- Trajan’s Column is a Roman Triumphal Column located in Rome, which is made of white marble blocks sculpted with scenes displaying the Roman army at war in Dacia. It is considered to be the most important and unique example of Roman Sculpture.
Getting There
- Location: Via dei Fori Imperiale, Trajan's Forum, Rome.
- It is 3 minutes walk from the Capitoline Museums.
- Nearest Metro Station:
History
- It was erected in 113 CE to celebrate Trajan's Dacian Wars.
- The Architect is thought to have been Apollodorus of Damascus, who built Trajan's Forum.
Construction
- The Column consists of 19 drums of white marble, each weighing 53 tons, brought from a quarry two hundred miles away.
- In an engineering marvel, they were assembled vertically to form the column which has a height of 126 ft (38.4m).
- Inside is an anti-clockwise helical staircase of 185 steps leading to a viewing platform above, but this is not open to the public.
- On the outside are sculpted 2,662 figures in 155 scenes, which were originally painted in colour with their swords and armour painted bronze.
- It was topped with a statue of Trajan, but today it has been replaced by a Bronze statue of St. Peter.
Trajan’s Ashes
- It is also Trajan’s Tomb, as his ashes lie under the plinth.
Trajan’s Monuments in Rome
- Trajan's Forum
- This was a monumental combination of open and enclosed spaces to celebrate the victory in the Dacian Wars which ended in 106 CE.
- Trajan's Market
- This is a monumental complex of shops or offices located in Rome on the Via dei Fori Imperiali next to the Forum of Augustus and the Forum of Nerva.
- Basilica Ulpia.
- Arch of Trajan.
- Temple of Trajan (not confirmed).
- Two Libraries.
- An Equestrian statue of Hadrian, set in the Atrium.
- Trajan had the Circus Maximus rebuilt in stone.
Modern Copies
- In 1810, Napoleon completed the Colonne Vendome in Paris and the Column of the Grande Armee in Boulogne, both of which were modelled on Trajan’s Column in Rome.
Photo and map: Trajan’s Column, Rome