Camp Marzio and Pasquino

The Campo Marzio, or Campus Martius in ancient Latin, is the heart of the city of Rome today, much as it had been the ceremonial heart of the city for centuries during the Roman Empire. Originally a grassy meadow where military exercises were conducted, the area filled with temples and other buildings as space ran out in the forums.It is amazing to walk these streets, as old Roman columns literally pop out of the walls in this area of Rome. One can only imagine what else lies underneath the modern day buildings. Certainly dozens of temples remain buried. I once had dinner in the cellar of one of the buildings in the Campo Marzio, and there were porphyry columns sticking out of the walls of the basement.One of the stranger monuments in Rome is the so-called "Pasquino," which during Papal Rome served as a sort of "free-speech zone" in a time when speaking against the government landed a person in jail. The joke was that the statue was speaking the political commentary, so it continues to this day.As you can see, people still plaster political messages on the base of the statue, as they have for centuries.

Arch of Titus, Roman Forum

The Arch of Titus is one of the most famous of the many triumphal arches that still grace the city of Rome, but ironically, it originally was one of the smallest of the fifty or so of its type. The Arch of Titus was not built by the Emperor Titus, but rather by his successor and brother Domitian. It commemorates the defeat of the Great Jewish Revolt around 70 AD with the capture of Jerusalem (the fortress of Masada held on for another couple of years).What is fascinating are the two high relief sculpture panels on the interior of the arch. Below, we the Emperor Titus driving his chariot through the streets of Rome during his triumphal parade after his victory in Judea. According to Roman tradition, legionnaires and their commanders were allowed in the city only if the Senate allowed them to celebrate a great victory. The war booty and prisoners would be marched along with the legions, and the victorious general would sacrifice to the gods on the Capitoline while the defeated leaders of the revolt would be executed in the prison nearby.In this panel, legionnaires carry the Ark of the Covenant and a candelabra from the Great Temple of Jerusalem. There is an urban legend that the Vatican still possesses the last relic of the Great Temple, but that is preposterous. The candelabra in question has not been seen for centuries.The arch was turned into the gate of a family's compound after the fall of the Roman Empire, thus accounting for the damage to the interior of the arch. Imagine a giant door attached in the opening, and you can see how it would have been damaged. Much of the nice, clean marble is actually restoration.

Column of Trajan

The Column of Trajan represents the pinnacle of Roman monumental architecture; in one single, long comic strip-like spiral, the emperor Trajan's architects and sculptors tell the story of the conquest of Dacia by Roman legions in the 2nd Century AD. The next four pictures show a progression of the column.


According to legend, the height of the Column of Trajan was determined by the height of the hill that was hauled away from the construction of the basilica and forum of Trajan.What is cool about the column is that it shows Roman military tactics, such as the testudo, shown above, where legionnaires would lock their rectangular shields together to provide protection as they assaulted the walls of a fortress.Above, the god of the Danube River looks up in curiosity as humans march across a bridge built over his body.In the base of the column, the ashes of the emperor Trajan and his family were interred. There is a staircase up to the top, but it is not open to the public. Below is just one of the massive columns that made up the basilica around the Column.See the site, in the middle of Rome, here.