History of Resorts The history of resorts is tied closely, as one might imagine, with the history of tourism and travel. For that reason, it is possible.

History of Resorts

The history of resorts is tied closely, as one might imagine, with the history of tourism and travel. For that reason, it is possible to study resorts as part of tourism studies from a variety of perspectives.

The Roman Empire

• Geography: The Roman Empire stretched from Spain, northern Morocco and England in the west to Egypt, Armenia and Turkey in the east.

The Roman Empire

• Mini-Chronolology: The city of Rome was founded in 753BC, with the Roman Republic first established in 509BC. The first Roman emperor was Augustus, which was in 27BC. The Empire reached its peak between AD 96 and AD 180. The last Roman emperor was Romulus Augustulus in AD 476.

The Roman Empire

• While the Romans were influenced greatly by the Greeks, the Roman in turn, left their mark on Europe. Politics, law, military expertise, blah, blah, blah.

• One of the greatest contributions the Romans gave was the formal plan of cities and campsites for their soldiers. Not only is this important to urban design history, but it’s also important to the history of travel/tourism and to resorts.

The Roman Empire

• As the empire expanded, the Roman army was stationed throughout the empire to maintain Roman authority. The Romans built camps for their soldiers that often eventually became sites for cities.

History of Resorts

The Mill text focuses on three very broad geographical areas/historical time periods of study:

• The Roman Empire

• Europe (Middle Ages to mid 1800s)

• North America (1800s to Present)

The Roman Empire

• Any good Roman city had several necessary components. Many of these things are what attract tourists to Roman and other empire cities: stadiums, paved streets, formal dwellings, temples, forums and other public spaces, gates, public art, markets, government structures, stores, gardens and of course, baths.

Baths of Caracalla

Baths of Caracalla

Baths of Caracalla

Caracalla to Penn Station

• The Roman bath was a major influence on 19th and 20th century western architects. Majestic public and semi-public buildings such as train stations, hotels and libraries were all modeled after the Roman bath.

Pennsylvania Station

• Designed by McKim Mead and White (1910)

Roman Empire

• Before the 1700s, pleasure travel was limited and not meant for the masses.

• The only travelers were armies, religious pilgrims, leaders and explorers.

• Poor transportation, lack of facilities and fear kept most people from traveling.

Roman Empire

• Roman Baths– Men and women separated– First baths were in 2BC– Baths became more ornate and offered more services– All social classes allowed to bathe– Middle Ages saw a sharp decline in bathing due to

association with Ancient Rome– Most Roman cities had several baths– Bath England (AD 54)– Baths of Caracalla (AD 217)