Page 282 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Rome

280  ROME AREA B Y AREA

A 90-Minute Tour of Rome’s Triumphal Arches

Rome’s greatest gift to architecture was the arch, and the
Roman people’s highest tribute to its victorious generals was
the triumphal arch. In Imperial times, arches were erected to
honor an emperor’s campaign victories almost as a matter of
course, promoting his personal cult and ensuring his subsequent
deification. Spectacular processions passed through these
arches. Conquering generals, cheered by rapturous crowds,
proceeded in their chariots to the Capitol, accompanied by
their legions bearing spoils from their campaigns.

of the Temple of Julius Caesar 2.
The temple was built by
Augustus in 29 BC, on the site 3 Part of the Via Sacra, once spanned by
where Caesar’s body was the Arch of Augustus
cremated after Mark Antony’s
famous funerary oration. A LARGO
nearby sign marks the ruins E REMO
PIAZZA DEL
of one of the arches COMPIDOGLIO
dedicated to 1
Augustus 3, ROMOLO VIA D EI FORI IMPERIALI
spanning the Via 2
V I A S A C R A
Sacra between the VIA DEL TEATRO DI MARC E L LO 4 3
FORO
Temple of Castor VIA D. CONS O L AZ IONE ROMANO 5 Colosseo
and Pollux 4 V. D E I F I E N I L I V I A S A C R A PIAZZA DEL
(see p86) and VIA DI S. TEODORO COLOSSEO
ISOLA
1 Relief of barbarian captives on the the Temple of TIBERNA LUNGOT. PIERLE ONI V. S. GIOVANNI DECOLLATO 7 6
Arch of Septimius Severus Caesar. This arch, t r MONTE
erected after e P A L A TIN O
Arches of the Forum Augustus V. CELIO VIBENNA
This walk through the Forum defeated Mark Palatino PIAZZA D.
Ponte
BOCCA
DELLA
and around the base of the Antony and VERITÀ V.LE DEL PA RCO DEL CELIO
Palatine takes in Rome’s three Cleopatra, was finally w 8
great surviving triumphal arches demolished in 1545, and
and two arches of more humble its materials were used 9 V I A D I S A N G R E G O R I O
design that were used simply in the new St. Peter’s. PARCO DEL CLIVO DI SCAURO
as places of business. It starts From here, proceed MASSIMO
CIRCO
V I A D E I C E R C H I
from the Arch of Emperor uphill toward the q M O N T E
Septimius Severus 1 and his elegant Arch of Titus 5 CELIO
sons Geta and Caracalla (see (see p89). Compared 0
p85) in the Forum. Erected in with Septimius Severus’s PIAZZA
AD 203, it celebrates a success- arch, it shows an earlier, DI PORTA
CAPENA
ful campaign in the Middle East. simpler style. Look up
Eight years later, when Caracalla at the beautiful lettering
had his brother killed, all mention of the inscription before Key
of Geta was removed from you examine the inner Walk route
the inscription. bas-reliefs. These show
Look up at the reliefs showing Roman legionaries
phases of the campaigns. Set carrying the spoils looted 4 Capital from 0 meters 250
in tiers, they are probably the from the conquest of Temple of Castor 0 yards 250
sculptural counterparts of the Jerusalem, heralds and Pollux
paintings illustrating the general’s holding plaques with the
feats that were borne aloft in names of vanquished peoples scratched on the inside walls of
the triumphal procession. On and cities, and Titus riding in the arch by centuries of cart
the right, the inhabitants of a triumph in his chariot. wheel traffic; they indicate the
fortified city surrender to the The medieval Frangipane steady rise in the level of the
Romans’ siege machines. Below family turned the Colosseum Forum floor before it was
are smaller friezes showing the into a vast, impregnable strong- eventually excavated in the
triumphal procession itself. hold and incorporated the Arch 18th and 19th centuries. Many
Heading east, make your way of Titus into their fortifications. of the carts that passed through
through the Forum to the ruins Notice the wheel marks the arch would have been
US_280-281_EW_Rome_US.indd 280 15/03/17 3:53 pm
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.9)
Date 20th August 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm