Notable ancient Roman buildings that are still standing

The Roman Empire is known for its glorious innovations, and one of its legacies that still impact the world today is its architecture. Some of the ground-breaking Roman structures that forged the Western civilization as we know it today include temples, aqueducts, multi-story apartment blocks, and bridges, to name a few. In this article, architect <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeCianciotto01"Joe Cianciotto</a> of the San Francisco Bay Area discusses famous ancient Roman buildings that are still intact up to now.

<b>The Colosseum, Italy</b>

The Colosseum is an oval amphitheater that sits in the center of Rome. The largest ancient amphitheater ever built was listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. At some points in history, it was able to host up to 80,000 spectators who watched gladiatorial contests and public spectacles in the vast arena.

<b>Pont du Gard, France</b>

The most visited Roman site in France shows how technically and architecturally ingenious Romans were. The Pont du Gard is an aqueduct bridge built in 19 AD and was used to transport water over a 50-kilometer span. Joe Cianciotto notes that the bridge was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites in 1985.

<b>Trier Imperial Baths, Germany</b>

The Trier Imperial Baths is believed to have been the largest Roman bath complex outside of the city. Constructed in the fourth century, it was more than 100 by 200 meters large and was able to host thousands of bathers. Still intact in the remains are an extensive underground network of service passages. The bath complex also illustrated just how important bathing was to ancient Romans.