Editing Ancient Roman architecture (section)

=== Triumphal arches ===
{{further|List of Roman triumphal arches}}

A [[triumphal arch]] is a monumental structure in the shape of an [[arch]]way with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. The origins of the Roman triumphal arch are unclear, other than in the temporary structures, whose appearance is unknown, erected for [[Roman triumph]]s under the [[Roman Republic]], and later. There were precursors to the permanent triumphal arch within the Roman world; in Italy, the [[Etruscans]] used elaborately decorated single bay arches as gates or portals to their cities. Surviving examples of Etruscan arches can still be seen at [[Perugia]] and [[Volterra]].{{sfn|Zaho|2004|pp=18–25}} The two key elements of the triumphal arch – a round-topped arch and a square entablature – had long been in use as separate architectural elements in [[ancient Greece]].

The innovation of the Romans was to use these elements in a single free-standing structure. The columns became purely decorative elements on the outer face of the arch, while the [[entablature]], liberated from its role as a building support, became the frame for the civic and religious messages that the arch builders wished to convey.{{sfn|Sullivan|2006|pp=133–134}} Little is known about how the Romans viewed triumphal arches. [[Pliny the Elder]], writing in the first century AD, was the only ancient author to discuss them.{{sfn|Fürst|Grundmann|1998|p=43}} He wrote that they were intended to "elevate above the ordinary world" an image of an honoured person usually depicted in the form of a statue with a [[quadriga]].{{sfn|Fürst|Grundmann|1998|p=43}}
[[File:Rimini_arco_di_Augusto_02.png|thumb|The [[Arch of Augustus (Rimini)|Arch of Augustus]] in [[Rimini]] (Ariminum), dedicated to [[Augustus]] by the [[Roman Senate]] in 27 BC, the oldest surviving [[List of Roman triumphal arches|Roman triumphal arch]]]]
The first recorded Roman triumphal arches were set up in the time of the Roman Republic.<ref name="Britannica">{{Britannica|606106|Triumphal Arch}}</ref> Generals who were granted a triumph were termed ''triumphators'' and would erect ''fornices'' or honorific arches bearing statues to commemorate their victories.<ref name="Grove Art">F. B. Sear and Richard John. "Triumphal arch." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. 30 July 2010</ref>
Roman triumphal practices changed significantly at the start of the Imperial period, when the first [[Roman Emperor]] [[Augustus]] decreed that only emperors would be granted triumphs. The triumphal arch changed from being a personal monument to being an essentially propagandistic one, serving to announce and promote the presence of the ruler and the laws of the state.{{sfn|Zaho|2004|pp=18–25}} Arches were not necessarily built as entrances, but – unlike many modern triumphal arches – they were often erected across roads and were intended to be passed through, not round.{{sfn|Honour|Fleming|2005}}
[[File:Arch_of_Titus_(Roma).jpg|thumb|The [[Arch of Titus]] in Rome, an early Roman imperial triumphal arch with a single archway]]
Most Roman triumphal arches were built during the Imperial period. By the fourth century AD there were 36 such arches in Rome, of which three have survived – the [[Arch of Titus]] (AD 81), the [[Arch of Septimius Severus]] (203–205) and the [[Arch of Constantine]] (312). Numerous arches were built elsewhere in the Roman Empire.<ref name="Britannica"/> The single arch was the most common, but many triple arches were also built, of which the [[Triumphal Arch of Orange]] (c. AD 21) is the earliest surviving example. From the 2nd century AD, many examples of the ''arcus quadrifrons'' – a square triumphal arch erected over a crossroads, with arched openings on all four sides – were built, especially in North Africa. Arch-building in Rome and Italy diminished after the time of Trajan (AD 98–117) but remained widespread in the provinces during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD; they were often erected to commemorate imperial visits.<ref name="Grove Art"/>

The ornamentation of an arch was intended to serve as a constant visual reminder of the triumph and ''triumphator''. The façade was ornamented with marble columns, and the piers and attics with decorative [[cornice]]s. Sculpted panels depicted victories and achievements, the deeds of the ''triumphator'', the captured weapons of the enemy or the triumphal procession itself. The [[spandrel]]s usually depicted flying [[Victoria (mythology)|Victories]], while the attic was often inscribed with a dedicatory inscription naming and praising the ''triumphator''. The piers and internal passageways were also decorated with reliefs and free-standing sculptures. The vault was ornamented with [[coffer]]s. Some triumphal arches were surmounted by a statue or a ''currus triumphalis'', a group of statues depicting the emperor or general in a [[quadriga]].{{sfn|Zaho|2004|pp=18–25}}<ref name="Grove Art"/>

Inscriptions on Roman triumphal arches were works of art in themselves, with very finely cut, sometimes gilded letters. The form of each letter and the spacing between them was carefully designed for maximum clarity and simplicity, without any decorative flourishes, emphasizing the Roman taste for restraint and order. This conception of what later became the art of [[typography]] remains of fundamental importance to the present day.{{sfn|Honour|Fleming|2005}}