Rome's City of Skyscrapers - Insulae and the Pomererium

Cities around the world throughout history have often come across the same problem, space. New York and Hong Kong for example are both geographically limited by space and as a result have built upwards. Their skylines are famous and iconic around the globe and yet are inimitably practical.

But where did this need to go vertical come from? In the city of Rome, perhaps the first city of skyscrapers, the insulae (apartment buildings housing all levels of class and some standing as much as nine storeys high) came about for a very simple and highly religious reason, the Pomerium.

Insulae

The Pomerium was a religious boundary around Rome. Everything within the Pomerium was Rome, everything outside was not. Myth says that the path of the Pomerium followed the line that Romulus, the legendary founder of the city, ploughed while laying the foundations for the cities original walls.

"Remus leaped over the new walls in mockery of his brother, whereupon Romulus in great anger slew him, and in menacing wise added these words withal "So perish whoever else shall leap over my walls!"

Livy Ab Urbe Condita Book 1 Chapter 7

The area of the Pomerium was extended by the Dictator Sulla in 80 BC to aid the growing city, as well as no doubt showing off his own immense power at a time of civil war among the Roman Senate. Augustus enlarged the city during his reign and finally the Emperor Claudius also extended the Pomerium during his reign, making the "sacred" city larger again.

"The Caesar also enlarged the pomerium, in consonance with the old custom, by which an expansion of the empire confers the right to extend similarly the boundaries of the city"

Tacitus Annals Book 12 Chapter 23

Insulae at Ostia

The Pomerium brought with it certain rules and regulations. No dead bodies could be buried within the sacred boundary. magistrates with imperium power had to resign their powers before crossing the threshold, with the exception of the day he celebrated a Triumph, when he and his soldiers would march through Rome in a great procession. Weapons were prohibited within the Pomerium, the Praetorian Guard under the times of the Emperors were the only soldiers allowed to carry weapons withing the sacred city.

The constraints the Pomerium put upon the city had the effect of limiting the space of the sacred city and as with cities throughout history, when you cant build out, you build up.

The word Insulae is Latin for island and these individual buildings were incredibly similar to the New York apartment building. The ground floor would be a shop or tavern, while the first floor would be lived in by the wealthiest residence with the poorer living in the floors as you go higher.

"Timber and stones for the building of houses, which goes on unceasingly in consequence of the collapses and fires and repeated sales (these last, too, going on unceasingly); and indeed the sales are intentional collapses, as it were, since the purchasers keep on tearing down the houses and build new ones"

Strabo Geography Book 5 Chapter 3

The reason that the best flats were on the lower floors were due to the general cheap and shoddy nature of the construction. Due to this, the closer you lived to the ground the better in a building prone to fire and collapse. The height of Insulae were restricted by the Emperors Augustus and Nero, in an attempt to limit dangerous nature of these buildings being six or seven (or even eight or nine) storeys high.

However, despite the limitations on height, it was always invariable that Rome would build upwards. The Pomerium put limitations upon a city on seven hills, that without it, could of theoretically spread outwards indefinitely over the surrounding area, creating a wide spaced city as opposed to a confined city of Roman skyscrapers.

Insulae point to the highly social, densely populated nature of the city of Rome. People lived one on top of each other right in the centre of an Empire of power stretching over the Mediterranean and the reason for this dense population is the Pomerium. Of course as Rome grew it spilled over the edges of the Pomerium, but that was not Rome, that was not the Sacred City.


Thanks for Reading
James