- Time of past OR future Camino
- Some in the past; more in the future!
For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
Pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago tread in the very footsteps of the Roman Empire, traversing Roman roads and Roman bridges as they make their way to Santiago de Compostela. Roman milestones and castra (fortified settlements) are also found along the camino and serve as constant reminders of Rome’s expanse and organisational capacity.
These most basic aspects of Roman infrastructure don’t reveal the true grandeur of the empire, however, which is to be found in theatres, amphitheatres, aqueducts, temples and other monumental works of architecture. Fortunately, these more spectacular vestiges of the Roman world are also within reach of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.
Don't forget the Camino Frances - Astorga has Roman ruins on display. There's a connection between this thread and the thread about the Camino Invierno where we have just walked past the Roman gold mines at Las Médulas. Regarding Astorga, Wikipedia says:On the Invierno, Las Médulas is a UNESCO world heritage site, a Roman gold mine
I want to see it with my own eyesTo rejuvenate this thread, maybe it would be helpful to take Roman buildings one category at a time.
Let's start with temples. As mentioned above, Roman temple architecture was influenced by earlier Greek and Etruscan buildings. IIRC Greek elements in Roman temples included having columns all the way around and having a raised platform (think of the Parthenon in Athens), while the main Etruscan element was having a façade orientation (that is, an obvious 'front' of the temple, with steps leading up to it). Combining these elements gave us the typical square/rectangular Roman temple design.
(Of course, not all Roman temples looked the same - three obvious examples of round temples in Rome are the Pantheon, the Temple of Vesta in the Roman Forum and the round temple on the banks of the Tiber, but these were exceptions to the standard template.)
Here are two typical Roman temples on the camino:
The Temple of Diana in Mérida on the VdlP/Mozárabe:
View attachment 92103
Another Temple of Diana - at Évora, Portugal (on the Caminho do Este):
View attachment 92104
Not on a camino, but one of the best preserved standard Roman temples is in Nîmes, France, and is known as the Maison Carée. This gives us a great idea of how these temples looked and we can of course see how similar it is to neoclassical buildings constructed in the last couple of hundred years.
View attachment 92105
In all three of these examples we can see the Roman preference for the Corinthian order of column capitals (rather than Doric or Ionic).
If, by any chance, you have an interest in Roman Spain and missed this posting by @Raggy (like I did) back in January, you'll be delighted that you have found it now. The first one we watched, the one on Roman mines, is fascinating. It covers mines all over Spain and Portugal, so no matter which camino you are walking, you will find something of interest. The narrator is enthusiastic, the graphics are intriguing, and you can add subtitles in Spanish to help you understand what is being said. The intricacies of the Roman mining techniques are engaging - linked noria wheels to remove the water from subterranean galleries; animal skins to catch the fine particles of gold; water-powered pistons to break up ores... - all with great reconstructions that bring the topic alive. I'm planning to watch all five videos. Thank you for posting this great resource, Raggy!I would like to add a resource - a series of documentaries on Roman engineering by RTVE. They're all in Spanish, but the pace is relatively slow and the graphics make things quite clear, even when I can't follow exactly what the narrator is saying.
Perhaps I should copy and paste these links into my post at the top of the thread rather than having them stuck down here in the discussion about temples?
Mines:
Ingeniería romana - Episodio 1: Minas - Documental en RTVE.es
Roma poseía un elevado grado de extracción los metales y otros minerales. Puso en marcha una explotación de recursos mineros de dimensiones colosales.www.rtve.es
Amen, @islandwalker - I am sorry to have somehow missed this thread when it was fresh and active but am totally thrilled to find it now!If, by any chance, you have an interest in Roman Spain and missed this posting by @Raggy (like I did) back in January, you'll be delighted that you have found it now.
Thanks! There a lot of nice info in there. I'm intrigued by Munigua - especially since it can only be reached by a dirt track. Here's a gps track from wikiloc for anyone interested. It looks like a stunning site.Top 5 Roman Sites in Southern Spain
(Published this week and written by the indefatigable Carole Raddato of Following Hadrian.)
I watched all of them and it was a) fascinating, and b) filled my heart with joy at the combination of ingenuity and logic and c) reminded me that our current struggles are just part of a very long arc... not new to the world.I would like to add a resource - a series of documentaries on Roman engineering by RTVE. They're all in Spanish, but the pace is relatively slow and the graphics make things quite clear, even when I can't follow exactly what the narrator is saying.
Perhaps I should copy and paste these links into my post at the top of the thread rather than having them stuck down here in the discussion about temples?
Mines:
Ingeniería romana - Episodio 1: Minas - Documental en RTVE.es
Roma poseía un elevado grado de extracción los metales y otros minerales. Puso en marcha una explotación de recursos mineros de dimensiones colosales.www.rtve.es
Roads:
Ingeniería romana - Episodio 2: Carreteras - Documental en RTVE.es
El ingeniero de Obras Públicas Isaac Moreno nos lleva a sobrevolar las llanuras de España y Francia para ver trazados y vestigios de calzadas romanas.www.rtve.es
Aqueducts:
Ingeniería romana - Los acueductos II
Documental sobre los avances tecnológicos del imperio romano en relación a la construcción de los acueductos.www.rtve.es
Cities (part 1):
Ingeniería romana - Las ciudades I - Documental en RTVE
Documental sobre cómo Roma fue modelo para el resto de ciudades del Imperio y cómo se fundaba una ciudad. Episodio centrado en la antigua Tarraco.www.rtve.es
Cities (part 2 - seeds of the empire):
Las ciudades II - Ingeniería romana - Documental en RTVE
En este episodio se recoge gran parte del territorio que abarcaba el imperio romano mostrando diversos ejemplos y cómo fue el proceso de romanización.www.rtve.es
The interactivity on this site is a little unorthodox (at least it seems quirky to me), but there is some great content to explore - 360 degree views and interactive videos of different locations.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?