WEBVTT 00:00:00.100 --> 00:00:05.010 [Intro piano music] 00:00:05.010 --> 00:00:07.803 Imagine how beautiful it must have been, this square 00:00:07.803 --> 00:00:10.799 with all these monumental arches covered in travertine 00:00:10.799 --> 00:00:15.610 and all these statues and beautiful fountains spilling out water 00:00:15.610 --> 00:00:17.315 reflecting the light on the travertine. 00:00:17.315 --> 00:00:19.465 That we might think about this more like the way 00:00:19.465 --> 00:00:22.199 we think today about Lincoln Center(exactly) -- 00:00:22.199 --> 00:00:25.734 with fountains in the middle and gleaming stone. 00:00:25.734 --> 00:00:27.291 Should we start off by talking a little bit 00:00:27.291 --> 00:00:29.441 about the structure and how it was built? 00:00:29.441 --> 00:00:31.853 We have to imagine the Colosseum as a gigantic donut. 00:00:31.853 --> 00:00:34.009 You have the inside as the arena. 00:00:34.009 --> 00:00:36.365 Arena originally in Latin meant "sand". 00:00:36.365 --> 00:00:39.176 On the floor where gladiators were fighting, 00:00:39.176 --> 00:00:42.848 they used sand to absorb blood and body fluids. 00:00:42.848 --> 00:00:45.421 You know, like a gigantic cat litter if you think about it. 00:00:45.421 --> 00:00:47.840 So between different fight[s], 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:50.542 they could simply clean off very easily. 00:00:50.542 --> 00:00:53.921 The original name of this building was not Colosseum. 00:00:53.921 --> 00:00:56.316 Colosseum is a nickname given later. 00:00:56.316 --> 00:00:58.111 Not because it was a colossal monument , 00:00:58.111 --> 00:01:00.639 but because it was located in the proximity of 00:01:00.639 --> 00:01:03.429 a colossal statue -- originally of Nero-- 00:01:03.429 --> 00:01:05.556 that was part of the decoration of his house. 00:01:05.556 --> 00:01:10.548 And so with time the nickname was given by this proximity. 00:01:10.548 --> 00:01:14.049 The original name was actually Flavian Amphitheater. 00:01:14.049 --> 00:01:15.616 And this is something very typical 00:01:15.616 --> 00:01:17.714 even if you think about American monuments. 00:01:17.714 --> 00:01:19.044 You have the Lincoln Center, 00:01:19.044 --> 00:01:20.531 you have the Rockefeller Center. 00:01:20.531 --> 00:01:24.341 They are connected with the name of the family that paid for the building. 00:01:24.341 --> 00:01:27.503 The Flavian family paid for the building of the Colosseum. 00:01:27.503 --> 00:01:32.028 Flavian Amphitheater is just a technical name for the shape. 00:01:32.028 --> 00:01:34.240 It simply means in Greek "a double theater". 00:01:34.240 --> 00:01:36.853 The original Greek theaters were actually semi-circles 00:01:36.853 --> 00:01:38.637 with a flat end by the stage, 00:01:38.637 --> 00:01:40.668 and so this is really just fitting those two together. 00:01:40.668 --> 00:01:42.830 By using arches and concrete, 00:01:42.830 --> 00:01:45.823 Romans were able to build an amphitheater 00:01:45.823 --> 00:01:49.555 even a double theater with seats on a flat surface. 00:01:49.555 --> 00:01:53.396 The engineering behind it is absolutely astonishing 00:01:53.396 --> 00:01:56.032 considering that it was only built in ten years. 00:01:56.032 --> 00:02:00.237 The Colosseum could hold between 50,000 and 80,000 people. 00:02:00.237 --> 00:02:04.616 And if you look at the actual top part of each of the ground floor arches, 00:02:04.616 --> 00:02:06.130 you see a roman number. 00:02:06.130 --> 00:02:08.806 They are very dark and dilapidated. (Ah! I see!) 00:02:08.806 --> 00:02:10.402 You can see a 23 (XXIII). 00:02:10.402 --> 00:02:11.554 Then there is a 24 (XXIIII). 00:02:11.554 --> 00:02:12.781 And then there is a 25 (XXV). 00:02:12.781 --> 00:02:14.000 They are progressive. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:16.958 And these numbers would have been written on the tickets given to the people. 00:02:16.958 --> 00:02:18.072 It‘s like in a modern stadium -- 00:02:18.072 --> 00:02:20.062 you would have an assigned seat ... 00:02:20.062 --> 00:02:21.807 A gate number. Also the seat. 00:02:21.807 --> 00:02:23.967 Because it was extremely important for the Romans. 00:02:23.967 --> 00:02:26.221 Even the seats were assigned according to their status. 00:02:26.221 --> 00:02:29.816 So you had the most important people close to the arena 00:02:29.816 --> 00:02:33.944 and the least important - being the women - on the top floor. 00:02:33.944 --> 00:02:36.657 Here we actually see the style of the Colosseum. 00:02:36.657 --> 00:02:39.778 So you have three stories of arches, 00:02:39.778 --> 00:02:43.268 and then another story - a fourth floor with windows, 00:02:43.268 --> 00:02:45.798 so it's closed with small windows inside. 00:02:45.798 --> 00:02:47.773 And if you look at these arches, 00:02:47.773 --> 00:02:50.558 the arches are framed by columns. 00:02:50.558 --> 00:02:52.942 At the bottom part you have what is called Tuscan. 00:02:52.942 --> 00:02:54.224 It's similar to Doric 00:02:54.224 --> 00:02:57.096 but it's more a local - an Italic style. 00:02:57.096 --> 00:02:59.260 It's even simpler than Doric it seems. 00:02:59.260 --> 00:03:00.328 Yes, it's also the base. 00:03:00.328 --> 00:03:02.150 I mean Doric columns do not have a base 00:03:02.150 --> 00:03:05.267 while Tuscan columns do have a base. 00:03:05.267 --> 00:03:07.569 And they not are fluted as well, right? No. 00:03:07.569 --> 00:03:11.512 Then you go to the Ionic columns on the second story. 00:03:11.512 --> 00:03:13.381 And the Ionic columns actually are... 00:03:13.381 --> 00:03:15.840 they're considered the most feminine of the columns. 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:18.177 Because their proportions were more slender 00:03:18.177 --> 00:03:19.741 and with these volutes on the top. 00:03:19.741 --> 00:03:21.904 and the women sat higher as well...exact. 00:03:21.904 --> 00:03:24.446 And the top floor you got the Corinthian. 00:03:24.446 --> 00:03:26.406 They're based on the Acanthus plant - 00:03:26.406 --> 00:03:29.086 it's indigenous in Rome, you can find it in many gardens. 00:03:29.086 --> 00:03:31.540 It is very nice with green leaves. 00:03:31.540 --> 00:03:34.385 And so it's an imitation of a piece of stone 00:03:34.385 --> 00:03:36.653 covered with leaves of grass. 00:03:36.653 --> 00:03:39.859 Inside of each of the arches on the second and third floor, 00:03:39.859 --> 00:03:41.268 there would be a statue. 00:03:41.268 --> 00:03:43.729 And on the top floor there would be 00:03:43.729 --> 00:03:48.525 probably bronze shields on top alternating the windows. 00:03:48.525 --> 00:03:51.274 Yeah, we imagine the Colosseum as a donut. 00:03:51.274 --> 00:03:56.020 The outside circle was done with blocks of travertine. 00:03:56.020 --> 00:03:59.905 The inside of the donut was done with a core of concrete. 00:03:59.905 --> 00:04:01.668 Ancient Romans had really perfected concrete 00:04:01.668 --> 00:04:04.784 and really were the first to use it as this structural material. 00:04:04.784 --> 00:04:08.161 And that was critical for their ability to create structures of this size. 00:04:08.161 --> 00:04:10.736 Also, something like the Pantheon. 00:04:10.736 --> 00:04:14.560 The development of concrete was crucial for two main reasons. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.508 The first one is if you work with cut stone: 00:04:17.508 --> 00:04:19.945 marble, travertine, even tufa stone, 00:04:19.945 --> 00:04:22.059 you need specialized workers 00:04:22.059 --> 00:04:23.547 becuase you need to know how to cut the stone. 00:04:23.547 --> 00:04:24.893 If you get it the wrong way, 00:04:24.893 --> 00:04:27.145 the stone will crumble into your hand, right? 00:04:27.145 --> 00:04:31.520 With concrete it makes it possible for not specialized workers 00:04:31.520 --> 00:04:33.926 to produce something that's more sturdy. 00:04:33.926 --> 00:04:36.256 At the same time it's less expensive. You know. 00:04:36.256 --> 00:04:39.276 To quarry blocks of marble is not the cheapest. 00:04:39.276 --> 00:04:41.035 Concrete could be assembled everywhere. 00:04:41.035 --> 00:04:46.892 You just need a little mortar and a few pieces of stone to make aggregate and water. 00:04:46.892 --> 00:04:50.634 So it's very easy but at the same time it's more elastic. 00:04:50.634 --> 00:04:55.057 With concrete you get sort of elasticity and you can mold space. 00:04:55.057 --> 00:04:59.215 Because it's something liquid and you can simply mold it the way you want. 00:04:59.215 --> 00:05:02.577 And so the idea would be to take a wooden framework 00:05:02.577 --> 00:05:05.255 that framed out the space that you wanted 00:05:05.255 --> 00:05:09.071 and then to pour concrete into that wooden mold. 00:05:09.071 --> 00:05:13.122 Exactly, and then it could be covered with decoration. 00:05:13.122 --> 00:05:16.523 It could be bricks, stucco, whatever you want. 00:05:16.523 --> 00:05:19.709 So it really allowed for far more monumental structures, 00:05:19.709 --> 00:05:23.812 and that would be economically and physically feasible. 00:05:23.812 --> 00:05:25.774 And less expensive and quick. 00:05:25.774 --> 00:05:28.702 You know ten years to build the Colosseum is quite an accomplishment 00:05:28.702 --> 00:05:31.350 because they used mostly concrete. 00:05:31.350 --> 00:05:34.364 And also kind of thinking about architecture in a new way 00:05:34.364 --> 00:05:38.357 in terms of shaping an interior space. 00:05:38.357 --> 00:05:39.473 Particularly interiors. 00:05:39.473 --> 00:05:41.249 Because if you look at Greek architecture, 00:05:41.249 --> 00:05:42.302 you look at the temples, 00:05:42.302 --> 00:05:44.953 the inside of the temples is quite narrow. 00:05:44.953 --> 00:05:49.696 If you think the Pantheon, you just are in this amazing sphere. 00:05:49.696 --> 00:05:51.328 And that's why they really invented it, 00:05:51.328 --> 00:05:53.953 the idea of molding not the outside but the inside 00:05:53.953 --> 00:05:56.640 to be able to produce a vault 00:05:56.640 --> 00:06:00.661 that could permit to have a space free of standing columns 00:06:00.661 --> 00:06:03.107 in the middle to support the roof. 00:06:03.107 --> 00:06:07.182 Moving away from post and lintel architecture to an interior space 00:06:07.182 --> 00:06:10.558 which really in a sense almost doubled the architecture vocabulary 00:06:10.558 --> 00:06:13.305 and created an advancement over a system 00:06:13.305 --> 00:06:14.988 that had existed for thousands of years. 00:06:14.988 --> 00:06:18.594 Romans they employ concrete on such a scale 00:06:18.594 --> 00:06:21.408 that permitted them to build wherever they wanted. 00:06:21.408 --> 00:06:24.345 They were not forced by the space. 00:06:24.345 --> 00:06:26.261 Greeks could not build a theater wherever they wanted. 00:06:26.261 --> 00:06:27.346 They needed a slope. 00:06:27.346 --> 00:06:30.556 So what if you were living in a city without slopes? 00:06:30.556 --> 00:06:32.381 No theater for you, right? 00:06:32.381 --> 00:06:34.848 Romans were able to creat a theater, an amphitheater, 00:06:34.848 --> 00:06:38.730 or a circus, or a bath complex wherever they wanted. 00:06:38.730 --> 00:06:43.311 It's true that Greeks seemed to use natural features in a more passive way 00:06:43.311 --> 00:06:46.858 whereas the Romans seemed to shape the landscape much more aggressively. 00:06:46.858 --> 00:06:48.914 You talked about the fact that there had been a lake here. 00:06:48.914 --> 00:06:50.749 Let's drain the lake. We are putting a building here. 00:06:50.749 --> 00:06:55.361 That is nature becomes in the service of man rather than vice versa. 00:06:55.361 --> 00:06:56.871 That's actually a very good point. 00:06:56.871 --> 00:06:59.994 The fact is that they wanted to be able to shape their space. 00:06:59.994 --> 00:07:02.179 So the idea of urban planning, 00:07:02.179 --> 00:07:05.098 you could build a city the way you wanted to 00:07:05.098 --> 00:07:08.387 and not just be subject to the landscape that was there. 00:07:08.387 --> 00:07:10.953 But I think that there is this really important way 00:07:10.953 --> 00:07:13.610 in which the Romans were thinking of themselves -- 00:07:13.610 --> 00:07:16.313 as powers in the landscape, having that sort of dominance. 00:07:16.313 --> 00:07:19.184 It seems to me that the Romans shaped in a way 00:07:19.184 --> 00:07:22.853 that speaks of that notion of their own inherent strength. 00:07:22.853 --> 00:07:25.552 What was different about the Roman society, 00:07:25.552 --> 00:07:27.035 they were not racists in the sense 00:07:27.035 --> 00:07:28.778 that they were looking at the color of your skin. 00:07:28.778 --> 00:07:30.472 They didn't［could't］care less about that. 00:07:30.472 --> 00:07:32.873 It was a multicultural society. 00:07:32.873 --> 00:07:34.678 There were Romans from Africa, 00:07:34.678 --> 00:07:37.838 Romans from Turkey, Romans from Germany. 00:07:37.838 --> 00:07:41.303 What made it different was were you a citizen or not. 00:07:41.303 --> 00:07:44.134 If you were not a citizen, you were nobody. 00:07:44.134 --> 00:07:48.821 But if you were a citizen, the color of your skin was not important. 00:07:48.821 --> 00:07:52.059 But there were fine distinctions even within citizenship. 00:07:52.059 --> 00:07:54.336 Of course there were social classes. 00:07:54.336 --> 00:07:58.576 One interesting aspect was that you could move along the social scale. 00:07:58.576 --> 00:08:02.293 While for Greeks you could not even acquire citizenship. 00:08:02.293 --> 00:08:05.740 It was extremely rare to obtain citizenship. 00:08:05.740 --> 00:08:09.838 For the Romans even a slave could become first a free man, 00:08:09.838 --> 00:08:13.525 and then his children would become full citizens for Rome. 00:08:13.525 --> 00:08:15.462 It's like the America. If you think about America, 00:08:15.462 --> 00:08:18.725 like the second generation immigrants as the same idea. 00:08:18.725 --> 00:08:21.410 They realized that being able to move and 00:08:21.410 --> 00:08:24.715 being able to sort of give people a chance in life 00:08:24.715 --> 00:08:27.265 could make all the difference in the economy. 00:08:27.265 --> 00:08:33.713 [Closing Piano Music]