ROME City of Water

Infrastructure The Aqueductus

The Aqueductus were often many miles long

They were built near clean water sources located outside the city limits, and subsequently channeled clean water into Roman towns

Topography

All water pipes of the Aqueductus were open channels driven by gravity flow

The water flowed freely in rectangular channels, rather than sealed tubes

Urban Objects

The Fountains

Typologies of the Roman Fountain

MOSTRE FOUNTAINS terminal “display” fountains associated with the Aqueduct

ORNAMENTAL FOUNTAINS

WALL (MURAL) FOUNTAINS

“SEMI-PUBLIC” FOUNTAINS & DRINKING FOUNTAINS

FONTANELLE small neighborhood fountains

“NASONE” FOUNTAINS Fontanelle (1887)

SERVICE FOUNTAINS laundry fountains (Baroque Period)

ABBEVERATOIO fountains for animals

Fountains: Water as Urban Objects

Construction of the aqueductus determined the location of each fountain

FOUNTAINS water storage points within the distributed water system of the city (aqueductus)

CASTELLUM transformed into monumental fountains during the Roman Empire

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1500: Papa Sisto V Restoration of the ancient Roman aqueductus and fountains

1600: Gianlorenzo Bernini utilizes “decorative dynamism” of Baroque ornamental features and creates the Fountain of the Four Rivers (Piazza Navona)

During the Baroque Era, water and objects became landmarks

The fountain (and obelisk) functioned as a centerpoint

During the time between 1930-1937, a new Roman aqueductus was built

Society The Roman Bath

All Roman towns had public baths. These baths were used not only for swimming or bathing—they created the center of social life.

The Imperial Baths and the Balnae were the first attempts to provide communal bathing on a large scale.

BALNAE designed primarily for the neighborhood. Average of 5 bath houses per block, and 1 balnaeum for every 35 apartment buildings.

Logistics of bath locations were solved by improving the aqueduct.

There were two other ingenious inventions which contributed to the popularity of the Roman bath: vaulted ceilings (which supported massive roofs), and the hypocaust heating system.

Baths and Bathing

The thermae was designed with the idea of a recreational center.

Thermae walls enclosed an endless array of places:

Sports centers

Swimming pools

Parks

Libraries

Small Theatres (music, poetry)

Great Halls (parties)

Restaurants

Sleeping Quarters

The numerous centers and sources of entertainment ensured that anyone and everyone could enjoy the thermae.

*Many of the thermae were considered “free zones”—outside the jurisdiction of the law

The Roman Empire

A Culture of Water

The Culture of Water is still present in the contemporary city

Religion &

Public Life

Rome became the center of spiritual and political power during the Medieval Period. due in large part to the huge influence of

Christianity.

Everyday life in the Middle Ages revolved around Christian

commerce and faith.

Medieval Rome was not only the center of spiritual and

political power—it was also a place for commerce and

agricultural exploitation, where the population sought security

within the city walls.

The typical medieval market was set up in a square or plaza in the center of town. Local residents brought the food they grew and the animals they raised to sell or barter; some crafts people would also sell their goods.

This arrangement continues today in markets like the one in Campo di Fiori.

Roman Publicness and Event Space

Historical Context Baroque and Beyond

Piazza del Popolo 

Pope Sisto V  1st to lay the foundation of the modern city

 Religiously-oriented, but focused on the relationship between urban access and function

Baroque Period  Rectilinear axis with a focal point—commonly, the obelisk  Creation of a coherent, organized urban system which consisted of 3 main components: long, narrow streets; square (piazza); and, a focal point within the square

Rome as the Capital City

19th Century

New meaning of the piazza: symbolic function; not just a gathering place

Celebration of political rather than religious power

Use of buildings for civic functions, in addition to a central space designed as a public garden

Honorary statue replaced the obelisk and became the central focal point, symbolizing political power and also honoring civic life.

Event Space The Piazza

Gathering: La Grande Piazza Piazza del Popolo / Piazza di Spagna / Piazza Navona

A,rac/on for Interna/onal Visitors 

Cultural Exchange (Rome & int’l cultures) 

Gathering Space

Main Center (Piazza Navona) 

Public Garden / Recreational Space

Piazzette: negotiated piazzas The small piazzas of Rome

Generated by transformation of the ‘urban fabric’, emerging spontaneously rather than through methodical plans.

Developed via convergence of streets or residual spaces, or from demolitions and new constructions.

Support neighborhood activities and community life.

Sometimes connected to interior courtyard of building, becoming extension of the private outdoor space

Neighborhood and

Sub-Identity

During the Fascist period in Italy, over 600 buildings were demolished in order to create space for the urban reconstruction of Mussolini. The demolitions displaced around 2,000 people, many of which were related to new housing developments or “social housing”, the borgate.

By 1930, there were over 6,000 people living in municipal housing areas like Garbatella. Social housing was provided on the basis of moving residents out of the city and into “clean, country air”…

…despite these claims, the social housing communities were, in reality, poorly built; lacking many basic necessities; and located far from public transportation.

Conditions in the borgate have improved during the past few decades, and residents maintain an identity different than those in other sections of Rome.