When in Rome in Hong Kong

Romanesque architecture can be found around Hong Kong, such as the Shek Kwu Chau bath and at vintage schools.

The Roman-style bath inside a treatment and rehabilitation center managed by the Society for the Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers on Shek Kwu Chau is surrounded by two-story arched buildings.

Three faux marble sculptures stand on one side.

But the island is a restricted area and can only be visited with a special permit.

The Christ the King Chapel in Saint Paul's Convent in Causeway Bay has a Roman-style dome as well as a number of Corinthian pillars of typical Roman design.

The top of the two-story-high Corinthian columns is decorated with detailed motifs, say the Sisters of St Paul de Chartres.

Some buildings with Roman designs are classed as monuments, including Maryknoll Convent School on Waterloo Road in Kowloon Tong.

The complex, built in 1937, incorporates a number of features drawn from Art Deco, Romanesque, Neo-Georgian, and Gothic Revival architectural styles. The vaulted ceiling of the auditorium is a typical Romanesque design.

The main building of the school has been well preserved, and the school was declared a monument in 2008. King's College on Bonham Road in Mid-Levels, featuring Romanesque arches, was declared a monument in 2011.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office regarded the school building with arched colonnades as a "rare and fascinating example of school architecture and built heritage."

And experts stressed the historical value of the recently discovered Romanesque cistern at Bishop Hill.

Lee Ho-yin, an associate professor and head of the Division of Architectural Conservation Programmes at the University of Hong Kong, said the arches in the cistern are similar to the underground cistern at a palace in Istanbul, Turkey, built more than 1,000 years ago.

Lee believes the construction technology arrived in Britain from ancient Rome and reached Hong Kong at the end of the 19th century.

Wallis Wang