The column of Marcus Aurelius is one of the architectural symbols of Rome, which is a vivid example of all the earliest monuments of Italy of our era. What is a column, in honor of what event is it installed and in what part of Rome is it located? More about this later in the article.
Description
The column of Marcus Aurelius is a Doric architectural structure with a total height of about 38 m.The exact date of construction is unknown, but since the column was erected in memory of Marcus Aurelius and the Markoman War, it can be assumed that the column was erected in the period from 170 to 190 AD.
Marcus Aurelius and the Moroccan War
Before describing the relief and design of the column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, it is necessary to talk a little about Marcus Aurelius himself and about the event in memory of which this monument was erected.
Marcus Aurelius is the last of the five so-called good emperors of Rome, a philosopher, a Stoic, a follower of the philosophy of Epictetus. Fourteen of the nineteen years of the reign of Aurelius fell on the Markoan War, during which he died. The first five years of the reign of the emperor - from 161 to 166 - were marked by the Parthian war, crop failures, famine and the plague epidemic. This situation was used by the ancient Germanic tribe of Markoman and other friendly tribes. In 166, they infiltrated the territory of Italy, thereby unleashing the Markoman War.
The emperor stopped the onslaught of the enemy tribes by 169, however, he was able to recruit a new army of legionnaires only by 172-174 years. As a wise commander, with an army consisting practically of slaves and barbarians alone, by 178, Marcus Aurelius was able to finish the defense and was ready to go on the offensive to conquer the lands of his opponents. However, in 180, the emperor died of the plague. The war ended with the conclusion of a peace treaty with the barbarians and the return of all pre-war borders. It is episodes from this war that the reliefs of the column of Marcus Aurelius are decorated.
Prototype
The prototype for the construction of the monument was the column of Trajan, built in Rome in 113. Like the column of Marcus Aurelius, the style of the column of Trajan is Doric, and the reliefs tell of military operations.
History of construction and construction
As mentioned above, the exact date of the construction of the column is unknown - this is due to the fact that the original commemorative plaque was destroyed. Some historians believe that the column was erected during the life of Marcus Aurelius, during the temporary triumph of 176. According to another version, the monument was erected immediately after the death of the emperor and the end of the war - in 180. For a long time, this version was considered the main one, until a fragment of a monument with the date "193" was found in the vicinity. Perhaps this year is the date of the construction of the column of Marcus Aurelius.
From the point of view of the topography of Ancient Rome, the column was located in the center of the square, between the Temple of Hadrian and the Temple of Marcus Aurelius, built by his son and the next Emperor Commodus and not preserved to this day. Nearby was the cremation site of the emperor.
The height of the column itself is 29.62 meters, the height of the pedestal is about 10 meters. Initially, the total height of the monument was about 41 meters, but three meters of the foundation, which is under the pedestal, went underground during the restoration of 1589. Below is an image of the column of Marcus Aurelius on a postcard from 1748-1749. The signature on the postcard is "Antonin's Column," because the emperor's full name sounded like Marcus Aurelius Antonin.
The column consists of 27 or 28 blocks of Carrara marble, each of which has a thickness of more than 3 meters, not counting about 70 centimeters of relief. Like the column of Trajan, this monument is hollow, with a spiral staircase consisting of more than 200 steps, located inside. Since there were no lifts of similar height at that time, the staircase was built at the same time as the column was erected - every half meter of steps allowed the installation of another external marble block. After the construction was completed, the staircase was left to allow everyone to climb to the upper platform. Lighting is not provided inside, therefore only rays of light scatter dimly through the artistic relief.
Relief
As already mentioned above, the relief of the spiral picture tells of the Markoman war, depicting its individual episodes. The accuracy of the chronology of events is disputed by different historians, however, it is believed that the emperor’s success in opposing the barbarians (174-175 years) and the lower expeditions against the Markoman tribe (172-173 years) are considered to be the upper half of the column. One of the episodes contradicts the historicity of the images - in it God answers the prayers of Marcus Aurelius and sends a terrible storm to the enemies of the Roman troops.
Despite the general stylistic and architectural similarity between the column of Aurelius and the column of Trajan, the style of the reliefs themselves at the monuments is completely different. The relief figures of the column of Marcus Aurelius predetermined the style of dramatic architecture of the 3rd century and are closely connected with the images on the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, built in 203 AD. So, unlike the small relief figures of the column of Trajan, here the characters of the plot are large, with large stone slots suggesting a play of shadow and light at different times of the day. In addition, the figures have disproportionately large heads to make it easier for the viewer to view the emotions depicted.
In general, the picturesque reliefs of the columns of Marcus Aurelius can be called the first architectural embodiment of the period of the decline of the Roman Empire. The expressiveness of the symbolic language is quite strong, although it lacks the pathos of the heyday of antiquity.
History of restorations and changes
By the 16th century, the column was in extremely poor condition - most of the reliefs were lost and destroyed, the statue of Marcus Aurelius, located on the top, was lost, and part of the column itself was buried under sandy deposits. In 1588-1589, at the direction of Pope Sixtus the Fifth, the Italian engineer and architect Domenico Fontana began restoration of the column. Under his leadership, most of the reliefs were restored (to this day, the degree of reliability of its restoration is unknown). For an unknown reason, instead of the statue of Marcus Aurelius, a statue on the top of the column was taken by the statue of St. Paul the Apostle - most likely, by analogy with the statue of St. Peter on the column of Trajan, which Fontana restored in early 1588.
By mistake, Fontana installed a restoration inscription on the column stating that it was a column of Antoninus Pius. This misconception seemed to be a fact for more than a hundred years, until in 1703 the remains of the present column of Pius were discovered. Then it was found that the subject of restoration of the Fontana is actually a column of Marcus Aurelius.
In fiction
Like many architectural monuments of the past, the column is reflected in the literature. In the novel "Seven Crimes in Rome" by the modern writer Guillaume Prevost, the column of Marcus Aurelius is one of the seven mentioned crime scenes.
Location
The address of the column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome is not difficult to remember - it is located on the central square of the Column, which was named after the monument located on it. The easiest way to get to this square is to take the metro and follow line A to the Spagna or Barberini Fontana di Trevi stations. In addition to the Aurelius column of interest, you can see the famous Alberto Sordi Gallery (formerly called the “Column Gallery”) and the magnificent fountain, built in the 16th century by order of Pope Gregory of the Thirteenth, by Italian architect and sculptor named Giacomo della Porta.