We're back in the US of A, and have been for awhile. But there's still quite a bit we haven't shared from our trip, particularly our last 3.5 weeks in Europe. So we're working on that now, slowly but surely, and in chronological order. Believe it or not, we also have some posts left from Asia. But we're keeping things as organized as possible - so feel free to browse, and/or use our tags to help you find what you need. Whether you're planning a trip of your own, daydreaming of distant lands, or living vicariously through us - relax, enjoy, and happy reading!!

PS If you're looking for the details of our road trip across the US, you'll find them on our Tumblr.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Spolia

I have already blogged at length about our Underground Rome Context Tour.  But there is one thing I forgot to mention, that is just to cool to forget: Spolia.

Spolia refers to the re-use of materials from old buildings in the construction of new ones.  In Italy, this is most easily identifiable as the re-use of columns:

This marble column looks big and strong...let's just stick it in right here!
Viola!  A corner support.  This building wasn't built around the column - rather, the column was imported from some (hopefully) already disintegrating temple or building to be re-used.  Recycling, the ancient Roman way!

This was a new concept to both Kee-Min and I.  But we are excellent at pattern identification, and once our docent, Phil, described spolia and identified a few examples, we spent the rest of our trip searching for more.


Check out the columnar supports on each side of this window.

This one might even be a double-decker spolia column!
So, if you ever find yourself in Italy or Greece, keep your eyes open.  It's amazing what you can find, once you know to look!!
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)