The Roman(tic) Arch and the Family House

In the past, arches were used in family houses either because of construction necessity or as a stylistic trait. Stone arches reveal the arrangement of forces above the opening, brick arches are often covered by plaster. Sometimes, however, arches are reduced to additions to concrete constructions although their application has not been dictated by the construction itself. The aim of the arch is to indicate the importance of a room or to accentuate a particular part of the building, such as the entrance. The arch is an elaborate construction element which, depending on its size and representativeness, may contribute to the creation of a palace or mansion image of the family house. The Roman arch with its Mediterranean connotations and associations with the sea, warm coastal cities with palm trees, the romance and bel canto, gives the family house the significance attached to the Roman Empire even when it appears in a humble or exaggerated version. These Mediterranean connotations have probably caused a popular infatuation with the arch, which may be the reason why this construction element is so widespread and appears even in buildings where it clashes with the materials used. Examples of Croatian family houses, mansions and palaces will be compared with examples found in other parts of the world. These examples illustrate the above-described observations and lead to the conclusion that the arch used to appear in luxury examples of established architectural styles or humble examples of vernacular architecture as a construction necessity, while today, because of the availability of solid building materials, it has become a trait of romanticism and retrograde sentimentalism.