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Arches of ancient Rome
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An architectural element that was born in Rome, the honorary or
triumphal arch was the greatest homage the city could pay to its
victors. At the end of a victorious campaign, they had to pass
underneath a sacred gate to celebrate their undertakings and, according
to a more religious meaning, depose their potential destroyer. Already
existing in the 2nd century B.C., the arches multiplied during the
Imperial Age when, more than the victory as such, they celebrated the
emperors or the members of their family. At the end of the Empire,
around 40 arches could be counted in Rome, built at the entrance to
the Forums, along the major access roads, or in the monumental areas and
squares. Several of these are still preserved in excellent condition
today.
The itinerary can star in the zone of the Velabrum, on the eastern edges
of the Forum Boarium, where we find the great Arch of Janus,
built in the 4th century A.D. in honour of the emperor Constantine or,
perhaps Constantius II.
It is the only four-fronted arch, with four barrel-vaults, preserved in
Rome. In fact, the name "Janus" (from the Latin Ianus, which means
"covered passage with four fronts") derives from this characteristic.
The monument, which in the Middle Ages was transformed into a fortress
by the Frangipane family, remained intact up until 1830, when the attic
and top were torn down because they were erroneously believed not to
belong to the original structure. Fragments of the dedicatory
inscription are still preserved inside the nearby church of San Giorgio
al Velabro.
It is said that in 1601, an abyss suddenly opened up underneath the Arch
of Janus, causing the disappearance of a woman, swallowed by the earth
as she was walking with her daughter. Obviously, for this reason the
Romans, especially in less recent times, did not willingly pass beneath
the arch.
Right behind the Arch of Janus, against and partly incorporated into the
church of San Giorgio al Velabro, is the Arcus Argentariorum.
More than an arch, it was probably a monumental gate of the Forum
Boarium opened, as indicated by the inscription, in 204 A.D. by the
local money-changers (argentarii) and merchants (negotiantes), in honour
of the emperor Septimius Severus and his family.
The monument, almost 7 metres tall, perhaps had statues of the imperial
family on its top. Traces of chiselling indicate that several figures,
such as those of Geta, Plautianus and Plautilla, the wife of the emperor
Caracalla, were purposely eliminated because they represented persons
whom Caracalla himself had had killed. Following the invention of the
popular motto "Tra la vacca e il toro, troverai un gran tesoro" (Between
the cow and the bull, you'll find a great treasure), which spread
concerning the riches the arch allegedly concealed, several holes were
opened in it in the past centuries, and can still be seen today.
Walking towards the Capitol, we can enter the Roman Forum where, near
the Curia, it is possible to admire the Arch of Septimius Severus.
The arch was erected in 203 A.D. to celebrate the tenth anniversary of
the reign of emperor Septimius Severus, who had returned in victory from
the wars in Partia (today Iran and Iraq), fought together with his sons
Caracalla and Geta.
Observing carefully the inscription on the attic, it can be seen how at
the height of the fourth line from the top the holes corresponding to
the nails which held the bronze letters, now missing, do not coincide
with the course of the current letters. This means that already in
ancient times the text had been reworked: in fact, the fourth line
initially contained the name of Geta, the second son of Septimius
Severus, whom Caracalla had killed after their father's death in order
to seize total power. On this occasion, the very memory of Geta was
condemned, and his name and images were removed from all the public
monuments in the Empire.
The arch, one of the largest in existence, is in a good state of
preservation because it was incorporated into a fortress during the
Middle Ages, against a tower belonging to the Brachis family, who gave
their name to the locality called "Le Brache".
Also in the Roman Forum, along the Via Sacra, going towards the
Colosseum, stands the Arch of Titus.
One of the most famous arches in Rome, it was erected between 82 and 90
A.D. in honour of the deified Titus. It was raised by Domitian, the
emperor's brother, to commemorate the victory against the Jews and the
capture of Jerusalem by Vespasian and Titus himself.
According to tradition, the Jews have never passed underneath the arch,
in order to avoid paying homage to he who had destroyed the temple of
Jerusalem.
On the side facing the Colosseum, the dedicatory inscription, originally
bearing bronze letters, is still preserved. The metal was stolen, and
therefore today there remain only the holes of the cramps used to hold
the letters saying "Senatus Popolusque Romanus divo Tito divi Vespasiani
F(ilio) Vespasiano Augusto" (The Senate and the Roman people to the
divine Titus Vespasian Augustus son of the divine Vespasian).
The abbreviation S.P.Q.R. comes from the expression Senatus
Popolusque Romanus, with which resolutions were begun in ancient Rome.
Today it is still one of the symbols of Rome, together with the
She-wolf. The Roman poet Belli interpreted the abbreviation, explaining
it in a sonnet, as meaning "Solo Preti Qui Regneno" (only priests reign
here), referring to the temporal power of the Church of Rome, maintained
until 1870.
One of the bas-reliefs on the inside of the arch represents the
procession preceding the emperor as he passes beneath the Triumphal
Gate, carrying the booty taken from the temple of Jerusalem: the silver
trumpets, the golden table, the ark that contained the sacred
scriptures, and the seven-branched candelabrum, the depiction of which
is probably the most ancient that has arrived up to the present day. For
this reason, in the Middle Ages it was nicknamed "Arch of the Seven
Lamps" and incorporated into the fortress of the Frangipane family.
It was freed in the 19th century during the restoration work directed by
Giuseppe Valadier.
Stendhal, on a trip to Rome in the early 1800s, speaking of the arch,
said, "It, after that of Drusus near Porta San Sebastiano, is the most
ancient arch in Rome, and was also the most beautiful until when it was
restored by Mr. Valadier. This wretch who, notwithstanding his French
name, is Roman by birth, instead of reinforcing the arch… thought it
well to rebuild it from scratch".
There is a fascinating hypothesis that alleges that the arch was used to
keep, temporarily, the ashes of the emperor Titus before they were laid
in the family tomb erected on the Quirinal Hill in 94 A.D.
Lastly, in piazza del Colosseo we can see the majestic Arch of
Constantine, erected in honour of Constantine, in the tenth year of
his reign (315 A.D.), to celebrate the victory over Maxentius in the
battle of Ponte Milvio (312 A.D.).
Almost 25 metres tall, it is the largest triumphal arch preserved in
Rome. It is an exceptional example of the practice, followed
systematically in Rome since antiquity, of stripping ancient monuments
for materials to build new ones; indeed, here we can find, alongside
original Constantinian elements, reused sculptures and architectural
elements coming from monuments of Trajan, Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius.
It is interesting to remember that the arch was completed with precious
pictorial and metal decorations. The dominating colours were gold and
purple, the colours of the Empire.
Recent studies have also raised doubts about the fact that the arch
reused pre-existing masonry structures, perhaps of the 2nd century A.D.
Transformed into a fortification tower by the monks of St. Gregory in
the Middle Ages and later incorporated into the Frangipane fortress, the
arch was restored several times and finally brought totally to light in
1804.
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