
00:32:36
[Music]
00:32:39
it was here east of the center of Rome
00:32:42
on the opian hill that Nero founded his
00:32:44
Sumptuous home
00:32:46
the domus orea would stretch over
00:32:48
several Hills from the Palatine to the
00:32:50
escueline
00:32:54
almost completely gone now the palace
00:32:56
lives on in myth its construction posed
00:32:59
new problems and was a huge challenge to
00:33:02
its builders
00:33:04
it is a set of buildings
00:33:07
but also of Gardens and of technical
00:33:11
Feats technique these days we call it a
00:33:15
high-tech house Nero wanted to amaze and
00:33:18
impress he wanted to see real Feats of
00:33:21
Technology
00:33:26
the sacred way is widened and ascends to
00:33:28
reach the vestibule where stands a
00:33:31
colossal statue of the emperor depicted
00:33:33
as Apollo at 35 meters high the statue
00:33:37
of Nero dominates Rome
00:33:45
if the columned porticos are popular
00:33:48
they have been tripled here and on three
00:33:51
sides for a total length of one
00:33:53
kilometer
00:33:54
everything here is super sized
00:33:58
[Music]
00:34:00
the main facade faces South in order to
00:34:03
bathe in sunlight all day long
00:34:06
next a visitor was treated to the site
00:34:09
of this rectangular artificial Lake
00:34:11
surrounded by service rooms
00:34:13
baths and Monumental fountains that
00:34:16
demanded huge amounts of water
00:34:22
needed a lot of water even the stagnum
00:34:25
the lake that Nero built and that was
00:34:27
later the site of the Coliseum consumed
00:34:30
vast amounts of it
00:34:34
at the time at the end of the Imperial
00:34:37
era there were 11 aqueducts that brought
00:34:39
water to Rome
00:34:41
about one million cubic meters of it
00:34:43
each day
00:34:45
ancient Rome's one million inhabitants
00:34:48
consumed about 1 000 liters of water per
00:34:50
capita which is a lot more than what we
00:34:52
consume today
00:34:54
[Music]
00:34:55
currently our average water consumption
00:34:58
amounts to 150 liters of water per day
00:35:00
per capita almost seven times less than
00:35:04
the Romans of the 4th Century A.D
00:35:06
but you have to understand that water
00:35:08
was used for a lot of things public
00:35:11
toilets for example were constantly
00:35:13
rinsed by flowing water it was also used
00:35:16
in public baths which were huge
00:35:18
consumers of water fountains were also
00:35:20
fed continuously without Taps so there
00:35:23
was a Perpetual flow of water this is
00:35:25
also one reason for Rome's High
00:35:27
consumption of water
00:35:32
it was essential that the water
00:35:34
consumption of this Palace be regulated
00:35:37
the Romans had already exhausted all the
00:35:40
springs and rivers in the area
00:35:42
they had to search further away from
00:35:44
Rome now to find water
00:35:47
and it was 60 kilometers away that they
00:35:49
found a source and the construction of
00:35:51
an aqueduct could begin
00:35:53
the water crossed the countryside
00:35:55
underground before rising to the surface
00:35:58
through a hidden pipe high up in the
00:36:00
grand arches of the aqueduct
00:36:03
the aqueduct crossed the city to end up
00:36:05
not far from Nero's Palace
00:36:10
here we discover the opius Pavilion the
00:36:13
best known of them all with 240 square
00:36:16
meters of remains
00:36:17
[Music]
00:36:20
built of bricks and Roman concrete with
00:36:23
vaults it reveals huge rooms more than
00:36:25
10 meters high all of them for
00:36:28
ceremonies and receptions
00:36:32
[Music]
00:36:34
in this Palace luxury and Innovation
00:36:37
went hand in hand with marvels of
00:36:39
engineering
00:36:41
thusk was born amidst The Vineyards a
00:36:44
bold project the mythical revolving
00:36:46
dining room of Nero a fine example of
00:36:49
Roman genius
00:36:51
the ruins we see today are just the
00:36:54
remains of this basement which resembles
00:36:55
that of a tower
00:36:58
there was a tower with a Colonnade at
00:37:01
the top and inside a dining room that
00:37:05
was constantly revolving that is
00:37:07
something extraordinary
00:37:12
swetonius a Roman historian of the first
00:37:15
century describes it like this
00:37:17
the main dining room was round and it
00:37:20
turned day and night on itself imitating
00:37:22
the movement of the world
00:37:25
but how did this revolving dining room
00:37:27
work
00:37:29
it was a French archaeologist
00:37:32
who Unearthed it in 2007. and we Now
00:37:37
understand how this revolving dining
00:37:39
room was made a 12 meter high tower at
00:37:42
the top of which is installed a
00:37:44
turntable of about 12 meters in diameter
00:37:46
this means that it rotates continuously
00:37:49
and slowly a 3D representation of the
00:37:53
building might show how it worked
00:37:55
let's consider the three problems faced
00:37:58
by the Builders first there was the
00:38:01
choice of a suitable architecture
00:38:02
secondly they had to invent a mechanism
00:38:05
to ensure that the turntable rotated
00:38:07
smoothly and thirdly they had to find a
00:38:09
way of driving it that would guarantee
00:38:11
Perpetual movement so first they decided
00:38:14
on the tower
00:38:15
[Music]
00:38:18
it consisted of a circular Central
00:38:20
pillar in solid masonry four meters in
00:38:23
diameter connected by eight arches to a
00:38:25
circular wall over two meters thick that
00:38:28
surrounded the entire building
00:38:31
a door in the central pillar gives
00:38:34
access to a spiral staircase that
00:38:35
connected the ground floor to the first
00:38:37
floor
00:38:38
this was the first time that such a
00:38:41
staircase was ever seen a 75 centimeter
00:38:44
wide spiral service staircase
00:38:48
secondly they had to ensure that the
00:38:51
plateau overhanging the tower moved
00:38:53
smoothly
00:38:58
right at the top and at the exact center
00:39:00
of the structure a whole 13 centimeters
00:39:03
in diameter and 30 centimeters deep
00:39:05
suggests there was a central pivot
00:39:09
other regularly placed cavities were
00:39:11
probably there to hold bronze spheres
00:39:17
fears sat on a bed of fine clay and were
00:39:20
equipped with two fins that attached
00:39:22
them to the wooden Plateau so they
00:39:25
functioned like ball bearings
00:39:29
then what must have been a complex
00:39:31
rotating moving floor adorned with
00:39:33
precious wood had to be placed on them
00:39:37
thirdly they still had to come up with a
00:39:39
driving force that would keep the whole
00:39:41
thing turning steadily
00:39:45
the moving floor would be driven by a
00:39:47
mechanism powered by a hydraulic wheel
00:39:51
a special branch of the aqua Claudia
00:39:53
Aqueduct would channel the water to this
00:39:55
great wheel that would transmit the
00:39:57
force of that water to the mobile floor
00:39:59
through transmission axes equipped with
00:40:01
gears
00:40:05
the dining room revolved very slowly and
00:40:09
probably took two hours to turn a
00:40:11
complete circle so diners could enjoy
00:40:13
the changing view without getting dizzy
00:40:18
all these amazing amenities are what the
00:40:20
domus Oreo was all about not only an
00:40:22
astonishing building in terms of its
00:40:24
surface area but also extraordinary in
00:40:26
terms of its technical equipment
00:40:30
the incredible Palace would be destroyed
00:40:32
a few years after Nero's death
00:40:35
its Imperial monuments May well be
00:40:38
Sumptuous but Roman architecture is
00:40:40
characterized by its utility and its
00:40:42
functionality and defending the city was
00:40:45
one of its primary purposes
00:40:48
Rome has preserved the remains of two
00:40:50
walls
00:40:51
the oldest the Serbian wall and the
00:40:54
largest wall in the west the aurelian
00:40:56
wall
00:40:58
the Serbian wall built in the 6th
00:41:01
Century BC was the first accomplishment
00:41:07
the Fortified enclosure certainly
00:41:10
followed an older wooden and Clay
00:41:11
Palisade
00:41:14
you can see a large part of the ramparts
00:41:17
as you leave the Termini bus station and
00:41:19
admire the walls
00:41:24
they were made with large blocks of
00:41:27
yellow tough from the Tiber region
00:41:31
tough is a type of volcanic rock
00:41:34
since Rome is situated close to two
00:41:38
volcanoes
00:41:40
it is made of Opus quadratum which means
00:41:44
it consists of blocks placed on top of
00:41:46
each other dry and without using mortar
00:41:48
then joined by metal Staples
00:41:50
[Music]
00:41:53
the wall is 3.7 meters wide and 7 meters
00:41:57
tall at its highest it had 16 gates in
00:42:00
it
00:42:01
[Music]
00:42:06
but in the 3rd Century A.D the city
00:42:09
expanded considerably and Rome had to
00:42:11
protect itself from Barbarian invasions
00:42:13
which is why it built the greatest wall
00:42:15
in the West
00:42:20
foreign
00:42:22
it was Emperor aurelian who decided to
00:42:24
build it it would become the largest
00:42:27
construction site in Rome that Century
00:42:29
the walls were built in just five years
00:42:33
the impressive construction stretches
00:42:36
for 19 kilometers and surrounds an area
00:42:38
of nearly 14 square kilometers
00:42:41
[Music]
00:42:44
it is built according to the molding
00:42:46
technique
00:42:48
two brick sightings form the exterior of
00:42:50
the wall
00:42:52
in the center Roman concrete has been
00:42:54
poured
00:42:57
three and a half meters thick and eight
00:42:59
to ten meters high it is punctuated
00:43:01
every 30 meters by towers that defend
00:43:04
the city
00:43:05
[Music]
00:43:08
by about 580 the wall had 383 Towers
00:43:12
[Music]
00:43:14
more than seven thousand crenellations
00:43:19
and 18 main gates
00:43:24
the aurelian wall is remarkably well
00:43:26
preserved mainly because it was in
00:43:28
constant use right into the 19th century
00:43:34
Rome in its Imperial period may have
00:43:37
been splendidly opulent but it wasn't
00:43:39
like that at its Beginnings back in the
00:43:41
8th Century BC
00:43:44
the legend tells how it was founded in
00:43:46
753 BC by Romulus on the very place
00:43:50
where he and his brother Remus were
00:43:51
found by a she-wolf
00:43:54
[Music]
00:43:56
the history of ancient Rome can be
00:43:58
divided into three periods a monarchy to
00:44:00
start with then a republic and finally
00:44:03
an Empire
00:44:06
clearly the greater part of the ruins in
00:44:08
Rome are from the Imperial period the
00:44:10
richest period of the city's history
00:44:15
power is concentrated in the hands of
00:44:18
one man who's ever Freer to do just what
00:44:22
he wants and over time to undertake
00:44:24
major projects with no accountability
00:44:28
the second reason is that during the
00:44:31
Imperial era Rome became the complete
00:44:34
Master of the Mediterranean world and
00:44:37
took for itself all the intellectual and
00:44:40
material Riches of the Mediterranean Rim
00:44:46
Alexandria and its Museum became a
00:44:48
second home for Roman Engineers
00:44:51
the Romans could now easily head off to
00:44:54
find marble in Africa in Egypt in
00:44:57
present-day turkey or in Greece
00:44:59
all the riches were now at their
00:45:02
disposal
00:45:03
and the extraordinary thing is that
00:45:06
these little Hills at first nothing more
00:45:08
than small hills in Lazio a region of
00:45:11
swamps on the banks of the Tiber became
00:45:14
the capital total of the Mediterranean
00:45:16
world
00:45:18
it became the model for all the cities
00:45:20
built around the Mediterranean and
00:45:23
that's why we can say that Rome is at
00:45:26
the very least the Cradle of Western
00:45:29
Urban civilization
00:45:38
the power of Rome had grown into an
00:45:40
Empire of over 3 million square kilos
00:45:42
and its Authority will extend over 90
00:45:45
million inhabitants
00:45:47
Rome is the most populated city of the
00:45:50
ancient world
00:45:52
it's thought that in the first Century
00:45:54
A.D there were about 1 million
00:45:56
inhabitants of Rome that's a colossal
00:45:58
number it really is a Megapolis
00:46:01
think about the fact that Rome is six
00:46:05
times smaller than Paris intramurus in
00:46:07
surface area Paris intramurus it's a
00:46:10
little more than 2 million inhabitants
00:46:12
Rome and one million inhabitants on a
00:46:15
surface area six times smaller
00:46:19
the population lives crammed into narrow
00:46:22
winding alleys
00:46:24
with everyone lacking space Rome becomes
00:46:27
gripped by a housing crisis
00:46:30
that meant that to house all those
00:46:32
people you had to build upwards
00:46:39
the Romans built the first apartment
00:46:42
buildings some of them up to 21 meters
00:46:44
high
00:46:45
[Music]
00:46:50
with five six or seven floors
00:46:53
tens of thousands of them
00:46:55
[Music]
00:47:00
these remains at the foot of Capitol
00:47:03
Hill are unique
00:47:05
they're the only traces of a district of
00:47:07
collective apartment buildings in
00:47:08
ancient Rome
00:47:10
a building for the lower classes
00:47:13
they're called the insulate
00:47:16
a new Urban model that was emerging for
00:47:18
large cities
00:47:19
so they realized that they had to build
00:47:23
upwards
00:47:25
and they have buildings like modern
00:47:27
apartment blocks
00:47:29
what we can see today are the remains of
00:47:31
the upper stories
00:47:36
the first floor and the ground floor are
00:47:38
down here nine meters under the ground
00:47:41
According to some estimates 380 people
00:47:44
lived in this block of buildings
00:47:48
using bricks made it easy to construct
00:47:51
multi-story buildings and that's how the
00:47:55
insole came about
00:47:57
the insulate or islands are multi-story
00:48:00
buildings usually intended for housing
00:48:03
they are not luxury housing just
00:48:06
ordinary dwellings for ordinary people
00:48:10
and it was a pretty unique City from the
00:48:13
point of view of antiquity
00:48:16
the one that impressed everyone when you
00:48:18
got to Rome you'd see buildings that
00:48:20
could be six seven floors High the
00:48:22
wealthiest tenants lived at the bottom
00:48:24
of the buildings it was the opposite of
00:48:26
today for reasons that are easy to
00:48:28
understand firstly there were no
00:48:30
elevators and secondly and importantly
00:48:33
there was no water distribution to the
00:48:36
upper floors
00:48:38
the tenants had to bring jugs and vases
00:48:41
to stock up from the tub at the bottom
00:48:42
of the stairs
00:48:43
probably filled at one of the city's
00:48:46
1352 fountains
00:48:52
thirdly a lot of wood was used in these
00:48:55
buildings and fires were frequent now
00:48:59
fire is a very big problem in the
00:49:01
traditional building when there's Timber
00:49:03
vaulting you know the brick and all that
00:49:05
that that helps obviously but you're
00:49:08
still going to have some Timber up in
00:49:09
the roof and the floor so the higher up
00:49:12
you lived the more dangerous it was
00:49:17
for heating and cooking they had
00:49:18
portable braziers and oil lamps for
00:49:21
lighting
00:49:24
and obviously with all these braziers
00:49:27
and oil lamps hung around the place or
00:49:29
being carried about or standing on the
00:49:31
furniture if one gets knocked over it's
00:49:34
a catastrophe
00:49:38
in the Imperial age there were more than
00:49:40
46 000 in Chile
00:49:42
[Music]
00:49:47
at the height of its Imperial age Rome
00:49:50
covers 2 000 hectares 20 kilometers
00:49:52
squared it is the biggest Megapolis in
00:49:55
the Western World a sacred capital and a
00:49:58
model for all the peoples of the Roman
00:50:00
Empire at its highest point
00:50:03
the figures can make your head spin in
00:50:06
314 A.D there are in Rome 11 forums 200
00:50:10
temples 11 large bath houses 12
00:50:13
basilicas two amphitheaters and 43
00:50:16
triumphal arches
00:50:19
but also 37 Gates 19 aqueducts five
00:50:23
circuses two namakia the artificial
00:50:26
Lakes were Naval battles are recreated
00:50:29
967 public baths 1 352 fountains three
00:50:33
theaters nine Bridges 11 commemorative
00:50:36
columns a stadium and an Odeon 46 000
00:50:40
buildings hundreds of warehouses and
00:50:42
thousands of shops
00:50:45
the most exceptional of the ancient
00:50:48
Mediterranean cities and the largest of
00:50:50
them all Rome will forever Remain the
00:50:52
emblem of the power of the Roman Empire
00:50:54
and an example of architectural
00:50:56
excellence
00:50:58
the quality of Roman concrete the new
00:51:00
forms that freed up space the numerous
00:51:02
Innovations combined with the perfect
00:51:04
technical Mastery and talent of its
00:51:06
artists they leave us a unique Universal
00:51:09
Heritage with this Dome that brings
00:51:11
together all the gods Still Standing
00:51:14
firm
00:51:17
along with the moving lost beauty of the
00:51:19
domus orea that fabric born of Nero's
00:51:22
megalomania where one can dream of the
00:51:25
coliseum's engineering Treasures Roman
00:51:28
architecture never ceases to amaze us
00:51:31
by placing technology at the service of
00:51:34
the Roman way of life it knew how to
00:51:36
combine functionality with not just
00:51:38
greatness but also luxury and Beauty for
00:51:42
eternity
00:51:44
foreign
00:52:06
[Music]
