SPQR (Senātus Populus que Rōmānus), is the government of the ancient Roman Republic. SPQR Pizzeria is a contemporary pizzeria in Liverpool Street, Melbourne, where the wood oven is the functional and metaphorical heart of the business. It is custom-made in Thomastown by a local Italian family. It has a solid concrete base and an igloo-shaped dome built from bricks. The pizza’s are sold by the slice at the front of the venue and by the ‘wheel’ in the restaurant behind. The two personalities of the business are divided by obscure glass shutters allowing glimpses of activity from one another.