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Introduction
Urban form refers to the given pattern that is exhibited by humans concerning their activities for a particular historical point. As such, urban form takes into consideration the physical elements that are present in a given town or city. Such an account for the aesthetic qualities involving the creation of a city’s infrastructure, function as well as general arrangement (Morris, 1994). Such factors tend to superimpose the transport system as well as the land use for a particular city. In the geography of any city, urban morphology was very important in influencing the urban forms during the early period. As such, it is evident that urban forms are based on geography since the landscape of any city could be described, characterized, as well as distinguished on this basis. For this reason, to analyze the urban forms of any city, it is important to consider the city’s urban morphology in the aspect of pictorial representation. As such, Rodgers (2001) points out that landscape integration and town plans are key determinants of the analysis of the urban form. According to Rodgers (2001), landscape integration plays a significant role in the general outlook of any town. In the same context, Bacon (1967) asserts that town plans are key factors in providing information on any type of urban morphology historical study.
This paper thus looks at the urban form determinants with a primary focus on Rome. Rome is the capital city of Italy and thus it is very significant in aspects of politics and economy. The history of modern Rome can be traced back through thousands of years as well as over several changes in culture and form. In addition, the historical outlook of Rome features a number of both religious and political leaders who played a significant part in the formation of the modern Rome. As such, the urban form of modern Rome comprises noticeable aspects of many years’ change that tend to be hard in understanding. Nevertheless, a number of the current conditions of Rome owe their development to one Pope Sixtus V. These developments were possible through human interventions at a time when Pope Sixtus V was in leadership. This city underwent significant shrinking during the Middle Ages, something that seemed to alter the city’s classical stature. As such, the shrinking led to the concentration of urban core within a considerably limited area. During this time, there was a decrease in the city’s population to about 17000 people. This decrease had the implication that the city’s enclosure wall would cover a considerably large area as well as comprise of the classical remains evident from ancient Rome’s ruins. There were some churches that were encircled as well. A review of Rome before the middle ages shows that it was disorganized in terms of structures as well as the destinations that were relied on to connect between one area to the other by means of footpaths. These footpaths were just an irrelevant meandering of roots between one landmark and the other.
Rome gained its significance at the start of the Renaissance period. During this time, Rome became a bit powerful and strong following the growth of the Roman Church. This church opened avenues for the city to expand. As such, Rome assumed the role of a religious as well as a cultural center having great influence all over the world. During this time, there was an assertion of power by a number of Popes as well as several offers of assistance that were aimed at growing the city of Rome further. However, such a scenario led to the creation of significant streets to assert organization, as well as the imposition of height restrictions on any structures that were erected during this period. Such building restrictions were applied so that there could be the maintenance of the dominating physical features that comprised of the churches that were in this area. Looking at the urban context as well as the identification of Rome’s buildings along with the complexity in them, one finds the necessity to come up with a better system that can compare the diverse levels of interactions and the variety of architectural features combined to come to explain the form determinants of forms of Rome. Looking at the ancient territory identifiable through the overview of the toponym Suburra, the urban development of Rome is presented as an exemplary and emblematic outlook. However, following the improvements that were witnessed at the straightening of the streets, it was evident that the city started undergoing reorganization in terms of space. For example, a masterpiece that represented the organization of such spaces was Michelangelo, which was stationed at the Campidoglio Piazza. Before Pope Sixtus V became the Pope, there were several designs. In spite of this, not all featured the combination of numerous structures in one except the Michelangelo design. However, a comparison of such attempts and the developments offered by Pope Sixtus between the years 1585 and 1590, reveals that Sixtus’ developments were largely coordinated.
Pope Sixtus V
The reorganization, as well as the modern outlook of the present Rome, is attributed to the efforts of Cardinal Montalto. The work of this Pope is traceable between 1585 and 1590. Although he was a leader in the religious matters, Cardinal Montalto had suffered an exile. However, such an exile did not prevent him from carrying out his development agenda. The idea to organize the city of Rome did not come after Montalto became a pope. It was an ambition that he had kept for a long time. According to Pope Sixtus V, Rome during that period did not qualify as an appropriate center for Christians from all over the world. As such, his developments were aimed at invigoration of the city as well as at the creation of a town that would be a Christians’ center. As such, Pope Sixtus V according to Bacon (1967) used the whole city to overlay an organizational structure that comprised of routes circulating all over the city, connecting primary structures and spaces through an elementary aspect aimed at establishing spatial points that were hard to take away.
The reorganization of the city of Rome during the classical period followed a structure comprising of massive structures of architectural build, that did not put circulation issues into consideration or even any form of spatial links. As such, during the reign of Pope Sixtus V, there was an introduction of new ways of approaching the city’s developments through the articulation of circulation as a type of organizational structure. According to Bacon (1967), spatial thinking necessitated the knowledge of Pope Sixtus V’s envisioned plan as well as the development of a form of drawing that was evident within the 15th century. For this reason, such a visual aid in structural development was important in that it presented an opportunity for the inclusion of a movement by means of spatial empirical progression as opposed to individual static features noticeable in space. As such, the development of forms in urban Rome was thus not out of mass manipulation but through an articulation of expertise following axial movement. It is evident therefore that Pope Sixtus V led to the development of a design for this town, which resulted in the organization of Rome around several significant features in space. These features were linked to one another over the city’s expanse.
The Pope, in his design, adopted the inclusion of primary landmarks during his location of the four obelisks that are evident in Rome to date. For this reason, he allowed a form of movement and connections between the obelisks that were visually clear. The use of these landmarks set pace for framework development in the future and is one that is noticeable in the modern Rome. Such a design is said to have had a significant contribution to the Roman building as compared to the establishment through a single building project. Such developments thus, offered a future framework in the building industry that was understandable and helped in the creation of future designs even after the papacy. An overview of the present work in Rome reveals a direct application of the Sixtus V vision. His pattern consisted of a design considering the provision of a robust, as well as a well-defined type of circulation encompassing the pilgrims’ destinations to a number of areas in Rome such as the seven churches that were built in the city of Rome. Even though there were arguments that the leadership position gave Pope Sixtus the power that helped him to realize his plans, such arguments were unfounded on reason. Pope Sixtus V achieved his development plans as a result of the message clarity that his small projects portrayed.
Points in Space
There were paths connecting the obelisk. These paths could be redirected to feature major areas. As such, this idea was instrumental in designing new paths.
The Saint Peter’s Square
During this period, the initial obelisk to be installed was at the entrance of Saint Peter’s Basilica. This obelisk took years to be constructed. In addition, the reconstruction took such a look time due to the fact that the aesthetic decisions had taken a long time even after the death of Pope Sixtus V (Newton, 1971). As such, the location of this new obelisk had a lot of significance on the reconstruction of the basilica’s front. The elevation of this front was aimed at influencing the reconstruction of the basilica. In addition, a vertical element was placed on the design to help in the stimulation of the design as well as in the construction of the oval piazza, as well as the obelisk’s symmetrical constructions.
Considering the determinants of form as portrayed in ancient Rome, it is evident that the primary morphological factors of Rome included fabricated determinants as well as the natural ones. As such, the natural determinants can be looked at in the aspect of the city’s location. On the other hand, the human-made determinants are attributed to interventions by human beings. In the context of the natural urban forms, Bacon (1967) establishes that a number of factors influence human-based settlements. As such, in the aspect of the geographical location of Rome, three determinants are evident. These included the presence of materials for constructing, topology, and the climate. A review of the urban forms determinants of Rome shows that the natural factors are significant in shaping the city’s urban forms (Conwell, 2013). Such is applicable for present settlements as well as historical backgrounds. Just as any other city, the climatic conditions of Rome are highly dependent on its terrain, longitude as well as on latitude. As such, climatic conditions and changes are key determinants of settlement forms.
Some of the structures erected both during and before the Middle Ages were based on the climatic conditions of their locations. This is because people needed shelter, which is a fundamental factor among people. For this reason, the forms of urban settlements were significant in the determination of the streets, as well as any other necessary urban pattern. Such features were significant during the reign of Pope Sixtus V and its design of development. However, the local climatic conditions were responsible for urban forms of Rome (Newton, 1971). The topography of Rome had underlying influence during the time of establishing urban settlements or even their expansion. Evidently, both historically and presently, the topography of Rome was highly significant in the determination of the structural design and urban dimension creation. For example, the topographical settings in Rome discouraged given structural designs while on the other hand it encouraged others. In addition, the availability of construction materials determined the model, and type of architectural design in Rome.
The human-made determinants, on the other hand are described as influences of forms that are influenced by human actions (Rogers, 2001). As such, they significantly determine the urban forms’ shape. During ancient times, the human-made determinants greatly influenced the organic growth of Rome. For example, human-made factors largely affected the structures in Rome that were designed for fortification. Comparing the human-made factors to the natural ones, it is evident that the determinants with human interventions were many, and they influenced factors related to functional regions, aesthetic planning, gridiron, defense, religions, politics, as well as the economy. As such, during the reign of Pope Sixtus V, planned building areas were divided into building blocks by the use of the initial gridiron plan. Such plans were used in Rome, being a Greek planned city. This plan was suitable at the time of application since it gave room for the identification of the other urban forms.
From the foregoing, it is evident that the aesthetic planning used for various cities all over the world is influenced y both the period and urban forms. For the case of Rome, its ancient development under Pope Sixtus V was aimed at the realization of a center that could be used by Christians from all over the world. As such, it is evident that the modern form of Rome owes most of its condition of development to Pope Sixtus.
Reference List
Bacon, E. (1967). Ancient construction of home. Scientific American, 2 (2), 2-3.
Conwell, J. (2013). History and form determinants. Norwood: Artech House.
Morris, A. (1994). History of urban form: before the industrial revolutions. London: Prentice Hall.
Newton, T. (1971). Design on the land: The Development of Landscape architecture. Harvard: Harvard University Press.
Rogers, E. (2001). Landscape Design: A cultural and architectural history. New York: Harry N. Abrams.
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