Special occasions and wealthy patrons were commemorated by non-ephemeral structures as well. The most apparent and significant of these is seen in the triumphal arch, which proudly echoes the glory of the Roman Empire and of the Roman Emperors, thus linking both the event and the patron to antiquity. A festive event was like a laboratory for the artist, providing an opportunity to devise and test prototypes, and then to launch them in more durable and economical form publicly. Festive sites were often bedecked with representations of previous events held there, glorifying the sites, their owners or patrons, and commemorating the highlights of their ancestors’ deeds. Scenic solutions, which were often innovative and eye-catching, would then filter down into solutions for municipal town-planning and construction.