Trajan's Markets (Rome, Italy) : General view, from south

Creator:

Apollodoros of Damascus, d. ca. 125 CE

Published/Created:

north of Forum of Trajan, Rome, Lazio, Italy
ca. 100-112

Date Depicted:

9/15/1994
8000 BC - 499 AD

Materials:

brick
concrete

Notes:

The Forum of Trajan was regarded by contemporaries as the most magnificent architectural complex in Rome. It was dedicated in AD 113, though the work may have begun under Domitian; the final design, together with that of Trajan's Markets shelved into the side of the Quirinal Hill to the north, was probably the work of Apollodoros. The Markets of Trajan (ca. AD 100-112) are very different in character. Their extensive remains consist of about 150 shops and offices and a great hall, set out on terraces cut into the steep Quirinal slope, although the complex was probably once considerably larger. The walls are almost entirely of brick-faced concrete; few if any columns were used and there are hardly any stone trims. The only architectural decoration is the pedimented and pilastered wall that forms a curved façade responding to that of the forum's eastern exedra. At three levels streets run along the terraces and are connected by numerous stair systems, corridors and walkways. Many of the shops and offices are of simple rectangular plan with wide doorways framed in travertine. The groin-vaulted great hall, which survives almost intact, is ingeniously planned with two levels of shops at either side, the upper one set back to allow access galleries.

Variant Titles:

Markets of Trajan

Topics:

Architecture -- Italy -- Roman -- (YVRC)

Culture:

Roman

Accession Number:

1A3-R-R-TM-A1

Genre:

architecture (AAT)

Format:

Image

Content Type:

Sculptures, Models, & Architecture

Rights:

Copyright Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc
The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement.

Access Restrictions:

Yale Community Only

Digital:

architectural exteriors; business, commerce and trade; rulers and leaders; Roman Empire; Trajan, Emperor of Rome, 53-117; commercial construction complexes; commercial complexes; marketplaces; complexes; sites (locations); archaeological sites

Source Creator:

Gilchrist, Scott

Source Title:

Archivision Module Three

Source Created:

2878 Chamonix, Montreal QC
Archivision, Inc.
9/15/1994

Source Note:

Purchase, Visual Resources Collection, May, 2011; photographer Scott Gilchrist

Yale Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Digital Collection:

Visual Resources Collection

Local Record Number:

4152

OID:

10159977

PID:

digcoll:1855876