Last week, we played turista. We’ve been to Rome plenty of times before, so are fortunate to have seen the traditional tourist destinations: Colosseum, Circus Maximus, Baths of Caracalla, Palatine Hill, Forum, Campo de Fiore, Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza di Spagna, the Vatican, Saint Peters, and Piazza del Popolo. However, in Rome, that’s nothing. There is so much more to see!
I like to think of Rome as a face full of character. Each year of it’s life, maybe there’s a new wrinkle, or a new spot. After 2,500 years, there are so many wrinkles and spots, one can’t see them all! Even most Romans, who were born and raised here, haven’t seen them all.
One of our favorites from last week is one we really should have seen by now, as it’s our kids’ bus stop – Museo dell’Ara Pacis (Museum of the Altar of Peace) – located in Piazza Augusto Imperatore, along the Lungotevere. This stunning museum was created by Richard Meier (of Getty Museum [Love it there!] fame) and opened in 2006. I don’t quite understand why architectural critics and right-wing Italians were disappointed by this museum. The travertine and glass are architectural elements well established in this neighborhood. AND, this is Rome! There isn’t a predominant, consistent architecture displayed anywhere in this city! That’s one of the many reasons why I love Rome.
Okay, we need to cover a bit of history AND solve a mystery first.
The actual Ara Pacis monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 B.C. and was consecrated on January 30, 9 B.C. It’s actually about to celebrate it’s 2019 birthday! It was created to celebrate peace after Emperor Augustus completed the conquest of Hispania (Spain) and Gaul (France). (Those crazy Romans...)
We found it very interesting how this monument was sited! The Romans used an ancient tradition of linking the location of the monument via celestial orientation. An Egyptian obelisk in Campo Marzio acted like a sundial. On Augustus' birthday, the tip of the shadow aligned with where the center of the altar was placed. This location turned out to be on Via Flaminia (in the historic center, this road is now called, Via del Corso) at the northern edge of what was known as Campus Martius (which is our backyard). In the photo above, the Pantheon is at the bottom of the photo, Tiber to the left, Augustus’ Mausoleum towards the top, and itty bitty Ara Pacis to the right on the white paved area in the middle.
Over the centuries, this area was regularly flooded by the Tiber River, eventually breaking the monument to pieces and depositing it under four meters of lime deposits. After various invasions, plagues, “new” construction and the like, the monument was forgotten.
Enter the aqueduct work of the 1560’s. Pieces of Ara Pacis were found, although, not recognized. Nine pieces were removed from under San Lorenzo in Lucina, and were placed in the collections and walls of Villa Medici, the Vatican, Uffizi in Firenze, and Louvre in Paris.
In 1859, the Peretti Palace underwent structural work. Under the Palace, which Teatro Olimpia adjoined, the base of the altar was found, as were many other fragments, but because removing these pieces would endanger the walls of the Palace and Teatro, and no one knew what they were, many remained buried.
Finally, in 1903, Friedrich von Duhn (German scholar who headed up the Institute for Classical Architecture for the University of Heidelberg) saw the altar, put the mysterious marble puzzle pieces together, the Ara Pacis had been rediscovered (!) and he immediately petitioned the Ministry of Public Education to begin excavation work. Half of the monument had been examined and 53 fragments had been recovered, when the excavation was halted due to instability of the Peretti Palace.
In February of 1937, the Italian Cabinet ordered the excavations to recommence, as it was the 2,000 anniversary of the birth of Augustus. Only the most advanced technology could be used. Drainage ditches were dug and a team of archaeologists injected 70 cubic meters of ground with frozen carbon dioxide (!), which froze the ground to a depth of 33 feet. While the ground was frozen, the archaeologists extracted the balance of known marble pieces. How cool is that?! Even with the success of finding so many fragments, there are many large fragments still buried, somewhere under Rome today.
In 1938, Mussolini had a protective building erected in Piazza Augusto Imperatore and had the reconstructed Ara Pacis moved. Enter the brilliant Richard Meier, who redesigned the museum we visited, and a satisfying, ancient mystery is solved!
The entire monument, altar and enclosure, were carved entirely of gleaming white Carrera marble. The relief sculpture craftsmanship is so detailed, it is believed Greek or Greek-trained artists were the sculptors. Also interesting, there are recognizable faces found in the friezes, which brings an intimacy to this piece. However, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
That is really cool!
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