Structure
The forum was enclosed by a wall made of brick surfaced with stucco and measured 100 meters by 80 meters. A total of 61 rooms, each which was 4 meters by 4 meters, opened up to the forum. The rooms were separated by a wooden partition and were arranged based on geographical origin of the merchant or business, the majority which were based in Africa.
There is also temple in the middle of the forum to Annona Augusta, the Divinity of Imperial Supplies, or Ceres Augusta. This temple served as a guild temple and reflects the role of religion in all aspect of Roman life, including business.
The most notable detail of the Forum of Corporations are the intricate black and white mosaics that lie in front of each shop. These mosaics indicated the professional associations of each vendor as well as inspired a sense of nostalgia for the distant homes of each of the merchants. The forum was adjacent to the theater of Ostia and people would also pass through the forum before and after performances.
Read more about this topic: The Forum Of Corporations
Famous quotes containing the word structure:
“The question is still asked of women: “How do you propose to answer the need for child care?” That is an obvious attempt to structure conflict in the old terms. The questions are rather: “If we as a human community want children, how does the total society propose to provide for them?””
—Jean Baker Miller (20th century)
“The structure was designed by an old sea captain who believed that the world would end in a flood. He built a home in the traditional shape of the Ark, inverted, with the roof forming the hull of the proposed vessel. The builder expected that the deluge would cause the house to topple and then reverse itself, floating away on its roof until it should land on some new Ararat.”
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“Each structure and institution here was so primitive that you could at once refer it to its source; but our buildings commonly suggest neither their origin nor their purpose.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)