Piazza Colonna

Face the Palazzo di Montecitorio and Campus Martius and you will see the Piazza Colonna on your right which leads off it. Now go there.

PRESS PAUSE

Take in what you see on the Piazza Colonna. A large column dedicated to the Emperor Mar-cus Aurelius, which we will talk about in just a moment. When facing this column, you will see the well-known Palazzo Chigi to your left, built in the 16th Century. Today, it houses the Council of Ministers. At the far end of the square, behind Marcus Aurelius’ column is a bus-tling street lined with shops: the famous Corso, one of the most well known trunk roads of the city. On the Corso just opposite you are the well-known Colonna arcades, famous for their shops.

Now go to the column. It used to contain an urn with Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ remains. It is 29.6 metres high and was built at the end of the 2nd Century, the year that Marcus Aurelius died, following the design of the well-known Trajan column which is always erected close to the Forum. The sculpted frieze decorating it from top to bottom follows a spiral, like an unfolded scroll of parchment - an open book of stone like the Romans would have had.

The different scenes chronicle the Emperor’s victories during the German and Sarmatic wars. They serve to illustrate the heroism of the Emperor and make it accessible to all Roman citizens.

This method of communication was due to last a long time as Louis 14th used it in France on the city gates of St Martin and St Denis in Paris in the 17th Century and Napoleon used it on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in the 19th Century.

If you compare the sculpture on this column with that on the Trajan column, which is older and which we can see on another visit, you will notice the scenes are depicted with far less detail thus already echoing the decline of embossed sculpture.

If you are brave enough, climb the spiral staircase inside the column to get to the top and the statue of St Paul. With the statue of St Peter on top of the Trajan column, the city’s two re-maining imperial columns are thus dedicated to the two main Saints of the Roman Church.

Marcus Aurelius’ column brings us to the end of our visit. Why not take a stroll along the Corso, the ancient Via Flaminia? With your back to Marcus Aurelius’ column and heading up the Corso to the left, you will come to the Piazza del Popolo. If you head to the right, you will come to the Piazza Venezia, the Capitol and the Forum.

It’s your choice. Goodbye, until your next visit by Pocketvox.com.