The Forum and the Basilica

The Forum and the Basilica

The classical antiquity period saw architecture shaped by mythology, artists and powerful rulers, yet in was a Roman military architect who left the world the most comprehensive insight to the era. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, occasionally referred to as the first architect, is perhaps best known for his work De architectura (published in English as Ten Books on Architecture). While the work has been subject to critical commentary over it’s irregular language, it had a profound influence on Renaissance architecture and became one of the most significant sources on ancient Roman building methods. Within Book V, one of the best known and most controversial of Vitruvius’ celebrated Treatise, are detailed descriptions of two well-known civil buildings found throughout the Roman Empire. This essay will investigate their origins of the Basilica and the Forum according to Vitruvius, as well as their corresponding functions in Roman society. The essay will then argue what impact Vitruvius’s writings had on the architecture of his time.

For centuries the Forum was the centre of Roman public life, the most famous of which is the Forum Romanum (figure 1). Situated between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills, the forum developed gradually over the centuries. By the Imperial age, the Basilica Amelia on the north and the Basilica Julia (figure 2) on the south defined its long borders and iconic form. However, Vitruvius states, “After the forum has been arranged, next, for the purpose of seeing plays or festivals of the immortal gods, a site as healthy as possible should be selected for the theatre” . This was not the case with the Forum Romanum, which was built on what was once a grassy wetland. Although the Cloaca Maxima, an ancient sewage system, effectively drained the marshy waters , the location of the Forum to the flood prone Tiber River has progressively raised the level of the floor over time. This breach of Vitruvian principle demonstrates that the Forum Romanum was not self-consciously modeled off either Vitruvius’ guidelines or existing Greek architecture.

The forum became the site for public speeches, criminal trials and occasionally, gladiatorial matches. Additionally, a significant function of the Forum was to serve as the climaxing venue for Triumphs, celebratory military parades . Conquering generals entered Rome by the western Triumphal Gate, and circled the Palatine Hill before proceeding into the Forum. These events therefore necessitated that voices within the Forum would carry to all in attendance. Vitruvius had recognized this feature’s importance by claiming:

“The number of passages must be regulated by the height of the theatre, and are not to be higher than their width, because if made higher, they will reflect and obstruct the voice in its passage upwards, so that it will not reach the upper seats above the passages” .