L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 12 L'Italo-Americano T h e a n c i e n t R o m a n s a r e i m p o r t a n t f o r I t a l y : they are part of its history and heritage, a symbol of unity, and a constant pres- ence in the collective imagi- nation of the country. We like to read about them, dis- cover what they used to do and how they used to spend t h e i r t i m e ; w h a t t h e y believed in, what they ate and what they wore. We are c u r i o u s a b o u t t h e i r d a i l y lives, we imagine them going about their daily routines, j u s t l i k e w e d o , p e r h a p s imagining them just there, in the very squares and streets we walk through today while we go to work or bring the kids to school. Proof of our interest in our most famous ancestors is the success of popular literature dedicated to them, such as the series on ancient Rome by Alberto Angela, each installment of which never fails to reach bestseller status. If you read us regularly, y o u k n o w w e a t L ' I t a l o - Americano have a soft spot for the ancient Romans, too, and we like to dedicate space and time to them: in recent m o n t h s , w e w r o t e a b o u t their aqueducts and their concrete, about Pompeii's casts and the new archaeo- l o g i c a l d i s c o v e r i e s t h a t brought to light a full restau- rant in one of the streets of the ancient city under the Vesuvius. Today, we'd like to walk through the vast and fasci- nating world of their inven- tions, of what the Romans c r e a t e d t h a t w e s t i l l u s e t o d a y , i n s o m e f o r m o r another. There is so much R o m a n i n g e n u i t y s t i l l a t work in our everyday lives, a n d w e j u s t n e e d t o l o o k c l o s e r t o w h a t w e h a v e around to find it! Bound books We are so used to having them lying around the house, on our bed table, or in our bags for the bus commute in the morning, we barely real- ize how innovative bound books were when they were invented. In Roman times, there were two main ways to write: either on wax or clay tablets, or on parchment or papyrus scrolls. The latter were mainly used for longer texts, so Roman books were all handwritten on endless– up to 10 meters or 32 feet – lengths of material, rolled around two tubes the height of the scroll: instead of turn- ing pages, you had to unroll them, so to speak. Needless to say, scrolls were heavy, bulky and difficult to trans- port and store, so it was only a m a t t e r o f t i m e b e f o r e someone came out with a more practical idea. It was, in fact, Julius Caesar who c o m m i s s i o n e d t h e f i r s t bound volume, a series of papyruses sewn together on one side to form a codex: this way, single sheets were not lost, and it was much simpler to consult or transport a text. H o w e v e r , s c r o l l s k e p t o n b e i n g m o r e c o m m o n f o r another couple of centuries. The codex was to take over only with the diffusion of C h r i s t i a n i t y a c r o s s t h e Empire and its surging to imperial religion. Still, what a genius, that Julius Caesar! Condos Imperial Rome is, per- haps, the earliest example of a metropolis, all due consid- erations made: there were fewer people on Earth, but if y o u r u n a p r o p o r t i o n , t h e C a p u t M u n d i h a d a n impressive number of inhab- itants even back then. To solve the problem of accom- modation, Roman architects came out with the idea of a p a r t m e n t c o m p l e x e s , o r i n s u l a e , a s t h e y w e r e known, which are very much what you'd expect: six to eight floors of apartments w i t h c o m m o n c o u r t a n d staircases. Dwellings on the l o w e r f l o o r s , k n o w n a s c e n a c u l a , w e r e m o r e expensive, while those on the upper floors, the cellae, were for poorer tenants, but don't b e m i s t a k e n : t h e r e a l l y w e a l t h y d i d n o t l i v e here, insulae were the homes of the middle and working class. At the height of the Empire, between the third and the fourth century, there was some 45.000 insulae in the city. Proto-newspapers T h e n e w s p a p e r s a s w e know them today are a prod- uct of the 17th century, with the very first one being pub- lished in Germany in 1605, but the Romans had their o w n w a y t o c i r c u l a t e t h e news, too. Using stones or other solid supports, as well a s p a p y r i , t h e y w o u l d inscribe – or write for the latter – on them important events and news, then dis- play them around the city. The Acta Diurna, or "daily events," started being "pub- lished" in the 2nd century BC, and were used especially to inform the public about deaths and births, military campaigns and, sometimes, curious or interesting facts that happened somewhere in the Empire. Plumbing The Romans are known for their ingenuity in the fields of architecture, engi- neering, and urban planning. It isn't a case that they gave use roads we still use today, here in Europe, concrete, aqueducts and structures so strong they still stand two millennia after they were built. But there is something just as important they left to t h e m o d e r n w o r l d , v e r y advanced sewage and plumb- ing systems. A complex sys- tem of drainage pipes ran u n d e r t h e c i t y a n d w a s flushed regularly with run- n i n g w a t e r c o m i n g f r o m n e a r b y s t r e a m s , w h i c h ensured it all stayed clean and functioning. Everything was underground so that no human waste would end up in the street, increasing the risks of infections. The Cloa- ca Maxima, the main sewage network in the city, was built centuries before the Empire, in the years between the end of the Roman kingdom and the beginning of the Repub- lic, with tradition stating its c o n s t r u c t i o n h a d b e e n ordered by the second last king of Rome, Tarquinius P r i s c u s , s o m e 6 0 0 y e a r s before Christ. Central heating I don't think many know t h a t o u r a n c e s t o r s t h e Romans invented central heating. Yes, they did! It was c a l l e d h y p o c a u s t a n d i t m a n a g e d t o w a r m e n t i r e houses, on several floors. The heat was produced by a fire usually placed in the home's basement and spread through the building thanks to a space between the floor and the ground created by elevating the floor level with concrete pillars. To make s u r e t h e u p p e r l e v e l s o f h o m e s w e r e a l s o h e a t e d , t h e r e w e r e f l u e s i n t o t h e walls, which also had the duty to ensure fumes could exit through the roof. If you liked this article, check out the piece published o n l i n e b y I n t e r e s t i n g Engineering, where even more Roman inventions are l i s t e d . Y o u ' l l f i n d i t a t : https://interestingengineer- ing.com/19-greatest-inven- tions-of-the-roman-empire- that-helped-shape-the-mode rn-world GIULIA FRANCESCHINI One of the things we inherited from the Romans are bound books, even if they became common during the Middle Ages (Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons agreement. Author: Tom Murphy VII. License: CC BY-SA 3.0) HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE From bound books to plumbing: what the Romans left us

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