Roman walls

Opus reticulatum

All over Italy there are ruins from previous civilizations and some of the most prominent, and well known, are those of the Romans. The Romans developed or improved upon such things as concrete and the arch which they used extensively in building their empire. A particular wall style that you will find all across the former Roman Empire is called the opus reticulatum. The Latin term Rete means "net" and the wall style resembles a net pattern. This wall style was popular for several centuries, particularly during the reign of Hadrian

This type of wall was made with a concrete center and the small stone pyramids were set into the soft concrete, pointed end in, and the square face piece would then face out. The combination of these stones would create a diamond, or net pattern, which was many times it was then covered with plaster. The stones were usually cut from tuff and are about 4 inches square on the facing and 8 to 10 inches long.