There are a lot of differences between the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Broadly speaking, the Romanesque period focused on portraying the strength and massiveness that people associated with the Roman Empire. Much different from the Romanesque period was the highly ornamental and vertically focused Gothic style. To alleviate the perception of bulkiness brought about by the structural needs of buildings, The Gothic period applied flying buttresses to their buildings. The Gothic period is tightly associated with its ornate nature and is distinguished from other styles because of this. Gothic buildings were decorated with large rossets, gargoyals, ribbed vaults, and bosses.