@@kayharker712 I'm from Montreal and in the 50's (or maybe the 40's) the mayor had two little round Roman temples built in Atwater Square - urinals they were - but in Roman lettering around the domes of each it read VESPANIENNE - after Vespasian, a great builder of public comfort stations I gather.
No, 200 years old buildings aren't considered new, they are considered prestige buildings, considering how architecture went to shit from the 1960's onward.
The last one is amazing and unbelievably awesome, like the Pantheon. So often we see drawings of ancient Roman buildings, but to see the actual building with almost all its glitter and color and original glamour right in front of out faces, brings home exactly how truly great (even by today's standards) these buildings were and continue to be, thousands of years after their construction. Those monuments of beauty, truly were built for the ages!!
@@toldinstone Hi Gareth, I'd like to ask how much is from the roman period inside Santa Maria? Is it just the columns or the red marble panels as well?
@@toldinstone have archaeologists done any excavation between the modern floor and the roman one? and do you know if it's a hollow space (supported by columns maybe?) or if it's totally filled in? Always been fascinated by thid building, and eagerly looking forwars to a full tour :)
@@rblossey The Roman floor (which was apparently prone to flooding) was simply covered with dirt. To the best of my knowledge, the floor of the Renaissance church has never been taken up for excavation. Glad to hear it - I look forward to making that video!
@@toldinstone The original Egyptian granite collumns in the interior still seem to be sitting atop their original column bases, which appears at the modern ground level. How do they work with the original Roman floors of the bath beneath?
My grandmother is from Formia, just north of Naples, and lived down the street from a Roman amphitheater that was transformed into apartments throughout the centuries; there are also ancient stone walls and arches that she’d hide under with her family during the German and Allied raids during WWII. The apartments are still there and still inhabited, too! It’s called Teatro Romano di Formia a Castellone.
@@toldinstone Can you please kindly do a video on the "Temple of Manly Virtue" AKA Portunus (formerly known as Fortuna Virilis)?? This is one that holds many significant secrets. www.atlasobscura.com/places/temple-of-portunus
Please do a video of the Roman ruins in Trier, Germany. This is where I fell in LOVE with Roman history as a young child. I lived near Trier between the ages of 4 and 8 because my father was US Air Force. We always went there.
@Frank Thinnes Same with me!!!! My father would tell me stories of the Imperial Roman Armies and the fights and "throwing" Christians to the lions in the Roman amphitheater. I wanted to become an archeologist but I never did. BUT I did study history in college. I focused on early modern English and Colonial USA history, Roman and Greek architecture. I LOVED history so much that I became a history teacher in a Chicago high school. I can remember living in Germany but I was young and I lived there from 1952 to 1956. I also have very fond memories of Germany.
@@jilledmondson6894 Wow you must have a vast knowledge of history, being in Germany just after ww2, studying the birth of the USA, and now ancient Rome and Greece. That's incredible, I hope to gain as much experience and knowledge as you have. I am drawn to both ww2 history and ancient roman/greek/persian stories/ruins as well!
There is lots to explore in Trier (Augusta Treverorum)! Churches are impressive, e.g. underground tours in St. Maximin, Trier Cathedral. In St. Matthias is the grave of Apostle Matthew. A guided tour in Germanys oldest wine cellar with wine tasting at "Stiftungsweingut Vereinigte Hospitien" is very interesting and tasty! Cheers!
Grazie mille. One of my favorite memories of Roma is walking the Appian Way at twilight with all the ghosts. Personal note: Your voice is calming and easy to listen to.
I've always wanted to walk the section beyond the Tomb of Caecilia Metella at dusk. The closest I managed was a long walk in the rain a few years ago. Glad you enjoyed the narration !
These videos are really interesting. Roman buildings that are still in use are is a fascinating subject, but it's quite hard to search for (if you google you usually just get a bunch of generic lists with same structures such as the Pantheon, tower of hercules, some bridges etc). So it's great that someone like you can shine a light on the more obscure stuff.
Great video, thanks! It's worth noting that the modern floor level of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which you noted is higher than the ancient level, required that the Egyptian granite columns have artificial bases "collared" around them to make them look like they stop at the modern floor level; but they actually go below it... which explains that visibly disproportionate "fatness" of those columns. Looking forward to your video on that church!
These revealing videos are fantastic. It's refreshing to know there is a scholar highlighting these ancient structures nestled within the modern city expanse. More please.
Hi, very interesting videos. I'm originally from South Italy. Two towns you should visit is Capua and Santa Maria Capua Vetere, which are very close to each other and not far from Naples. Full of Roman ruins. Also another city in the area is Caserta, regional capital, which hots the biggest Royal Palace in the world.
Thank you so much, Garrett! These videos are basically like crack to me. Currently writing a book featuring Domitian and so I have taken a few lengthy visits of Rome and environs in the past few years, having had the pleasure of visiting some of the sites. For those going to Napoli, I highly recommend a tour of the underground (Napoli Sottorenea). At the conclusion of that tour, they take you inside the neighboring above ground buildings that include vestiges of the great theatre featured in this video. A visit into Santa Maria degli Angeli, within a portion of the Baths of Diocletian was revelatory. You really do get that sense of lost grandeur and there are many extraordinary details worth the visit alone. The coolest thing is a Renaissance era meridian line inlaid in the marble floor. A pin prick hole in the high corner of the church channels a thin shaft of sunlight that crosses the meridian at noon. Noon at the time was not fixed to GMT but to the midpoint of sunrise and sunset. Thus we were able to calculate the midpoint for that particular day and, lo and behold, to the minute, the beam crossed in the appropriate place. Amazing.
You're very welcome! I did one of the tours during my very first visit to Naples, and proceeded to lose all of the pictures I took during a hard drive crash.
I visited Santa Maria de la Angeli on the one occasion that I visited Rome. As described, from the outside it looks like nothing, a rather insignificant old ruin, walking inside it is magnificent. In one of the photos shown here... my son was marveling at the beautiful bluish/green columns thinking they were actual columns, I said "Brian, that's a painting"...his eyes went wide. Really this is true and inescapable of all of Italy, the architecture and artwork is simply magnificent.
I love how you often use the etching prints of Giovanni Battista Piranesi for the descriptions of the ancient status of the monuments. I use to collect original Piranesi prints from 1700, he was a genius in graphics and one of the first "modern" archeologist.
There's a complete Saxon church where I live (Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire, UK ) that was unknown as such, and was used for various purposes for many hundreds of years. It's origins were only realised in the 20th century. It had been subsumed by additions over the years. It's now returned to pretty much it's original condition. It's very Roman in appearance. There must be many more bits of architectural history that we pass unknowingly every day. Thanks.
My family and I recently visited Rome and we spent a few hours one day exploring the Appian Way on rented bikes. It was such a lovely afternoon riding in out in the peaceful countryside visiting the Catacombs di San Sebastiano and many roadside tombs and monuments. Highly recommended!
10:11 thank’s for talking about Santa Costanza, it’s in front of my house and I love to look at it from my window. There are even some catacombs under the church
My wife and I did a driving tour of the UK a few years back and walked along Hadrian's Wall, a fantastic experience. But a little bonus was waiting for us at the tiny hotel we stayed at, in the countryside outside the nearby town of Carlisle. The owner had marked off an odd little section of hallway near the entrance, with a little iron fence surrounding a hole in the floor, lit by a small spotlight. The owner said it was a well dating back to the Romans and whomever had built the house had built right over it, probably to use it as an "indoor" water source. At some point it was covered over and forgotten, and the most recent owner had discovered it during a renovation and turned it into his own in-house tourist attraction.
If you haven't seen it, you might be interested in my video on "The 5 Greatest Roman Buildings Demolished during the Renaissance," which uses quite a few old drawings.
Your videos make me want to visit Italy again. I've only been once, about 14 years ago, but those were among the most memorable two weeks of my life. I want to see Rome again, and Venice. I want to go to the Amalfi Coast, Capri, Pompeii. I want to visit Cinque Terre. I've become a fan of the UK's most famous gardener, Monty Don, and he has whole 1-hour videos on the Gardens of Italy. According to his professional experience, the most beautiful garden in the world is in Italy, between Naples and Rome. It's called the garden at Ninfa. I want to see all of these beautiful gardens. You, sir, are biting me with the travel bug again...
When you hear from a PHD there are literally thousands I immediately think there's 10,000+ partially completed buildings being used. Love your work keep it up
Santa Maria degli Angeli is definitely one of the coolest unappreciated structures in Rome. I was making my way towards the National Museum at the Baths of Diocletian and decided to take a quick detour inside what seemed like a relatively unassuming entrance. Wow, what a spectacular sight to see. I didn't quite realize what I was looking at until I tried to leave out one of the back entrances and saw the massive ruins of the baths were actually part of the same wall to the space I was just inside of. Of course, I had to go back in to take another look at that point. Rome is such a wonderful city with many layers of history.
Thanks for the video. I stumbled on sant'urbano while casually walking inside the Caffarella Park in Rome. It just looked like another church in Rome in a state of decay, with a rusty collapsed fence around it a old steel gate blocked by a tree stump. Understanding it's history really made me look at it in a different way.
OMG, I passed the Baths of Diocletian all the time when I was in Rome--they're really closed to the train station and my hotel was near the train station. Damn. I should've gone INSIDE the entrance. I saw the entrance of Santa Maria degli Angeli all the time. I just figured it was some weird, modern church with a modern interior I did not come to Rome to see (i.e. they kept the plain brick interiors for the church, like at the Baths of Caracalla and some such). I was not aware that it still had the interiors of an actual Roman bath. Damn...
I lived close to Bearsden (near Glasgow Scotland) and used to enjoy walking in Roman Road because I knew it led to the remains of the Antonine Wall. What I really wanted was to visit Hadrian's Wall in North Tyneside because I saw pictures of it, knew it ran for 80 miles, and it looked beautiful.
Never thought I would be so interested in ancient buildings and civilizations but your videos are all so interesting and wonderful. It’s really mind-boggling how these ancient people could design and construct these magnificent places.
If at all possible, if this topic could be a regular segment, perhaps once a month (or even more frequent 😬) I would have so much to do and see when in Italy next. Thanks for the great information!
Looking forward to seeing whatever can be published as well as seeing the in depth item on Santa Maria degli angeli. I’m wondering how the floor today is significantly higher than the original building, while the columns supporting the roof are fully visible. Perhaps they stood on high pedestals originally.
@@rickb3078 The floor was filled in because it was prone to flooding (not surprising, since the level of the surrounding streets had risen considerably). The real column bases are buried; the ones visible now were added during the Renaissance conversion.
Picked these videos out to try to fall asleep to, ended up finding them way too enjoyable to fall asleep to and staying up until 4am watching them. Well done professor!
it is so sad to see only shadows of some of the greatest works of architecture of Ancient Rome. I hope you can do a video of Palestrina and how it would have looked at its best. I saw sketchings of that and Pergamum that were made during the late 19th and early 20th century and they looked magnificent
Thank-you for these videos, having been a visitor to Rome for the past 35years, my favourite Roman building since my very first visit has always been the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e Martiri and I look forward to seeing your video on this when released. Many thanks.
I lived in Rome for over three years and most living there have no idea of the history they walk in every day. It truly is wonderful. I also was able to experience Greece’s treasures and Petra. In Canada our cement isn’t even cured.
The passion of people to build on that scale. No cost cutting. Everything is about the dollar today. When you walk into one of those Roman buildings and look up, its so humbling. You have to stand in the middle and just look around you --and blow your mind.
I know very well most of those places you have mentioned! That church you mentioned that is in Via Appia but it was closed the last time I visited but somehow it is typical of Rome to let many of the precious temples and monuments closed and badly kept by sheer indifference and sloppiness. But you have have barely mentioned Terracina because it is a very interesting town where the Roman forum was and still has Bizantine walls which you can still walk on it, a late Roman gate and a suspected Longobard "Palace" among other things! I think it is one of the most underrated town together with Fondi going to Formia..
Yes, there is so much more to say about Terracina (I've only been there once, but I was very impressed). Every time I make one of these videos, time constraints force me to pass by many wonderful places. Hopefully, I'll be able to say more in future videos.
So interesting; thanks for sharing. And thanks for not accompanying your video with music and for not talking non-stop so we can absorb fully all the great information you have included.
He doesn’t look Roman at all, most Romans spoke fast because of the fewer syllables in Latin. This guy on the other hand sounds like a Natural English speaker, I hope he has the Vowels and Syllables right of either French, Spanish, or Italian or he might just sound incredibly funny to Ancient Roman or Modern Latin Speaker when speaking Latin.
Excellent commentary...per usual. 🌿🏛🌿 just fascinating, the pull of the ancient world is laughing and living right along with us. A true reconstituted Memory
Thanks for these videos. Had to watch them again as I plan my week in Rome in May. It will be my third trip to Rome and I want to see some of the less visited sites.
It's just remarkable how these things survive so long, and in constant use. It's hard to put in to words how it makes me feel but I would say awe is pretty close. The baths of Diocletian must have been spectacular when intact. The Las Vegas of the ancient world!
Great sequel. When the book is ready, I'll buy it for sure, as I plan to travel to Italy again as soon as pandemic requirements settle. Though I'm not too fond of Rome, I like visiting Naples, Florence, Venice or Sesto Calente near the French border, and anything in between.
I absolutely love your videos. I’m going to go through your books as I am Sure they are as interesting As your videos are. Great job. Lots of information for people who love the Roman culture. Thank you for what you do. You’re 🤩
Thank you for making these videos, I am really enjoying them. I see absolutely no reason why your channel can't get as big as Mark Felton. He does similarly styled videos on WW2. I have liked, subscribed, and I am really looking forward to future segments. Keep up the great work!
Man... The "cool and placid lakes of Nemi and Albano" are... volcanos! 😉 They're no more active, but the deep and dark lakes remaining in the "calderas" are something scaring, I can assure you...😉 It's not so sure to swim or navigate there, cause the streams can tear you down.
It amazes me how we just built over these things!! Like that bath house, if those drawings are any accurate depiction of it then holy shit, that thing was grand!
Thanks for the video. There’s a lot for a third or fourth instalment of the video (and without leaving Rome) if you look at the churches. San Lorenzo in Lucina, San Saba, Santa Balbina, San Nereo & Achilleo, San Cosimato are some of the Roman buildings in disguise if you know how to look. I live close to a park where there’s a Roman frieze in plain sight (a military shield) and no one seems to give a penny, as the ruin is in private property. Public parks around the center also host columns, porch remains, and the like. The list could go on and on...
You're welcome - and thank you for this list of other hidden Roman buildings. Several of those were new to me. If you know of any other candidates for future videos, please feel free to send them along. I hope to make "Roman buildings hidden in plain sight" a recurring feature.
Intact Roman buildings can turn up in surprising places, even in the 'edge of Empire' such as here in the UK. The Roman baths in the city of Bath for example. In addition, the 3rd century Roman Saxon Shore fort of Portchester near the city of Portsmouth. It is well worth a visit if you are in the area.
Another really wonderful video, thank you. That last entry is particularly dazzling - I think I struggle to imagine how big and how grand some of the buildings could be, seeing the Pantheon as an outlier (it is among my favourites). I guess my brain sees these brick buildings without marble facing and assumes that the Roman world must have been large, but rudimentary. That image of the baths was mind-boggling. As a follow-up, have you ever been to Chieti? I did my year abroad there for university and it has some lovely Roman buildings, and close to zero tourism
You're very welcome. Santa Maria degli Angeli really is dazzling - one of those rare Roman buildings that preserves some semblance of its original grandeur. I've never visited Chieti. Some quick Googling, however, confirms what you say about the city's Roman ruins. Perhaps I can work one of those buildings into the third installment...
There are other channels that take you around Italy and show you the ancient world, but they don't really know anything about them. They tell you what it is and how wonderful they are but they can't tell you anything else. They dress the channel up by Italian music that has zero to do with antiquity. This channel is the jewel in the crown, it's the meat to the others potatoes.
Hopefully in the future this special one Sant'Urbano alla Caffarella will me more open to tourists, the beautiful yet insufficient drawing of the interior only made me more desperate to visit Italy ahahaha! Santa Costanza's mosaics reminded me of the Galla Placidia Mausoleum, one of my all time favorites from roman architecture classes in college. I don't know yet if you have a video on it cause I'm new to the channel but I'm sure it would be an awesome one
I visited Ravenna back in 2007 (when I was an undergraduate spending a semester in Rome) and unfortunately haven't been back since. When I return - hopefully this summer - I will definitely make a video about that city's wonderful mosaics.
