A Monumental History   Pont Du Gard, France

    Join the perfection of proportion with our next 'non' monument at Pont Du Gard, France, where
 we have to tip our hats to those who expanded the Grecian method of creating 
 beauty from stone - the Romans. In 19 B.C., the Romans finished constructing an aqueduct near Pont Du Gard.
 And this changed the world so significantly that the deed rather than the structure is the
 monument to Roman civilization. It stands (it is still in use today) as a work of civil engineering that
 combined elegance with excellence, becoming in the process a work of art. At 160 feet high, its three tiers rise
 high above the Gardon River and are spanned so lively with arches that your eye finds it difficult
 to linger on any one feature. It is arguably the world's  first functional feat of engineering, and it has influenced the way all succeeding engineers have thought about their work. Mankind stepped from service to the king to service for humanity. And did it with style! It is not difficult to see the change in direction of architecture and of memorial design
 from that moment forward. Whereas previously it was hard to find a 'personal' memorial save to a king,
 universal monoliths now began popping up all over the world. Mankind suddenly realized that buildings could be for
 everyday use and everyday people, to serve their needs not only for water delivery but for anything.

     Whenever I design a monument I feel I am adding another page to this quest the Romans
 embarked on in 19 B.C., and although I have designed over 50,000 monuments during my 40 year career,
 each one stands as a tribute to human service and for the betterment of human affairs.

 Before we leave the Latin world, we must look at a monument which speaks of the exact
 opposite of service for humanity. Yet it looms as a memorial we cannot dismiss -
 the Roman Colosseum

Part 1, Introduction. | Part 2, The Taj Mahal. | Part 3, Newgrange & Stonehenge. | Part 4, Nile Valley. | Part 5, Persepolis. | Part 6, Parthenon. | Part 7, Pont Du Gard. | Part 8, The Colosseum & St. Augustine & MASONS. | Part 9, Renaissance. | Part 10, Miss Liberty. |

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