The Column of Marcus Aurelius in Piazza Colonna

Detail from the column. The four slits (visible in the larger version) allow light into the internal stairway

The Column of Marcus Aurelius, (Latin: Columna Centenaria Divorum Marci et Faustinae), is a Doric column, with a spiral relief, built in honour of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and modeled on Trajan's Column. It still stands on its original site in Rome, in Piazza Colonna before Palazzo Chigi. Trajans Column is a monument in Rome raised by Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Senate. ... Coin showing the column with surmounting statue of Antoninus. ... The Column of Phocas, against the backdrop of the Arch of Septimius Severus. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 447 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,640 × 2,197 pixels, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 447 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,640 × 2,197 pixels, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 650 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,718 × 1,584 pixels, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 650 × 599 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,718 × 1,584 pixels, file size: 2. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... The uncompleted Doric temple at Segesta, Sicily, has been waiting for finishing of its surfaces since 430 - 420 BC The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of Ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. ... Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (Rome, April 26, 121[2] – Vindobona or Sirmium, March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. ... Trajans Column is a monument in Rome raised by Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Senate. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... Piazza in Rome, named after its Column of Marcus Aurelius. ... Palazzo Chigi in a 17th century etching by Giuseppe Vasi The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Corso. ...

Construction

Because the original dedicatory inscription has been destroyed, it is not known whether it was built during the emperor’s lifetime (on the occasion of the triumph over the Teutons and Sarmatians in the year 176) or after his death in 180; however, an inscription found in the vicinity attests that the column was completed in 193 . A Roman Triumph was a civil ceremony and religious rite of ancient Rome, held to publicly honour the military commander (dux) of a notably successful foreign war or campaign and to display the glories of Roman victory. ... This entry is about the tribe of the Teutons. ... Sarmatian Cataphract Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae (the second form is mostly used by the earlier Greek writers, the other by the later Greeks and the Romans) were a people whom Herodotus (4. ... Events Births Deaths Category: ... For other uses, see number 180. ... Events June 1 – Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is assassinated in his palace. ...

In terms of the topography of ancient Rome, the column stood on the north part of the Campus Martius, in the centre of a square. This square was either between the temple of Hadrian (probably the Hadrianeum) and the temple of Marcus Aurelius (dedicated by his son Commodus, of which nothing now remains - it was probably on the site of Palazzo Wedekind), or within the latter’s sacred precinct, of which nothing remains. Nearby is the site where the emperor’s cremation occurred. The Campus Martius, or Field of Mars, was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about 2 km² (600 acres) in extent. ... The facade Vasi drawing of the Temple, c. ... Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus (August 31, 161 – December 31, 192) was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 180 to 192. ... Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi (Saint Bartholomew the Apostle and Alexander of Bergamo of the inhabitants of Bergamo) is a little church in Piazza Colonna in Rome, next to Palazzo Wedekind. ...

The column’s shaft is 29.60 m (about 100 feet) high, on a 10m high base, which in turn originally stood on a 3m high platform - the column in total is 41.95 m. About 3 metres of the base have been below ground level since the 1589 restoration. Events Rebellion of the Catholic League against King Henry III of France, in revenge for his murder of Duke Henry of Guise. ...

The column consists of 27 or 28 blocks of Carrara marble, each of 3.7m diameter, hollowed out whilst still at the quarry for a stairway of 190-200 steps within the column up to a platform at the top. Just as with Trajan’s Column, this stairway is illuminated through narrow slits into the relief. Carrara is a city in the Massa Carrara province of Tuscany, Italy, famous for the white or blue_gray marble quarried there. ...

Relief

German council of war

The spiral picture relief tells the story of Marcus Aurelius’ Danubian or Marcomannic wars, waged by him from 166 to his death. The story begins with the army crossing the river Danube, probably at Carnuntum. Because of the height restriction, a Victory separates the accounts of the two expeditions. The exact chronology of the events is disputed, however the latest theory states that the expeditions against the Marcomanni and Quadi in the years 172 and 173 are in the lower half and the successes of the emperor over the Sarmatians in the years 174 and 175 in the upper half. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Combatants Roman Empire Marcomanni, Quadi, other Germanic peoples along the Danube Commanders Marcus Aurelius The Marcomannic Wars were a series of wars lasting over thirty years during the reign of Marcus Aurelius from about AD 166 until 180, which pitted the Roman Empire against the Marcomanni, Quadi and other Germanic... Events Pope Soter succeeds Pope Anicetus Change of Patriarch of Constantinople from Patriarch Laurence to Patriarch Alypius Dacia invaded by barbarians Conflict erupts on the Danube frontier between Rome and the Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni Roman envoy sent out by emperor Antoninus Pius. ... For other uses of Danube, see Danube (disambiguation). ... Carnuntum (Καρνοιις in Ptolemy) was an important Roman army camp in what is now Austria. ... The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Suebi or Suevi. ... The Quadi were a smaller Germanic tribe, about which little definitive information is known. ... Events Last (5th) year of Jianning era and start of Xiping era of the Chinese Han Dynasty. ... Events During the reign of Lha Thothori Nyantsen, Buddhism, coming from India, is introduced to Tibet . ... Sarmatia Europea in Scythia map 1697 AD Sarmatia Europæa separated from Sarmatia Asiatica by the Tanais (the River Don), based on Greek literary sources, in a map printed in London, ca 1770 Great steppe in early spring. ...

One particular episode portrayed is historically attested in the Roman propaganda – the so-called "rain miracle in the territory of the Quadi", in which a God, answering a prayer from the emperor, rescues Roman troops by a terrible storm, a miracle claimed by the Christians for the Christian God also.

In spite of many similarities to Trajan’s column, the style is entirely different, a forerunner of the dramatic style of the 3rd century and closely related to the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, erected soon after. The figures’ heads are disproportionately large so that the viewer can better interpret their facial expressions. The images are carved less finely than at Trajan’s Column, through drilling holes more deeply into the stone, so that they stand out better in a contrast of light and dark. As villages are burned down, women and children are captured and displaced, men are killed, the emotion, despair, and suffering of the "barbarians" in the war, are represented acutely in single scenes and in the figures’ facial expressions and gestures, whilst the emperor is represented as a protagonist, in control of his environment. The Arch of Septimius Severus before the excavation of the Roman Forum, painted by Canaletto in 1742 (Royal Collection, UK) Lateral arched opening between the main arch and a side archway The Arch of Septimius Severus in 2005 The white marble Arch of Septimius Severus at the northeast end of...

The symbolic language is altogether clearer and more expressive, if clumsier at first sight, and leaves a wholly different impression on the viewer to the whole artistic style of 100 to 150 as on Trajan’s column. There, cool and sober balance – here, drama and empathy. The pictorial language is unambiguous - imperial dominance and authority is emphasized, and its leadership is justified. Overall, it is an anticipation of the development of artistic style into late antiquity, and a first artistic expression of the crisis of the Roman empire that would worsen in the 3rd century. Late Antiquity is a rough periodization (c. ... Emperor Maximinus Thrax, ruled 235-238, was the first of the emperors during the Crisis of the Third Century. ...

Later history

The column, right, in the background of Panini's painting of the Palazzo Montecitorio, with the base of the Column of Antoninus Pius in the right foreground (1747).

In the Middle Ages, climbing the column was so popular that the right to charge the entrance fee was annually auctioned, but it is no longer possible to do so today.Now the Column serves a centerpiece to the piazza in front of the Palazzo Chigi. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Categories: Stub | 1691 births | 1765 deaths | Italian painters ... Palazzo Montecitorio The Palazzo Montecitorio is a palace in Rome, which is currently the seat of the Italian Chamber of deputies. ... Coin showing the column with surmounting statue of Antoninus. ... Palazzo Chigi in a 17th century etching by Giuseppe Vasi The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Corso. ...

Restoration

Inscription describing the restoration

About 3 metres of the base have been below ground level since 1589 when, by order of pope Sixtus V, the whole column was restored by Domenico Fontana and adapted to the ground level of that time. Also a bronze statue of the apostle St. Paul was placed on the top platform, to go with that of St. Peter on Trajan’s Column. (Originally the top platform probably had a statue of Marcus Aurelius, but it had been already lost by the 16th century.) That adaptation also removed the damaged or destroyed original reliefs on the base of garland-carrying victories carrying and (on the side facing the via Flaminia ) representations of subjected barbarians, replacing them with the following inscription mistakenly calling this the column of Antoninus Pius, which is now recognised as lost: Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,536 × 1,024 pixels, file size: 501 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The inscription on the column of Marcus Aurelius, Rome; own work The inscription reads: SIXTUS V PONT MAX COLUMNAM HANC COCHLIDEM IMP ANTONINO DICATAM... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,536 × 1,024 pixels, file size: 501 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) The inscription on the column of Marcus Aurelius, Rome; own work The inscription reads: SIXTUS V PONT MAX COLUMNAM HANC COCHLIDEM IMP ANTONINO DICATAM... Events Rebellion of the Catholic League against King Henry III of France, in revenge for his murder of Duke Henry of Guise. ... Sixtus V, né Felice Peretti (December 13, 1521 - August 27, 1590) was pope from 1585 to 1590. ... Domenico Fontana (1543 – 1607) was an Italian architect of the late Renaissance. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ... According to tradition, Peter was crucified upside-down, as shown in this painting by Caravaggio. ... Victoria on the reverse of this coin by Constantine II. In Roman mythology, Victoria was the goddess of victory. ... Route of Via Flaminia (in purple). ... Coin showing the column with surmounting statue of Antoninus. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Column of Marcus Aurelius

• Trajan's Column
• Roman Architecture
• Marcus Aurelius
• Column of Antoninus Pius

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Trajans Column is a monument in Rome raised by Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Senate. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (Rome, April 26, 121[2] – Vindobona or Sirmium, March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. ... Coin showing the column with surmounting statue of Antoninus. ...

External links

• [1] A photo of the column presently and how it might have appeared in Roman times.
• [2] A history of the Aurelian column

Bibliography

• E. Petersen – A. v. Domaszewski – G. Calderini (Hrsg.), Die Marcus-Säule auf der Piazza Colonna (1896).
• M. Wegner, Die kunstgeschichtliche Stellung der Marcussäule, in: JdI 46, 1931, 61 – 174.
• W. Zwikker, Studien zur Markussäule I (1941).
• C. Caprino – A. M. Colini – G. Gatti – M. Pallottino – P. Romanelli, La Colonna di Marco Aurelio (1955).
• J. Scheid – V. Huet (Hrsg.): Autour de la colonne Aurélienne (2000)

Coordinates: 41°54′03″N, 12°28′47.5″E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...