AL-KHAZNEH, PETRAAn even more extreme example of
what many scholars have called Roman “baroque” architecture (be-
cause of the striking parallels with 17th-century Italian buildings;
see Chapter 24) is the second-century CEtomb nicknamed Al-
Khazneh, the “Treasury” (FIG. 10-53), at Petra, Jordan. It is one of
the most elaborate of many tomb facades cut into the sheer rock
faces of the local rose-colored mountains. As at Hadrian’s villa,
Greek architectural elements are used here in a purely ornamental
fashion and with a studied disregard for Classical rules.
The tomb’s facade is more than 130 feet high and consists of
two stories. The lower story resembles a temple facade with six
columns, but the columns are unevenly spaced and the pediment is
only wide enough to cover the four central columns. On the upper
level, a temple-within-a-temple sits on top of the lower temple. Here
the facade and roof split in half to make room for a central tholoslike
cylinder, which contrasts sharply with the rectangles and triangles of
the rest of the design. On both levels, the rhythmic alternation of
deep projection and indentation creates dynamic patterns of light
and shadow. At Petra, as at Tivoli, the architect used the vocabulary
of Greek architecture, but the syntax is new and distinctively
Roman. In fact, the design recalls some of the architectural fantasies
painted on the walls of Roman houses—for example, the tholos seen
through columns surmounted by a broken pediment (FIG. 10-19,
right) in the Second Style cubiculum from Boscoreale.Ostia
The average Roman, of course, did not own a luxurious country villa
and was not buried in a grand tomb. About 90 percent of Rome’s
population of close to one million lived in multistory apartment
blocks (insulae). After the great fire of 64 CE, these were brick-faced
concrete buildings. The rents were not cheap, as the law of supply
and demand in real estate was just as valid in antiquity as it is today.
Juvenal, a Roman satirist of the early second century CE, commented
that people willing to give up chariot races and the other diversions
Rome had to offer could purchase a fine home in the countryside
“for a year’s rent in a dark hovel” in a city so noisy that “the sick die
mostly from lack of sleep.”^3 Conditions were much the same for the
inhabitants of Ostia, Rome’s harbor city. After its new port opened
under Trajan, Ostia’s prosperity increased dramatically and so did its
population. A burst of building activity began under Trajan and
continued under Hadrian and throughout the second century CE.
APARTMENT HOUSES Ostia had many multistory insulae
(FIG. 10-54). Shops occupied the ground floors. Above were up to
four floors of apartments. Although many of these were large, they
had neither the space nor the light of the typical Pompeian private
domus (see “The Roman House,” page 247). In place of peristyles,
insulae had only narrow light wells or small courtyards. Conse-
quently, instead of looking inward, large numbers of glass windows
faced the city’s noisy streets. The residents cooked their food in the
hallways. Only deluxe apartments had private toilets. Others shared
latrines, often on a different floor from the apartment. Still, these in-
sulae were quite similar to modern apartment houses, which also
sometimes have shops on the ground floor.10-53Al-Khazneh (“Treasury”), Petra, Jordan, second century ce.
This rock-cut tomb facade is a prime example of Roman “baroque”
architecture. The designer used Greek architectural elements in a purely
ornamental fashion and with a studied disregard for Classical rules.
10-54Model of an
insula, Ostia, Italy,
second century ce.
Museo della Civiltà
Romana, Rome.
Rome and Ostia were
densely populated
cities, and most
Romans lived in
multistory brick-faced
concrete insulae
(apartment houses)
with shops on the
ground floor. Private
toilet facilities were
rare.
270 Chapter 10 THE ROMAN EMPIRE
10-54AInsula
of the Painted
Vaults, Ostia,
early third
century CE.