Ancient Rome was portrayed as a city of monuments, marble and Insula (high rise apartments) in various media. What did the other Italian cities looked in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire? Were they also constructed the same way as Rome, at a smaller scale?

by Beaglers
eternal1000milestare

Yes. Insulae as an architectural phenomenon was not limited to the city Rome. Ostia, which served as the port of ancient (and modern) Rome, is known to have insulae and Pompeji has them as well. The insulae of Rome and Ostia could go up very high. I remember seeing a reconstruction of an insula, that was 7 stories high, but the higher you lived, the poorer you were. Insulae in Pompeji in contrast never reached that height. But the size grew over time beyond the time bracket you specified.

Generally spoken, the cities usually had Temples, administrative buildings (curia) and statues and other decor. Not to forget about villae. Villae existed everywhere. From small, almost pretentous ones to large ones, which occupied a significant area of Rome itself (one of Nero's villa in Rome) Marble was common virtually everywhere. Representation was almost as important as breathing, because you showed your importance with it (you fake it till you make it in a sort of way)

Or to answer your question in short: Yes