Architecture: A Very Short Introduction

_{13. Maison Carrée, Nîmes, France (AD 1–10); architect: unknown. This is a fairly typical temple in the centre of a provincial Roman city, more finely judged than many similar Roman temples, but in its day it would have had no more than local significance. It is now much more significant than that, because most Roman temples have perished, and this one is the best preserved, so it has been much visited and has been important in forming the architectural taste of — for example — the grand tourists of the 18th century. The arrangement is typical for a Roman temple. The single room of the interior would have housed the cult statue, which would have been able to look (as it were) through the open door to the outdoor altar where sacrifices would be made on feast days, as a public spectacle. This room (the cella) is raised quite high above the surrounding street level — about 4 m (12 feet) — and it is reached by way of a flight of steps at one end of the building. At the top of the flight of steps is a row of fully modelled columns, which support the roof above. They follow the ‘Corinthian’ pattern, so their capitals have an arrangement of conventionalized acanthus leaves, making a showy decorative top to the column. This was a typical Roman choice for a prestigious building, but the columns are unusual for Roman work in being fluted — most Roman columns were built up from cylindrical sections, which were quicker and easier to carve than those with the vertical striations that followed the admired Greek models. Round most of the building the walls support the roof, and there are decorative half-columns which have no functional significance, but which maintain the visual rhythm of the Greek type of temple. Many Roman temples had plain sides, and the expenditure involved in carving these columns gives an idea of the extravagance and prestige of the project.}