The Romans used great public projects
to make the city the most advanced of the ancient world, and to
create the
largest empire of the era. Many of the roads, bridges and aqueducts
of ancient Rome are still used today.
The Romans built many roads throughout
their empire. The roads made it easier to travel and trade with
faraway provinces. It also made it easier to collects taxes. Roman
roads were straight and followed an exact design. The expression,
"All Roads Lead To Rome" refers to the fact that Rome was the center
of modern civilization.
Roman engineers brought water into
the city by building pipelines called aqueducts. Nine aqueducts
provided the Roman people with 38 million gallons of water every
day. Parts of the Roman aqueduct system still supply water to fountains
in Rome.
The Romans built many amphitheaters,
or huge stadiums. People would gather in amphitheaters to watch
shows with clowns, jugglers, and acrobats. Some of Roman entertainment
was very cruel. People would watch fights between wild animals and
Gladiators. Gladiators were usually slaves or criminals who fought
with swords against animals or each other. A skillful gladiator
might win his freedom by defeating an opponent. More often, the
gladiators lost their lives.
The largest amphitheater, the Coliseum,
seated about 45,000 people. Only a portion of the Colosseum
remains standing today. Earthquakes have destroyed some of the structure.
Also, engineers used some of the stone from the Colosseum to build
later Roman buildings. Some of the stone used to build St. Peter's
Basilica, the church where the Pope resides, came from the Colosseum.
Perhaps the greatest Roman engineering
achievement was the sewer. Rome is in a valley among seven hills.
There is nowhere for dirty water to go. The sewer system made it
possible for it to become the largest city in the world. Rome was
the first city to house more than one million people. The population
declined after the fall of Rome, but today, it is home to more than
six million people.
