The 5 Greatest Roman Buildings Demolished during the Renaissance
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- Опубликовано: 14 июл 2024
- A fountain 100 feet tall. A temple with columns the size of redwoods. The greatest early Christian church. This video explores some of the masterpieces of Roman architecture that were demolished for building materials during the Renaissance.
For more fascinating facts about the city of Rome, check out my book “Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants: Frequently Asked Questions about the Ancient Greeks and Romans."
www.amazon.com/Naked-Statues-...
If you're so inclined, you can follow me elsewhere online:
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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:39 Temple of Minerva
2:19 Septizodium
4:16 Baths of Constantine
6:07 Temple of Serapis
8:25 Old St. Peter's Basilica
Thanks for watching!
The periods following the roman empire must really have felt like some post-apocalyptic scene. Cities littered with decay and ruins. Now these are historical sites or tourist attractions. But seeing these illustrations they seemed to dominate the landscape. With even people taking shelter in the remains. I never stopped to think about this.
It was under the shade of a sense that the past was greater that an appreciation for traditionalism could thrive
When things fall apart for us, we'll look back and ask, what was it that we did so right? What changes did we make that caused it to all go wrong?
That was probably the case in western europe, however I'd imagine the eastern side of the empire would have been full of the same vibrancy
It's not like Roman buildings dissappeared or were destroyed in one year time. Many of them remained in use, in the meantime many new buildings were erected, often to build new things people sourced building materials from old Romans structures and they didn't really care because they were more interested in their current needs.
Think about baths of Caracalla. When Visigoths cut some of Roman aqueducts this baths could no longer be supplied with water so people simply stopped using it. In next decades some aqueducts were rebuilt but Rome's population dwindled, there were other baths available, so noone was interested in putting Caracalla baths to its former glory. And what could be done with such massive structure? Decorations were removed and many stones were re-used.
Life was going as usual.
Every reset leaves alot of questions, with no way to really answer them for sure.
I would love it to see any of the buildings in relative good condition to be renovated.
When I studied art history, I recall my professor teaching us that the splendor of Renaissance Rome was built through destroying the ruins of Ancient Rome. Everything fades.
Fading is different. This is wanton destruction.
@@AndrewBlucher Agreed. This was ridiculous disrespect for their own ancestral heritage! Amazingly, the greatest destroyers of the Roman's monuments were not invaders, but the people living there!!!
Imagine what ruins would have existed had it truly fallen and been completely abandoned, like Ostia. Now, in an age when people actually have respect for the ancient's accomplishments it wouldn't be undone for building material. Now, people would be told "go find a quarry somewhere, If you want building material!".
Astrodome...Many More . .
50 .70 100 years is the modern Time Line..
Fallingwater House structure redone 80 year after...See it in Summer. .
@Nathan Taffijn And the Popes who ordered the destruction of much of it.
For those of us in the new world, it is hard to comprehend how the people who live amongst such artefacts of antiquity could have treated them so off-handedly.
I purchased a book called Lost America. Many fine and historical buildings have been destroyed, a surprising amount for parking lots...Nothing as old as Roman buildings, but we have to start to respect older constructions, as they will enrich our society for the future.
Ιn many cases the papal history of Rome is overlooked by historians. Of course the Popes would not respect those "pagan" building. In his honor Pope Alexander the 6th/Rodrigo Borgia was one of the very few Popes who tried to save those ancient artifacts -one of his rare good sides.
how about Penn Station in New York ?
@@ericvosselmans5657 This wasn't 1,000 years ago, it was 400, at the height of the Renaissance and the beginning of the modern era. Your line of reasoning is ignorant and unfounded. Rethink it.
The older something is, the more risk it has getting re-used, destroyed, burned down, looted, etc,etc.Things become an antique building or artifact because it survived progress, earthquakes, fires ,wars etc . .Most European city centers are a collection of ancient,old and newer buildings and artifacts from all different ages that escaped progress and all the centuries of progress, natural disasters and wars . including the incredible destructive world wars...In the end it's a miracle we still have so much antiquities left.!
If I ever want to get into a bad mood, I’ll rewatch this video
lmao
true
Yep. We condemn the Taliban. The Popes were at that stage in the 1600s.
@@TesterAnimal1 the popes only chopped the wieners off the statues, taliban would have destroyed all.
so sad the things that have been lost
@@fritzkuhne2055 No the popes wrecked whole perfectly preserved buildings.
Rome had more “modern luxuries” than New York City did in the early 1900’s. Such a fascinating time in history.
Like what?
Public baths, running water closet, Aqueduct's, tempels/churchs of worship, Stadium for gladiator matchs, sport and public games and other mass spectacles.
Comes to prove how "dark" the Dark middle ages were, truly so much knowledge was lost or locked away in monasteries. Even seeing the average life expectancy of the Roman elite back then not being too far off our time, just to fall to around to 30-40 years during the Middle Ages
@@mafiousbj Burning libraries, never helped anything afterall...
Many places throughout the empire had running water from aqueducts. After the fall of Rome, they wouldn’t have running water until after wwi
Wow I’ve just discovered your channel today. It’s a gem. You have so much unique content, love it. Keep it up man!
Thank you!
Ditto!
Seriously man me too!! Found it all two days ago and have been binging like crazy. Great channel dude.
@@bagman7545 Thank you!
It is odd, that an American teach me so many things of a Town, that I been living in, and never thought about. Most of us, European, never pay any thoughts about our history present even today. As many constructions and buildings. Thank You for an excellent video.
You're very welcome
Well As An italian i totally agree. I shed tears when i see my people pollute our country and don't know or care about learn history. The fascists says they want to make a new roman empire Lol while they trhow empty beers near ancients ruins. I wish we could destroy ignorance but is impossible and we are a minority...
@@bepinkfloyd814 Coming from a small Australian country town, the architecture of Italy was one of my favourite parts when I went. From the piazzas to Roman ruins, everything was amazing to look at. You could tell that the places I visited grew naturally, over 1000s of years. It’s truly a shame most people don’t care, especially in a place so special like Italy
I really envy you Europeans for living among such amazing historical sites. I'd give allot to come and see them myself as an American and relive Rome through imagination. Appreciate the intelligent ancient design and everything. Wish you Europeans and Italians wouldn't take it for granted
I would love to see a video on how temples and other major buildings were constructed, specifically the logistics and planning that would have to go into it. Also what workers would do and what tools they used in Roman times. I think that would be cool to show people the level of effort behind all of these great works.
My family and I where part of a special tour of the burial sites of St. Peter underneath the basilica. What was so magical about this special tour; is that it occurred just before Holy Week, and we could hear the faithful in the modern basilica up above us as we explored the non-Christian tombs and the courtyard with the graffiti of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th century Christians scratched into the wall.
I took the Vatican scavi tour once, years ago, and would very much like to do it again.
I took that tour and it was beautiful. As a practicing Catholic, seeing the relics of Saint Peter was amazing. I wish to go to Roma again sometime
Going to Rome in a few weeks and was checking this out. Apparently you have to make the bookings by fax, lol
@@oivinf I hope you get to go on that tour!!
Got the scavi tour booked for a couple of weeks from now! Excited for it, if I remember I'll edit after I've visited
You know what would be cool? A large book about this, and similar things, with all those drawings and pictures included, hardcover big pages. It would be abeautiful
Reminds me how Egyptian monuments were also destroyed for building stones, either by locals for their houses or by later lrulers for their own lesser efforts at ancient wonders
So it's not really buildings that were demolished, but the heavily damaged ruins of buildings.
That were already crumbling...
Upon seeing the statue of the seat boxer I immediately ordered a print of a picture of the statue. I just felt this resonance. Nearly 2000 years and we still entertain ourselves with combat sports. Just something about how much the hand wraps haven't changed struck me
The Emporor Nero always let a defeated Boxer live.
Imagine being a Roman local in the 10th century quarrying stones from the coliseum being like “how the hell did they build that? And how did we lose all of this?”
The ruins of ancient Rome were even more startling for visitors from northern Europe, who had never seen anything like them.
It’s insane how much I love your videos and yet how sad some of them make me… like I don’t expect everything to survive but when I hear about ancient buildings being used as a quarry or ancient coins being melted for their gold or silver value, I just want to cry
A great many English castles and Abbeys were sold off as quarrys for 'The Lord's' house. et al.
I would love to know what happened to Hadrian's great complex at Tivoli if there is enough known about it. There is so little of it left today.
Hadrian's Villa is one of my favorite ruins. I've been thinking about doing a video about it, in fact.
I've been there, and I have to tell you: there's still a lot to see, even thougth most of it now has disappeared.
@@ciaotiziocaius4899 hehe, " there's still a lot to see, even thougth most of it now has disappeared" --> This is how I felt at almost every Roman ruin in Rome and Ostia when I was there.
There were the bronzes in the coffers of the Pantheon which were ripped out and melted down by the Barberini to complete the altar in St. Peter's.
Yes - though most of the metal was apparently used to make papal cannons.
@@toldinstone not only coffers, the Pantheon portico's original bronze trussed roof (no wooden beams, BRONZE beams) were also destroyed. www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26562563
@@My-nl6sg I mention that sad loss briefly in my video on the "Hidden History of the Pantheon."
Quod non fecerunt barbari Barberini fecerunt !
There's a nice museum in the vicinity of Sintra, Portugal, at _São Miguel de Odrinhas_ , that displays an impressive colection of Roman tombstones, amongst other Medieval materials. One of the room's name, which displays Roman objects transformed into other ones later on, became for me the perfect term to describe these sad endings of Roman buildings...
It's called _CRONOS DEVORATOR_ .
Thank you again! 😊 You and your hard work are greatly appreciated.
Fun fact:
The forum romanum was burried under lots of rubble and shrubs and trees until it was dug out and partially restored by an italian politician in the 1930s; bonus points if you know his name.
He made the trains run on time
Benito M.
Loving your channel Dr. Garret!
I think that a lot of the materials were taken in little bits and pieces over time. In other cities, many things were often used in quick makeshift fortress walls in times of conflict and sieges.😨
Certainly. That happened in Rome, too - quite a few monuments (including the Colosseum) were converted into makeshift castles during the middle ages.
@@toldinstone I think that the saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt" applies here. So does historical perspective. In 1962, a pristine condition 1957 Chevy would have been no big deal. It sure is now.
While it is true that the old St. Peters Basilica was still in use when it was demolished, it was already falling apart after about a century of use. All the rest you mentioned were already in ruins when parts of them were salvaged for use in buildings being constructed at the time.
Supposedly the walls were bowing out, but the loss of so much memory in stone was something many were unhappy about. If the Pope wanted, it could perhaps have been saved, with the architectural palimpsests that can make some Roman churches so fascinating.
@@flyingisaac2186it would have costed an insane amount to renovate it, building a new structure was the cheaper option
@@deeznoots6241the new basilica more or less started because Pope Julius II decided to have a monumental tomb for himself in the basilica that's so big, it won't suit anyway...
Also, I may have read somewhere one reason why the walls started to lean outwards. It is said that around that time, or probably even earlier, they started replacing the roof tiles with a lead covered roof, which is much heavier. Maybe all that added weight up top caused the structural problems in the first place.
Also worth noting that the basilicas of San Paolo Fuori Le Mura and Santa Maria Maggiore, which were roughly as old as old St. Peter's and of more or less similar size (the San Paolo is slightly bigger than old St. Peter's) and they had survived (well, San Paolo was badly damaged by a fire in the 1800s, during repairs to the lead roof)
@@jcgabriel1569 the old basilica could have absolutely been restored, but it was cheaper to demolish and use the stone to build new
@@deeznoots6241 I don't think it's cheaper to demolish the old one and make a new building from scratch. They would have to pull down the old basilica and all its adjacent buildings like the mausolea and the chapels added over the years, dig new foundations for the new structure. And, it's not like the materials from the old basilica are sufficient enough for the construction of the new one. The new one is bigger, hence very few of the materials from the old basilica found use in the new one, apart from purely decorative purposes.
Still, one drive for the idea of the new basilica would've been the fact that there's a great deal of new construction in Rome at the time, in the Renaissance style. Even the Apostolic Palace next to the old basilica had been rebuilt to the new style. That may have been another reason; a chance to get one of the holiest sites in Christendom more "up to date"...
And, with the benefit of hindsight, we know that the costs incurred by the new basilica is massive, not just the monetary ones from the direct construction and embellishment. The sale of indulgences to fund the construction led one dissatisfied Augustinian monk to post his theses in a church door in Germany, for example, and we already what happened to that later...
so enjoyed from this video , thanks 🙏🏻
You have very interesting videos about ancient buildings and building techniques. Thank you.
You're very welcome!
Just wanted you to know that I truly enjoy watching your channel. Thank you for your efforts!
Thank you for this video!!!
I heard someone say (possibly on one of Time Team's myriad episodes) that plundering ancient structures "was the ultimate recycling scheme."
The theme of your channel is exactly as I would have wanted the material presented in classic civ. So often, too, in art history, there were two slides juxtaposed as the present state of decay and an artist's interpretation as to the original building. I don't know whether the professors didn't know or didn't care even when, as you lay out, the history of natural and intentional destruction can be so well documented
I'm very glad you enjoyed the presentation
Thank you for this content.
Pretty cool vid . thanks for the knowledge Dr.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great reminder that it was the so called "moderns" who destroyed the remains of antiquity, not barbarians so much. While some of it was used to beautify churches, much more was used to glorify themselves.
The remains of antiquity = remains of what the barbarians haven't managed to destroy. Having said that, you are right, the Romans' choices weakened Rome and led to Rome falling.
Massive stone buildings aren't destroyed by a raiding army with pre-modern equipment.
It is either the elements or a long, pre-meditated effort by many people that is required to pull them down.
Are you kidding? We are witnesses today of how mindless mobs are able to topple statues in a matter of moments. Imagine what you would do if you were suddenly freed from centuries of oppression. This video is revisionist history.@@skeletalforce9673
I just discovered your channel and As An italian i must say grazie for the amazing content. More Knowledge is always good , keep It up with the good work daddy :D
Loving your videos!
Glad to hear it!
Some renaissance pope: Aight Imma need some marble for a pedestal or something
Posterity: ...
@dev null 👽👽
@dev null They performed DNA tests on the mummies, so there is no mystery who built the pyramids.
@dev null Egyptians. Who else?
@dev null I have no idea what point you are trying to make.
@dev null what are you talking about mate
Thank you for this great channel.
You're very welcome!
i'm loving these videos bro
Another banger of a video!!!
Glad to hear it!
Your videos are great and the ancient drawings wonderful to see
Thank you
I dont know if i should watch this video, because it will make me feel depressed
yep . i witnessed the demolishing of several ruins in the middle east just to be replaced by parking lots and roads . it is very depressing
@dev null it did die in the middle east tho.....
@dev null It's a shithole now so no one cares but back then it was just as developed as the best parts of the roman empire. It was a huge loss to the west losing its land, buildings and people there.
This series of videos is awesome!
Glad to hear it!
Really enjoy the wealth of info and your quirky dry delivery Dr Garrett. Keep it up. Learning lots and getting a laugh simultaneously.
Was the stone architecture of Rome previously executed in the same monumental way but 'Told in Timber'?
Were the stylistic features of classical architecture copied from earlier examples crafted in Wood?
Early Roman temples had wooden columns and capitals, whose forms were eventually translated into stone as the "Tuscan" order. But in general, the conventions of Roman monumental architecture were adapted from the Greeks, whose public structures were built of stone from a very early period. There's a theory that some conventions of Greek temple architecture originated in carpentry, but the validity of that idea is disputed.
Very interesting video showing impressively the flow of history and its side effects. As history usually is presented as a row of snapshots in time you're showing us how the glory of ancient times became our contemporary cities.
besides it would be very kind and sympathetic if you could add metric measures so your international audience could also understand your dimension descriptions.
I'm glad you found the video interesting. And I apologize for the failure to mention metric units. In future videos, I will be sure to give both metric and imperial measurements.
Great and informative video!
Thank you!
Brilliant work
I really enjoy your content. It's well-researched and interestingly delivered. One suggestion tho - export your audio and Normalize it, then merge it back into the final product before uploading. In my opinion, that's the only thing I think that your content could use right now. Even out the volume of your dialog. Your stuff is really good. Cheers.
Thank you - both for the content and for the advice. I've been trying to improve my audio quality.
I love your vids. Going to Rome with you must be such an awesome history geek fest
This is really excellent!
Glad to hear it!
Excellent Content : Exceptional researching with euridit explanation. 🌿🌿🌿🏛🌿
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Fascinating! Thank you.
Very interesting, well researched
Thank you
Thanks for making this very interesting video. I’ve subscribed.
You're very welcome - and welcome aboard!
Very good one, thank you.
My pleasure
Awesome! Should do a vid about amphitheater at Nimes and how it became it’s own walled town during Middle Ages.
The Nimes amphitheater is one of my favorite Roman buildings. I've actually been thinking about doing a video on the Roman ruins of Southern France...so stay tuned!
the one in Arles is quite a good one too.
Wow! Fabulous. Bravissimo!
No one:
Renaissance Pope staring at ancient building in Rome: "I need building materials"
Normie
Always fascinating. It would be interesting to compare architecture of the Roman period with others that existed at the same time. I always thought that the seat of architectural knowledge seemed to be in Rome and Athens and maybe just a few other places, while the rest of the world at that time may as well be a backdrop for Conan the Barbarian.
Both Persia and China had high civilization.
Thanks for doing these videos, Dr. Ryan. I've gotten in trouble plugging your videos around, hehehe.
It's hard not to feel melancholic at these historical structures being destroyed and now we can never see them in their ancient glory
This channel is excellent!
Thank you!
Wow! It's crazy to imagine knocking down such history. It never stops though.
I like the voice overs but the face time at the beginning is really good too.
Excellent stuff
Thank you
Pretty bombastic one! Very interesting. 🙌🏼
A winning combination, I suppose :)
Brilliant stuff. Well narrated and fantastic research. Such a pity so much History has been lost and forgotten.
Very glad you enjoyed the video!
None of this history has been forgotten though, the structures are gone but we know of them
Oh I’m your book! Thank you for writing it
The forum of Nerva never fell into decay during the Middle Ages as shown on the illustration. Many marbles were reused and replaced with mosaics, which were very popular, or with frescoes. The medieval owners of Rome did not tolerate ruins : either they modified the building into something else either they demolished. The Christian authorities wouldn't let stand any monument suggesting that pagan times might have been grander. These pictures shown don't date from the Renaissance but from later on when medieval monuments had been demolished so as to expose the underlying Roman structures that might serve as quarries.
source?
@@mvwil It is commonly known in Rome that the reason many of the Roman buildings survived at all, like Colo/Panty, was because they quickly got converted to Christian churches or similar (Colo is special but it had crosses put in and is still part of a papal thing every year) and thus was maintained as "one of us".
The statues survived with mostly only penises chopped off.
There were pagan temples and monuments all over Rome during the middle ages. Just think of how many temples were in Rome. The first temple to be converted to a church wasn't until 608! It was the Pantheon.
The Pope couldn't just go around demolishing perfectly good buildings. That didn't happen.
11:20 that smile oh my god. This guy is gold
Thank you!
my pleasure!
Good video. Original content creators are hard to find. Thank you.
You're very welcome
This is great content
Thank you!
Thank you !!
My pleasure!
thank you i didnt know these informations
You're welcome
Many thanks!
Love the subtle humour of these videos.
Well, I do what I can
@@toldinstone Really enjoying these. I'll be preordering your book.
@@airingcupboard Thank you! I really appreciate it.
It is slightly ironic that some commenters have gotten offended regarding your implementation of BCE and CE, when in fact the reason for adopting BCE/CE is religious neutrality. Since the Gregorian calendar has superseded other calendars to become the international standard, members of non-Christian groups may object to the explicitly Christian origins of BC and AD. Particularly problematic is AD (“in the year of the Lord”), and its unavoidable implication that the Lord in question is Jesus Christ. I'm also aware it is standard practice to be used by ancient historians. Either way, thank you for a wonderful and informative video.
I'm very glad that you enjoyed my video, and that you understand my perspective.
I ❤️ your channel, sir!
Fascinating! I had only heard of the old St. Peter's
Very interesting.
Thank you for your video. Today I learned somthing more of the mighty Rome.
In the newest NG History magazine is an article about the Circus Maximus, which was located in Rome at the foot of Palatine Hill. This was an enormous arena seating 150,000 to 250,000 spectators, all gathered to watch the chariot races. The Circus Maximus was over a third of a mile long and 500 feet wide, the Roman Empire’s largest venue. The magazine includes an aerial photo showing the entire site devoid of the marble and limestone it was built from - I guess that was another quarry.
It was - and the Circus was stripped so badly that it's little more than a depression in the ground today.
It is amazing that Rome had all of these building during day so long ago. It is even more amazing that over a thousand years later things were in ruins and people live in much more primitive.
Dr. Ryan looks like a cross between Michael Burry and The Narrator from the Fight Club.
Best preserved building in roman history that was demolised was amfiteatar in salon today solin in croatia , it was demolised by republic of venice to prevent otoman taking control of it and making a fortres . The buildin was in perfect shape till 1647
Honorable mention for the Meta Romuli, similar to the Piramide Cestia,which was alas demolish by pope Alessandro VI in 1499.
I thought about including that one, but couldn't find any really good images of it.
If you want to see the remains of the Forum of Nerva go to the Acqua Paola fountain at the Gianicolo hill. One of the city’s most majestic views.
There's been a lot of painful moments in Rome's history, but ONE thing I think they did phenomenal in recent history was the Victor Emmanuel monument. That gives us just a whisper of what the grandeur might have been like. If ONLY it was built exactly where the Campidoglio was it'd be even better. Michelangelo was a totally genius artist, but something like the VE monument there would have been such a monument to the past.
What you mean ?
Thank you so much for the history lesson. I have subscribed and await your next video. You really do have a nice voice.
You are very welcome. Thank you for subscribing, and for your kind words.
This was wonderful. Only thing I think would have put it over the top is more modern photos of the surviving remnants of these buildings you describe.
Your fantastic videos have me yearning to go back to Rome.
Thank you! I'm getting eager to return myself...
This makes me so sad. It's understandable that not everything could survive. But it would be cool if they made it
I can't imagine how mind blowing it would be if this stuff still existed.
Love the channel, sir. Would like to see more of the “how it looks now” screenshots/snippets when referenced in the narration. You do it for some, but not all. Keep up this awesome niche!
It's the one thing I regret about my profession... is that many owners, contractors, and fellow architects prefer to work on a "blank canvas" and will scrape the land clean to prepare the way for some new design rather than enhancing the existing conditions.
loving this channel... please cover Slavery, and the locations of : Sagalossos and Aphrodiasas... I'll check out your book.
Thank you!
I've visited both Sagalassos and Aphrodisias (I spent a few months in Turkey when I was researching my dissertation), and love both sites. Stay tuned...
Such a cool video! Maybe an another video idea would be “Ruins/structures that almost made it to the present day”? Just a thought!
I like that idea...
F for the ones that got destroyed in WW2
Caligula's boats being destroyed by the brits after 2.000 years of preservation in the lake still breaks my heart
I thought the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus would have made the list. It must have looked magnificent sitting atop the Capitoline hill, with its gilded tiled roof gleaming in the sun.
It would certainly have made the list, had it not disappeared before the Renaissance. By the 15th century, almost nothing was left of the temple, with the exception of a few huge marble capitals that were dug up and carved by sculptors.
@@toldinstone Thank you for the information.
@@hyacinthlynch843 You're very welcome
The Vandals badly damaged the temple of Jupiter in 455 and allegedly they pulled off the roof tiles.
@@toldinstone This is from Wikipedia:
"The ruins were still well preserved in 1447 when the 15th-century humanist Poggio Bracciolini visited Rome. The remaining ruins were destroyed in the 16th century, when Giovanni Pietro Caffarelli built a palace (Palazzo Caffarelli) on the site."
Amazing
GOOD video!
Glad to hear it!
This is one of those things thats a bummer and also interesting to learn.
I felt the same way when researching the video.