Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November
21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes
"Bean", was a jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins' virtuosic, arpeggiated
approach to improvisation, with his characteristic rich, emotional, loud, and
vibrato-laden tonal style, was the main influence on a generation of tenor
players. While Hawkins became well known with swing music during the big band
era, he had a role in the development of bebop in the 1940s. Miles Davis once
said: "When I heard Hawk, I learned to play ballads."
Sculptures of Igor Mitoraj at the exhibition in Pompeii
Igor Mitoraj (March 1944 – October 2014) was a Polish artist and sculptor
known for his fragmented sculptures of the human body often created for
large-scale public installations. Mitoraj's sculptural style is rooted in the
classical tradition with its focus on the well modelled torso. However, Mitoraj
introduced a post-modern twist with ostentatiously truncated limbs, emphasising
the damage sustained by most genuine classical sculptures. Often his works aim
to address the questions of human body, its beauty and fragility, its suffering
as well as deeper aspects of human nature, which as a result of the passing of
time undergo degeneration.
Hell’s Kitchen, 48th Street and Ninth Avenue. Photo by Librado Romero, NYT, 1972.
Well,
That Could Be a Problem
By David
Gonzalez Feb. 1, 2013
One of my first assignments at
The Times was covering Antonio Aguilar’s Rodeo Show at the Kingsbridge Armory
in the Bronx. Aguilar was a singing Mexican cowboy — the Mexican Roy Rogers —
and someone whose movies I saw as a child at the old Freeman Theater on
Southern Boulevard. When I met up with the photographer for the article, I
don’t know what impressed me more: that he actually knew who Aguilar was or
that he lived in the Bronx.
The photographer? Lee Romero. You
know him as Librado, but more about that shortly.
Lee — a Californian by birth and
a New Yorker by love — struck me, a nervous Newsweek refugee, as very
un-Timesean. Needless to say, we hit it off.
Thursday was the staff photographer
Librado Romero’s last day at The Times. His photography (and paintings), some
of which have appeared on Lens, represent just a sliver of his wide-ranging
abilities.
He, too, grew up with the old
Aguilar movies, in Calexico, Calif., where his father, a railroad worker, had
moved the family from Los Angeles. We were both excited to meet the great
Mexican charro, who ushered us into a trailer on the edge of the cavernous
armory. Inside, he regaled us with stories — as he prepared several humongous
syringes he would use on his horses.
I was dumbstruck. Lee did not
take that picture. Our discretion notwithstanding, we got a nice story out of
it, and thus a friendship began.
He had first joined the Times
staff in the late 1960s, teaming with Mike Kaufman to explore corners of the
city in very un-Timesean manners. Once, they rafted down the Bronx River.
Another time they chronicled the carefree life of a 10-year-old in the city.
They turned it into a book.
Kaufman remained a close friend
to his dying day. In a 2009 video in which Lee talked about his photography and
painting, Kaufman lauded Lee, saying, “of all the people I met in the world,
Lee Romero is clearly the most creative.” Trust me, Kaufman met a lot of
people.
Eager to work on bigger things —
and not content to have his farthest travel limited to Staten Island — Lee left
the paper. It is rumored that bosses told him they were grooming him for photo
editor. His reply: “Who cares?”
He had some adventures working for
news magazines. He opened a gallery. He closed a gallery. He worked on a couple
of daily papers in California. He returned to New York, fell in love with Mary
Hardiman and eventually worked his way back to The Times.
I met him around then, when he
was freelancing on the weekends. I liked that he loved music and that his real
passion was painting. In time, I spent hours in his Yonkers studio, where
guitars lay against the assorted artist’s jumble of canvases, crushed paint
tubes and who-knows-what. He became chief photographer at the paper — a title
he declined to use. He spent a lot of time writing a biographical song about
Calexico. Once he asked me to edit it, but I demurred — at 82-odd verses, I
felt overwhelmed. I do remember that he used to eat two-cent tacos as a child.
Sometime in the early years of
our friendship, he changed his byline back to Librado, in honor of his father
and his heritage. So, the artist formerly known as Lee went back to being
Librado Petronilo Romero III.
To spend any time with Lee was to
hear a lot of jokes. Some good. Some bad. Some unprintable. He was relentless,
often suckering you in with a deadpan stare. One of those jokes became a
running punchline.
Years ago he met the Mambo King
himself, Tito Puente. He told the famed percussionist that he, too, played the
drums. That’s interesting, said the maestro.
“But I don’t have any rhythm,”
Lee said.
“Well,” Puente replied. “That
could be a problem.”
Ever since that day, I have
tossed out that line as Tito’s all-purpose wisdom for the ages.
Thursday was Lee’s last day at
the paper. He has taken a buyout. He will paint, play music, drive a fast car
and tell bad jokes. He will enjoy his son Conor’s new role playing Michael J.
Fox’s son in an NBC sitcom. He will travel with Mary, a picture editor at the
Times who took a buyout in 2011. He will still live in the Bronx, and he will
still be my friend.
But a New York Times without
Librado Petronilo Romero III? Well, that
could be a problem.
The Pleasure of Writing by A.A. Milne
Sometimes
when the printer is waiting for an article which really should have been sent
to him the day before, I sit at my desk and wonder if there is any possible
subject in the whole world upon which I can possibly find anything to say. On
one such occasion I left it to Fate, which decided, by means of a dictionary
opened at random, that I should deliver myself of a few thoughts about
goldfish. (You will find this article later on in the book.) But to-day I do
not need to bother about a subject. To-day I am without a care. Nothing less
has happened than that I have a new nib in my pen.
In the
ordinary way, when Shakespeare writes a tragedy, or Mr. Blank gives you one of
his charming little essays, a certain amount of thought goes on before pen is
put to paper. One cannot write "Scene I. An Open Place. Thunder and
Lightning. Enter Three Witches," or "As I look up from my window, the
nodding daffodils beckon to me to take the morning," one cannot give of
one's best in this way on the spur of the moment. At least, others cannot. But
when I have a new nib in my pen, then I can go straight from my breakfast to
the blotting-paper, and a new sheet of foolscap fills itself magically with a
stream of blue-black words. When poets and idiots talk of the pleasure of writing,
they mean the pleasure of giving a piece of their minds to the public; with an
old nib a tedious business. They do not mean (as I do) the pleasure of the
artist in seeing beautifully shaped "k's" and sinuous "s's"
grow beneath his steel. Anybody else writing this article might wonder
"Will my readers like it?" I only tell myself "How the
compositors will love it!"
But
perhaps they will not love it. Maybe I am a little above their heads. I
remember on one First of January receiving an anonymous postcard wishing me a
happy New Year, and suggesting that I should give the compositors a happy New
Year also by writing more generously. In those days I got a thousand words upon
one sheet 8 in. by 5 in. I adopted the suggestion, but it was a wrench; as it
would be for a painter of miniatures forced to spend the rest of his life
painting the Town Council of Boffington in the manner of Herkomer. My canvases
are bigger now, but they are still impressionistic. "Pretty, but what is
it?" remains the obvious comment; one steps back a pace and saws the air
with the hand; "You see it better from here, my love," one says to
one's wife. But if there be one compositor not carried away by the mad rush of
life, who in a leisurely hour (the luncheon one, for instance) looks at the
beautiful words with the eye of an artist, not of a wage-earner, he, I think,
will be satisfied; he will be as glad as I am of my new nib. Does it matter,
then, what you who see only the printed word think of it?
A woman,
who had studied what she called the science of calligraphy, once offered to
tell my character from my handwriting. I prepared a special sample for her; it
was full of sentences like "To be good is to be happy," "Faith
is the lode- star of life," "We should always be kind to
animals," and so on. I wanted her to do her best. She gave the morning to
it, and told me at lunch that I was "synthetic." Probably you think
that the compositor has failed me here and printed "synthetic" when I
wrote "sympathetic." In just this way I misunderstood my
calligraphist at first, and I looked as sympathetic as I could. However, she
repeated "synthetic," so that there could be no mistake. I begged her
to tell me more, for I had thought that every letter would reveal a secret, but
all she would add was "and not analytic." I went about for the rest
of the day saying proudly to myself "I am synthetic! I am synthetic! I am
synthetic!" and then I would add regretfully, "Alas, I am not
analytic!" I had no idea what it meant.
And how
do you think she had deduced my syntheticness? Simply from the fact that, to
save time, I join some of my words together. That isn't being synthetic, it is
being in a hurry. What she should have said was, "You are a busy man; your
life is one constant whirl; and probably you are of excellent moral character
and kind to animals." Then one would feel that one did not write in vain.
My pen is
getting tired; it has lost its first fair youth. However, I can still go on. I
was at school with a boy whose uncle made nibs. If you detect traces of
erudition in this article, of which any decent man might be expected to be
innocent, I owe it to that boy. He once told me how many nibs his uncle made in
a year; luckily I have forgotten. Thousands, probably. Every term that boy came
back with a hundred of them; one expected him to be very busy. After all, if
you haven't the brains or the inclination to work, it is something to have the
nibs. These nibs, however, were put to better uses. There is a game you can
play with them; you flick your nib against the other boy's nib, and if a lucky
shot puts the head of yours under his, then a sharp tap capsizes him, and you
have a hundred and one in your collection. There is a good deal of strategy in
the game (whose finer points I have now forgotten), and I have no doubt that
they play it at the Admiralty in the off season. Another game was to put a
clean nib in your pen, place it lightly against the cheek of a boy whose head
was turned away from you, and then call him suddenly. As Kipling says, we are
the only really humorous race. This boy's uncle died a year or two later and
left about £80,000, but none of it to his nephew. Of course, he had had the
nibs every term. One mustn't forget that.
The nib I
write this with is called the "Canadian Quill"; made, I suppose, from
some steel goose which flourishes across the seas, and which Canadian
housewives have to explain to their husbands every Michaelmas. Well, it has
seen me to the end of what I wanted to say—if indeed I wanted to say anything.
For it was enough for me this morning just to write; with spring coming in
through the open windows and my good Canadian quill in my hand, I could have
copied out a directory. That is the real pleasure of writing.
Antonio Vivaldi – The Four Seasons, Op. 8, "Spring": Allegro
The Four Seasons
WRITTEN BY
Betsy Schwarm
Betsy Schwarm is a music
historian based in Colorado. She serves on the music faculty of Metropolitan
State University of Denver and gives pre-performance talks for Opera Colorado
and the Colorado Symphony.
The Four Seasons, Italian Le
quattro stagioni, group of four violin concerti by Italian composer Antonio
Vivaldi, each of which gives a musical expression to a season of the year. They
were written about 1720 and were published in 1725 (Amsterdam), together with
eight additional violin concerti, as Il cimento dell’armonia e dell’inventione
(“The Contest Between Harmony and Invention”).
In which city did Ludwig van
Beethoven give his first public performance as an adult?
The Four Seasons is the best
known of Vivaldi’s works. Unusually for the time, Vivaldi published the
concerti with accompanying poems (possibly written by Vivaldi himself) that
elucidated what it was about those seasons that his music was intended to
evoke. It provides one of the earliest and most-detailed examples of what was
later called program music—music with a narrative element.
Vivaldi took great pains to
relate his music to the texts of the poems, translating the poetic lines
themselves directly into the music on the page. In the middle section of the
Spring concerto, where the goatherd sleeps, his barking dog can be marked in
the viola section. Other natural occurrences are similarly evoked. Vivaldi
separated each concerto into three movements, fast-slow-fast, and likewise each
linked sonnet into three sections. His arrangement is as follows:
Spring (Concerto No. 1 in E
Major)
Allegro
Spring has arrived with joy
Welcomed by the birds with happy
songs,
And the brooks, amidst gentle
breezes,
Murmur sweetly as they flow.
The sky is caped in black, and
Thunder and lightning herald a
storm
When they fall silent, the birds
Take up again their delightful
songs.
Largo e pianissimo sempre
And in the pleasant,
blossom-filled meadow,
To the gentle murmur of leaves
and plants,
The goatherd sleeps, his faithful
dog beside him.
Allegro
To the merry sounds of a rustic
bagpipe,
Nymphs and shepherds dance in
their beloved spot
When Spring appears in splendour.
Summer (Concerto No. 2 in G
Minor)
Allegro non molto
Under the merciless sun of the
season
Languishes man and flock, the
pine tree burns.
The cuckoo begins to sing and at
once
Join in the turtledove and the
goldfinch.
A gentle breeze blows, but Boreas
Is roused to combat suddenly with
his neighbour,
And the shepherd weeps because
overhead
Hangs the fearsome storm, and his
destiny.
Adagio
His tired limbs are robbed of
rest
By his fear of the lightning and
the frightful thunder
And by the flies and hornets in
furious swarms.
Presto
Alas, his fears come true:
There is thunder and lightning in
the heavens
And the hail cuts down the tall
ears of grain.
Autumn (Concerto No. 3 in F
Major)
Allegro
The peasant celebrates with
dancing and singing
The pleasure of the rich harvest,
And full of the liquor of Bacchus
They end their merrymaking with a
sleep.
Adagio molto
All are made to leave off dancing
and singing
By the air which, now mild, gives
pleasure
And by the season, which invites
many
To find their pleasure in a sweet
sleep.
Allegro
The hunters set out at dawn, off
to the hunt,
With horns and guns and dogs they
venture out.
The beast flees and they are
close on its trail.
Already terrified and wearied by
the great noise
Of the guns and dogs, and wounded
as well
It tries feebly to escape, but is
bested and dies.
Winter (Concerto No. 4 in F
Minor)
Allegro non molto
Frozen and shivering in the icy
snow,
In the severe blasts of a
terrible wind
To run stamping one’s feet each
moment,
One’s teeth chattering through
the cold.
Largo
To spend quiet and happy times by
the fire
While outside the rain soaks
everyone.
To walk on the ice with tentative
steps,
Going carefully for fear of
falling.
To go in haste, slide, and fall
down to the ground,
To go again on the ice and run,
In case the ice cracks and opens.
To hear leaving their iron-gated
house Sirocco,
Boreas, and all the winds in
battle—
This is winter, but it brings
joy.
Folk Music: The Almanac Singers
The Almanacs were really the first folk music supergroup and spun
off into successful careers for Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Lee Hays,
Josh White, Burl Ives, and various other folks who made up the core of the
group or who joined them on occasion. Seeger and Hays went on to form The
Weavers.
Roman Architecture: Famous Buildings from Ancient Rome
Sarah Buckley
Roman Architecture
What is Roman Architecture?
Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical
Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different
from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are
often considered one body of classical architecture. Roman architecture
flourished in the Roman Republic and even more so under the Empire, when the
great majority of surviving buildings were constructed, some of which the ruins
remain, to which we’ve researched and learned..
What was it famous for?
Ancient Roman architecture used new materials, particularly
concrete, and newer technologies such as the arch and the dome to make
buildings that were typically strong and well-engineered. Large numbers remain
in some form across the empire, sometimes complete and still in use to this
day.
How popular is it outside of Rome?
In Europe the Italian Renaissance saw a conscious revival of
correct classical styles, initially purely based on Roman examples. Numerous
local classical styles developed, such as Palladian architecture, Georgian
architecture and Regency architecture in the English-speaking world, Federal
architecture in the United States, and later Stripped Classicism and PWA
Moderne.
Roman influences may be found around us today, in banks, government buildings, great houses, and even small houses, perhaps in the form of a porch with Doric columns and a pediment or in a fireplace or a mosaic shower floor derived from a Roman original, often from Pompeii or Herculaneum. The mighty pillars, dome and arches of Rome echo in the New World too, where in Washington, D.C. stand the Capitol building, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and other government buildings. All across the US the seats of regional government were normally built in the grand traditions of Rome, with vast flights of stone steps sweeping up to towering pillared porticoes, with huge domes gilded or decorated inside with the same or similar themes that were popular in Rome.
Roman influences may be found around us today, in banks, government buildings, great houses, and even small houses, perhaps in the form of a porch with Doric columns and a pediment or in a fireplace or a mosaic shower floor derived from a Roman original, often from Pompeii or Herculaneum. The mighty pillars, dome and arches of Rome echo in the New World too, where in Washington, D.C. stand the Capitol building, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and other government buildings. All across the US the seats of regional government were normally built in the grand traditions of Rome, with vast flights of stone steps sweeping up to towering pillared porticoes, with huge domes gilded or decorated inside with the same or similar themes that were popular in Rome.
History
While borrowing much from the preceding Etruscan architecture,
such as the use of hydraulics and the construction of arches, Roman prestige
architecture remained firmly under the spell of Ancient Greek architecture and
the classical orders. This came initially from Magna Graecia, the Greek
colonies in southern Italy, and indirectly from Greek influence on the
Etruscans, but after the Roman conquest of Greece directly from the best
classical and Hellenistic examples in the Greek world. The influence is evident
in many ways; for example, in the introduction and use of the Triclinium in
Roman villas and terraces as a place and manner of dining. Roman builders
employed Greeks in many capacities, especially in the great boom in
construction in the early Empire.
Roman architecture covers the period from the establishment of the
Roman Republic in 509 BC to about the 4th century AD, after which it becomes
reclassified as Late Antique or Byzantine architecture. Almost no substantial
examples survive from before about 100 BC, and most of the major survivals are
from the later empire, after about 100 AD. Roman architectural style continued
to influence building in the former empire for many centuries, and the style
used in Western Europe beginning about 1000 is called Romanesque architecture
to reflect this dependence on basic Roman forms.
Corinthian Roman architecture
The word "Corinthian" describes an ornate column style
developed in ancient Greece and classified as one of the Classical Orders of
Architecture. The Corinthian style is more complex and elaborate than the earlier
Doric and Ionic Orders. The capital or top part of a Corinthian style column
has lavish ornamentation carved to resemble leaves and flowers. Roman architect
Vitruvius observed that the delicate Corinthian design "was produced out
of the two other orders."
Doric Roman architecture
The Doric Order was the first style of Classical Architecture,
which is the sophisticated architectural styles of ancient Greece and Rome that
set the standards for beauty, harmony, and strength for European architecture.
The other two orders are Ionic and Corinthian. Doric Order is recognizable by
two basic features: the columns and the entablature.
Ionic Roman architecture
The Ionic capital is characterized by the use of volutes. The
Ionic columns normally stand on a base which separates the shaft of the column
from the stylobate or platform while the cap is usually enriched with
egg-and-dart.
The ancient architect and architectural historian Vitruvius associates the Ionic with feminine proportions (the Doric representing the masculine).
The ancient architect and architectural historian Vitruvius associates the Ionic with feminine proportions (the Doric representing the masculine).
Famous Roman architects
Any list of Roman architects has to begin with a single name:
Marcus Vitruvius Pollio. Vitruvius was not just a Roman architect, he was the
Roman architect. So, what made Vitruvius so great? Well, Vitruvius was the
architect of Julius Caesar from 58 to 51 BCE. Not only did he build several
structures, but he also traveled extensively around the Mediterranean and
studied architecture from a theoretical perspective. The result was a major
text entitled De Architectura, written between 30 and 20 BCE.
De Architectura was the first major Roman treatise on
architecture, and in it Vitruvius tackles several issues. For one, he outlined
the architectural styles of the Greeks, and organized them into what we call
the Greek orders of architecture. He discussed building in terms of math and
science, as well as philosophy, arts, and social welfare. He saw architecture
as a unification of arts and sciences, in which the final product could help
create a more ideal society.
After Vitruvius, there were many architects who helped Rome grow.
Only one, however, can really be said to rival Vitruvius's fame. Apollodorus of
Damascus was a 2nd century CE architect from Damascus, then part of the Roman
Empire (today part of Syria). Apollodorus was the favored architect of the
emperor Trajan, who ruled from 98-117 CE. Under Trajan, Rome stretched its
imperial borders further than ever before. Trajan celebrated the success and
wealth of Rome by commissioning a large number of building projects, most of
them executed by Apollodorus.
This monumental arch was constructed in 203 AD in recognition of
the unprecedented Roman victories over the Parthians in the dying years of the
second century. It was under Septimius Severus’ rule that Rome was able to successfully
suppress a raging civil war among its neighboring states. But the icing on the
cake came when he immediately declared war on the Parthian Empire and brought
the Parthians to their knees. In recognition of his achievements, the Roman
Senate had one of the most beautifully decorated triumphal arches erected on
his return to Rome.
Originally, it had a bronze gilded inscription as homage to Septimius and his two sons Caracalla and Geta for having restored and expanded the Roman Republic. It was a unique triumphal monument by all standards in contemporary Rome. Even today, despite some heavy damage, it stands as a lasting reminder of the once flamboyant Roman Republic.
Originally, it had a bronze gilded inscription as homage to Septimius and his two sons Caracalla and Geta for having restored and expanded the Roman Republic. It was a unique triumphal monument by all standards in contemporary Rome. Even today, despite some heavy damage, it stands as a lasting reminder of the once flamboyant Roman Republic.
9. Temples of Baalbek
A major attraction and a remarkable archaeological site in
present-day Lebanon, Baalbek is considered as one of the most spectacular
wonders of the ancient world. It also happens to be one of the largest, most
prestigious, and mostwell-preserved Roman temples built in the ancient Roman
era. The first of the Baalbek temples was constructed in the first century BC
and over the next 200 years, the Romans built three more, each dedicated to the
gods Jupiter, Bacchus, and Venus respectively.
The largest temple among them was the Temple of Jupiter, which had 54 huge granite columns, each one around 70 feet (21 meters) tall. Although only six of these columns survive today, their sheer scale is enough to show the majesty of the Baalbek temples. After the fall of Rome, the Baalbek temples suffered from theft, war, and natural disaster, but they are still able to conjure up the aura of magnificence to this day, with thousands of people visiting the famous Baalbek temples every year.
The largest temple among them was the Temple of Jupiter, which had 54 huge granite columns, each one around 70 feet (21 meters) tall. Although only six of these columns survive today, their sheer scale is enough to show the majesty of the Baalbek temples. After the fall of Rome, the Baalbek temples suffered from theft, war, and natural disaster, but they are still able to conjure up the aura of magnificence to this day, with thousands of people visiting the famous Baalbek temples every year.
8. Library of Celsus
Named after the famous former governor of the city of Ephesus, the
Library of Celsus was actually a monumental tomb dedicated to Gaius Julius
Celsus Polemaeanus. This amazing piece of Roman architecture was constructed on
the orders of Celsus’ son Galius Julius Aquila. It was also a popular
repository for important documents and at the height of its use, the Library of
Celsus housed over 12,000 different scrolls.
It had beautifully carved interiors and equally mesmerizing architectural designs on the exterior, making it one of the most impressive buildings in the ancient Roman Empire. The architecture of the library is typically reminiscent of the building style that was popular during the rule of Emperor Hadrian. The entire structure is supported by a nine-step podium which is 69 feet (21 meters) long. The surviving facade of the building retains its amazing decorations and relief carvings which only add to the grandeur of the structure.
It had beautifully carved interiors and equally mesmerizing architectural designs on the exterior, making it one of the most impressive buildings in the ancient Roman Empire. The architecture of the library is typically reminiscent of the building style that was popular during the rule of Emperor Hadrian. The entire structure is supported by a nine-step podium which is 69 feet (21 meters) long. The surviving facade of the building retains its amazing decorations and relief carvings which only add to the grandeur of the structure.
7. Pont du Gard
The Pont du Gard, literally the Gard bridge, is one of the few
surviving aqueducts constructed during the Roman Empire. Located in present-day
southern France, it was built somewhere in the middle of the first century AD.
This aqueduct was constructed without the use of any mortar; Roman engineers
built this three-story masterpiece by fitting together massive blocks of
precisely cut stones. These huge blocks of stone weighed up to six tonnes each,
and the bridge itself measured up to 1180 feet (360 meters) at its highest
point.
The Pont du Gard was a pivotal structure in an aqueduct that stretched over 31 miles (50 kilometers) in length. The success of this engineering marvel was essential in making the entire aqueduct functional because it supplied water to the city of Nimes. In the end, the Roman engineers pulled off an outstanding feat of contemporary engineering and hydraulics. The Pont du Gard has been used as a conventional bridge throughout the Middle Ages, right up until the 18th century.
The Pont du Gard was a pivotal structure in an aqueduct that stretched over 31 miles (50 kilometers) in length. The success of this engineering marvel was essential in making the entire aqueduct functional because it supplied water to the city of Nimes. In the end, the Roman engineers pulled off an outstanding feat of contemporary engineering and hydraulics. The Pont du Gard has been used as a conventional bridge throughout the Middle Ages, right up until the 18th century.
6. Aqueduct of Segovia
Located on the Iberian peninsula, the Aqueduct of Segovia still
retains its structural integrity to this day, making it one of the
best-preserved pieces of architecture from ancient Rome. It was built somewhere
around 50 AD to facilitate the flow of drinking water from the River Frio to
the city of Segovia. On its completion, it was an unprecedented 16km-long
structure built using around 24,000 giant blocks of granite.
Just like the Pont du Gard, Roman engineers built the entire structure without any mortar. With 165 arches, all of which are over 30 feet (9 meters) in height, this architectural phenomenon has been a symbol of Segovia for centuries. The aqueduct had to go through an extended period of reconstruction during the 15th and 16th centuries after years of use and structural neglect. By the 1970s and 1990s, some urgent and necessary conservation action was undertaken to preserve the monument and its glory.
Just like the Pont du Gard, Roman engineers built the entire structure without any mortar. With 165 arches, all of which are over 30 feet (9 meters) in height, this architectural phenomenon has been a symbol of Segovia for centuries. The aqueduct had to go through an extended period of reconstruction during the 15th and 16th centuries after years of use and structural neglect. By the 1970s and 1990s, some urgent and necessary conservation action was undertaken to preserve the monument and its glory.
5. Maison Carrée
Maison Carrée is the only temple constructed in the time of
ancient Rome that is completely preserved to this day. This marvel of Roman
engineering was built around 16 BC in the city of Nimes. Maison Carrée is an
architectural gem that stands 49 feet (15 meters) tall and runs along a length
of 85 feet (26 meters). It was built by Roman General Marcus Vipanius Agrippa
in memory of his two sons who died young. With the imminent fall of the Roman
Empire on the horizon, Maison Carrée was given a fresh lease of life when it
was turned into a Christian church in the fourth century.
This decision spared this majestic temple from the neglect and destruction faced by many other Roman monuments and landmarks. Since then, it has been used for various purposes such as a town hall, stable, and storehouse. At present, it is a museum.
This decision spared this majestic temple from the neglect and destruction faced by many other Roman monuments and landmarks. Since then, it has been used for various purposes such as a town hall, stable, and storehouse. At present, it is a museum.
4. Diocletian’s Palace
This marvelous building was built by the famous Roman emperor
Diocletian in preparation for his retirement. Diocletian was the first Roman
emperor who voluntarily retired from his position, citing declining health
issues. After his retirement on May 1, 305 AD, he went on to spend a quiet life
in this majestic palace.
The palace covers around 705 feet (215 meters) from east to west and its walls are about 85 feet (26 meters) high. At a time when the Roman civilization was in transition from the classical to the medieval era, architects were able to incorporate different building styles that had been used over the ages. It also helped that Christians used the palace as a cathedral in the Middle Ages, preserving its structural integrity throughout the medieval period. At present, Diocletian’s Palace is one of the most popular archaeological attractions in Croatia, and also a world heritage site as declared by UNESCO.
The palace covers around 705 feet (215 meters) from east to west and its walls are about 85 feet (26 meters) high. At a time when the Roman civilization was in transition from the classical to the medieval era, architects were able to incorporate different building styles that had been used over the ages. It also helped that Christians used the palace as a cathedral in the Middle Ages, preserving its structural integrity throughout the medieval period. At present, Diocletian’s Palace is one of the most popular archaeological attractions in Croatia, and also a world heritage site as declared by UNESCO.
3. Amphitheater, Nimes
When this famous amphitheater was built in the city of Nimes, the
city was known by the name of Nemausus. From around 20 BC, Augustus started to
populate the city and give it a structure more akin to a typical Roman state.
It had a number of splendid buildings, a surrounding wall, more than 200
hectares of land, and a majestic theater at its heart. Better known as the
Arena of Nimes, this astoundingly large theater had a seating capacity of
around 24,000, effectively making it one of the biggest amphitheaters in Gaul.
It was so large that during the Middle Ages, a small fortified
palace was built within it. Later, somewhere around 1863, the arena was
remodeled into a huge bullring. It is still used to host annual bullfights to
this day.
2. Pantheon
The Pantheon is arguably the most well-preserved architectural
marvel from the ancient Roman era. Unlike many other contemporary Roman temples
that were almost always dedicated to particular Roman deities, the Pantheon was
a temple for all the Roman gods. The construction of this temple was completed
in 125 AD during the rule of Hadrian.
The Pantheon has a large circular portico that opens up to a rotunda. The rotunda is covered by a majestic dome that adds a whole new dimension to its grandeur. The sheer size and scale of this dome is a lasting testimony to the skills of ancient Roman architects and engineers. The fact that this astounding piece of engineering still stands to this day, surviving 2,000 years’ worth of corrosion and natural disasters, speaks volumes for its build quality.
The Pantheon has a large circular portico that opens up to a rotunda. The rotunda is covered by a majestic dome that adds a whole new dimension to its grandeur. The sheer size and scale of this dome is a lasting testimony to the skills of ancient Roman architects and engineers. The fact that this astounding piece of engineering still stands to this day, surviving 2,000 years’ worth of corrosion and natural disasters, speaks volumes for its build quality.
1. Roman Colosseum
When the famous amphitheater, the Colosseum, was built in ancient
Rome, it had an area of 620 by 523 feet (189 by 159 meters)), making it the
largest amphitheater of its time. The construction of the Colosseum, the largest
and most popular ancient Roman monument, began during the reign of Emperor
Vespasian in 72 AD. By the time it was finished by his son Titus in 80 AD, a
never-before-seen amphitheater with a seating capacity of over 50,000 was ready
for use.
It could accommodate such large numbers of spectators that as many 80 different entrances were installed. It is said that its opening ceremony – the grandest of all spectacles – lasted for about 100 days. In that time, about 5,000 animals and 2,000 gladiators fought to their deaths in an unprecedented extravaganza of gladiatorial and bestiarius battles.
It could accommodate such large numbers of spectators that as many 80 different entrances were installed. It is said that its opening ceremony – the grandest of all spectacles – lasted for about 100 days. In that time, about 5,000 animals and 2,000 gladiators fought to their deaths in an unprecedented extravaganza of gladiatorial and bestiarius battles.
Read it, learn it, live it.
“Write. Don't talk about writing.
Don't tell me about your wonderful story ideas. Don't give me a bunch of 'somedays'.
Plant your ass and scribble, type, keyboard. If you have any talent at all it
will leak out despite your failure to pay attention in English."
The Instrumentalities of the
Night: An Interview with Glen Cook, The SF Site, September 2005.
"No Tool or Rope or Pail," by Bob Arnold
It hardly mattered what time of year
We passed their farmhouse,
They never waved,
This old farm couple
Usually bent over in the vegetable garden
Or walking by the muddy dooryard
Between house and red-weathered barn.
They would look up, see who was passing,
Then look back down, ignorant to the event.
We would always wave nonetheless,
Before you dropped me off at work
Further up on the hill,
Toolbox rattling in the backseat,
And then again on the way home
Later in the day, the pale sunlight
High up in their pasture,
Our arms out the window,
Cooling ourselves.
And it was that one midsummer evening
We drove past and caught them sitting
together on the front porch
At ease, chores done,
The tangle of cats and kittens
Cleaning themselves of fresh spilled milk
On the barn door ramp;
We drove by and they looked up—
The first time I've ever seen their
Hands free of any work,
No too or rope or pail—
And they waved.