Are you planning a trip to Italy? France? Any other country around the Mediterranean Sea? Then you need this guide about Roman Architecture! With this guide in your pocket, you will have a quick access to all the information you will need to identify buildings from the Ancient Rome period.
When visiting countries around the Mediterranean sea, you are bound to see a lot of remains from the Ancient Rome civilization. However, you already know that it’s not always easy to identify buildings and other structures, because some are just ruins. With this mini guide, it will simply be easier!
What’s inside this Roman Architecture mini guide?
Since a picture speaks a thousand words, here are the images of the 2 pages composing this Roman Architecture mini guide.
This mini guide shows you the most common types of buildings like temples, theatres, amphitheatres, circus… It gives you an idea of the architecture details to look for, to enable you to identify them, especially when you are looking at what seems to be just a pile of rubble. It includes a quick description of what they were used for. And finally, it also shows you what these buildings looked like in all their glory.
All the drawings are mine and are based on either existing buildings, either renderings of buildings that existed, with sometimes, some slight modifications.
Yes I hand drew the Roman Forum (which I’m a little proud of!) and you must have recognize the Coliseum from my New 7 wonders map.
How to get your Roman Architecture mini guide?
Choose the right file for you depending on the paper size you will be using: Letter US or A4. Use the links below to open the corresponding PDF file. It can take a bit of time because those are high-definition PDF.
Roman Architecture mini guide – A4 format
Roman Architecture mini guide – letter US format – sorry not yet available – technical issues encountered!
Then print. Make sure that you set your printer on 100%. If you add margins to the document, when folding, some of the info might end up on the wrong side. This is a 2 pages document. If your printer doesn’t do recto-verso, just print on 2 separate pages and glue them together.
Printing in color would be best of course but not mandatory.
Fold along the dotted lines and you are good to go!!
If you need further instructions, visit my mini guide page. You will also find there my other mini guides. Totally worth checking!!
Why did I create this mini guide or the others?
To the question why do I create mini guides, I often reply “because I can!” Yes ok, but that just scratches the surface.
The truth is that when traveling, I often wish I had access to such summarized info, so I wouldn’t feel so lost.
When I was in Cyprus and visited the circus in Kourion, I wish I had some form of visual aid, to help me picture the grandeur of the place. When visiting Perge and Aspandos, it was easier, as the theatre is in such good shape but the rest of the city isn’t. Despite the signs and maps, it is hard to grasp what it may have looked like.
Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis is another example but the list goes on!
Obviously, some places are in better conditions than those cited. However, generally speaking, it’s not always easy to know where you are standing and what it would have looked like, centuries ago.
So I create mini guides to help travelers like myself, who want to understand. Travelers who don’t just snap a picture and move on. Travelers who want to make the most of the places they go to and learn things. Smart travelers!
Now, in our digital age, it may seem like an outdated notion to create paper guides.
If you’ve been outside of big cities, into some remote ancient sites, then you already know that wi-fi is unreliable, if there is wi-fi at all. So paper guides suddenly seem like a good idea! Plus, I just like the convenience of having a small guide in my pocket and maybe you do too?!
If you don’t and rely solely on your phone, you can always just save those guides on your phone of course! So there it is! Now you know why I create mini guides!
What’s next?
When creating this guide about Roman Architecture, I had to condense information extensively! I totally acknowledge that this mini guide is super mini. It just barely scratches the surface.
If you are already familiar with Roman architecture, it will be of no help to you, really.
Despite being super mini and super condense, it is the result of hours and hours of work. It does take a bit of time to draw something like the Roman Colosseum or the Roman Forum, as you may guess!
Apart from the time spent drawing the various images, I also spent hours studying Roman architecture. First, to select the most relevant and appropriate places to display. Second, to fully understand everything that is known about such architecture to ensure I was creating something relevant. You may start to think I’m crazy! I guarantee you I completely enjoyed the process! OK, I’m crazy! 😉
Seriously, I learned so much studying all these hours. I’m not going to become a professor on Roman architecture, but I’m not going to let all those hours go to waste either.
If you are now guessing from these lines that something else is coming, you are guessing right!! I’m putting the final touches to a more in-depth guide about Roman architecture and it is going to be a marvelous companion to this mini guide.
For the ones of you who always want to know more, I think you’re going to love it!
Stay tuned!
You really should sign up for RTatW newsletter, just to be the first one to know when this new guide will be out!
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And do check out my other mini guides!
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