Markets of Trajan

During the construction of the Forum of Trajan, it was released space between the hills of Capitole and Quirinal by cutting the Roman hill deeply. The volume of ground and stones moved was gigantic, more than 60 million cubic meters, but the extension brought a new surface of approximately 300 meters out of 200.

The architect Apollodore of Damas decided to make build buildings in hemicycles, to retain the ground mass, and thus to avoid the possible crumblings of the grounds. The realization of a structure in hemicycle and steps, compensated for the static requirements and brought an esthetic solution to the unit, they were the gone of Trajan

Its construction answered has a double objective: to be used as support with the hill to protect the Forum of Trajan right in lower part and to create a commercial whole with stores of quality.

Commercial life

The gone of Trajan formed a luxurious concave hemicycle on two floors of arcades above the forum. Via Biberatica, with middle height of the markets, and preserved well still today, makes nearly 300 meters length, which gives an idea of the size of this shopping mall, of which the number, the order and the organization of its stores (±150) did not have anything to envy our current hypermarkets.

The markets were a formidable whole of offices and staged shops terrace forming an enormous base with the slope of the hill. Trajan offered here to Rome vast commercial and stock exchange spaces closely related to the administrative operation of the city. It is the first great shopping mall with the modern direction of the term, with several stages of shops and stores. In addition to with the normal commercial life, took place also of the distributions of vivres to the people.

Architecture

In the excavated sides of Quirinal, Trajan made draw up a great whole in hemicycle called the Markets of Trajan, whose curve seemed to be embedded in the septentrional exèdre forum. On the level structures, these markets are remarkable by their cylindrical vault in arbor and the use of brick, principal construction material used, from where the reddish color of the building. Since the beginning of the 1st century, the Opus latericium (bricks cooked with the furnace), had replaced all the other matters little by little, thanks to its solidity and with its convenience of use.

Linked with the two other techniques of Roman construction, the keystone and the monolithic structure obtained with a lime concrete casting, it made it possible to cover this big space of powerful vaults and to defy time until today.

See too

Internal bonds

Roman Architecture
Forum of Trajan

External bond

Photographs of the Forum of Trajan

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