Roman art is generally associated with the overthrow of the Etruscan kings and the establishment of the Republic in 509 BC. It is the art and architecture of ancient Rome and its empire that is traditionally divided into two main periods, art of the Roman Republic and art of the Roman Empire. At the beginning, the term Roman art was virtually synonymous with the art of the city of Rome.  Gradually, as the Roman Empire expanded throughout Italy and the Mediterranean and as the Romans became exposed to other artistic cultures, shooking off its dependence on Etruscan art and a distinctive Roman manner of building, sculpting, and painting emerged. An impressive remains of ancient Roman public and private buildings draws a clear picture of Roman architecture consists of city planning, temples, theaters and amphitheaters, public baths, domus, suburban villas and tombs. Furthermore, the remnants of Roman panel painting, the equivalent of modern paintings on canvas, teach us that Roman painters treated a variety of subjects, including historical events, myths, scenes of daily life, portraits, and still lifes. In addition, wherever painted murals existed, colored floors were likely to be present. Such floors were often painted in solid colors, but in many instances they were made up of marble slabs of many hues or of thousands of tiny mosaic cubes known as tesserae.