Civitavecchia/Rome – November 10-11th

We walked around the Coliseum and came to a huge arch, possibly the most famous in Rome, the Arch of Constantine. As you can see, it has a large central archway and small ones on each side.  It

Arch of Constantine

 was started in 312 AD and completed in 315 AD.   Very impressive!   (And, how long do they think it will take to complete the new  section of 520 and Evergreen Point Bridge?  But, we digress.) In order to speed up its completion, the builders reused works of art from other Roman monuments to decorate the facades, inside the attic (yes, it has an attic!), and inside the large central archway.  They have actually identified pieces from the period of Hadrian, a tribute to Marcus Aurelius, and pieces from the area of the Forum of Trajan that are used in various places in the Arch. There are six sections in low relief over the side arches that tell the story of Constantine's military campaigns and his arrival in Rome. The inscription in the attic says (with the help of a translation), “To the emperor Flavius Constantine, the Great, pious and fortunate, the Senate and People of Rome dedicated this arch to mark his triumphs, because by divine inspiration and his own great spirit he simultaneously freed the State from the tyrant and from all factions.”    Quite an impressive tribute and monument!  As you can see, it is undergoing repair and restoration work.

The Via Sacra

From the Arch of Constantine, we walked along the Via Sacra (Sacred Road).  This was actually the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum, to the Coliseum.  It was part of the traditional route of the solemn religious festivals and the magnificent triumphs of victorious generals.  It was paved and, then during the reign of Nero, it was lined with colonnades.  It also served the locals as a place gather in the Basilicas to chat, throw dice, engage in business, or secure justice.  The road is lined with ruins in various stages of repair, including the colonnades, shrines, temples, and other buildings.   Since we began at the Coliseum end of the road, we saw another impressive archway at its end.  This turned out to be the Arch of Titus.

The Arch of Titus was constructed around 82 AD by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the

The Arch of Titus

death of his older brother, Titus, to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.  It appears to be in pretty good condition and remains imposing although  we are told the original gold and silver lettering and decorations among other features have vanished through the ages.  Interestingly enough, the Arch of Titus has provided the general model for many of the triumphal arches erected since-perhaps most famously, it was the inspiration for the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.

As you can see, we did see a lot, but as we explored, we became more and more aware of what we hadn’t seen and still want to see.  We’ll have to save that for our next visit.