[Images: Floor plan and section, Pantheon, Rome wikipedia /Artwork: designslinger]

A friend of ours is currently working in London and went to see the Hadrian exhibit at the British
Museum. Titled, Hadrian and the Empire of Conflict, the show opened July 24, and runs till October 26. As the catalog states:

                                       This special exhibition explores the life, love and legacy of Rome’s
                                       most enigmatic emperor, Hadrian (reigned AD 117–138).
                                       Hadrian had a great passion for architecture and Greek culture.
                                       His extensive building programme included the Pantheon in Rome,
                                       his villa in Tivoli and the city of Antinoopolis, which he founded
                                       and named after his male lover Antinous.
                                       Objects from 28 museums worldwide and finds from recent
                                       excavations are shown together for the first time.

[Images: Temple of Heaven, forbiddencitychina; firfiris, via flickr /Artwork: designslinger]

Most of the emperors of Rome were builders of architecture and/or empire. What I find most
interesting about Hadrian, is that so many of his building projects survive today. One of the most prominent structures in the world, the Pantheon, was a Hadrian project. His mausoleum still stands as a fortress on the Tiber River in Rome, the Castel Sant' Angelo. A trip out of the city center, to Tivoli, will reveal the wonderful ruins of his gigantic Villa Adriana. You have to leave Italy and take a trip to northern Britain to see the other great wall of history. He also created an entire city in Egypt to celebrate the love of his life, Antinous, after the young mans death by drowning in the Nile River.

[Images: Peter the Great, Map of St. Petersberg, Church of the Savior on Blood, wikipedia /Artwork: designslinger]

In the early 15th century the Chinese emperor Yung Le built the Forbidden City. Louis XIV, an
emperor of his time, gave us Versailles, and Tsar(emperor) Peter the Great produced the entire city of St. Petersburg, out of  a swamp in northwestern Russia. How times have changed. There are no more emperors, though there are certainly politicians who aspire to be empirical. The days of one person controlling so much of the world are over, and we will probably never see architectural wonders produced by a single ruler.

[Images: Chateau Versailles, chateauversailles; Pediment detail, designslinger; Louis XIV(1684), wikipedia /Artwork: designslinger]

In today's world there are ruling dynasties that control vast amounts of wealth, just look at the oil
rich countries of the Middle East, or the Chinese governments transformation of their country. These governments have produced some amazing architectural achievements, but I think the days of a single individual having the kind of power and resources that these former rulers possessed will never be seen again. What individual will a museum exhibit celebrate 2000 years from now - Donald Trump?