Did you know that the first shopping mall was built in ancient Rome? We are talking about Trajan’s Market.  Built around 110 AD, it was a significant architectural achievement for its time: made of red brick and concrete, it originally had up to 150 different shops, offices, and apartments, spread over six levels.

Of course, markets were not new in Roman cities, they had always been at the heart of their social and commercial life. Shops were located on the lower floors of buildings where usually – especially in the early centuries of Roman history – shopkeepers would make the goods they sold themselves.