In ancient Rome there were about 40 triumphal arches of which at least three on the Via Lata. Thay are all gone now except for some fragments kept in various locations
It used to be where S. Maria in Via Lata is now
Built 303/304 for Diocletian (285/305) in the twentieth anniversary of his government
Whatever was left was demolished in 1491
Some of the surviving sculptures from the first century AD which had been reused by Diocletian are now embedded in the rear façade of the Villa Medici
In Piazza Sciarra after Via del Caravita
Built 51/52 for Claudius (41/54) who wanted to commemorate the conquest of Britain
The aqueduct Aqua Virgo used to run over the arch
It yielded a large fragment of the inscription now set out in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori and other pieces of sculptures in the Palazzo Nuovo
Shortly before Via della Vite where an inscription commemorates the site. It was leaning against the Palazzo Fiano Almagià
Its dating is controversial. It was demolished in 1662
In early 1500 it was inhabited by Portuguese Cardinal George de Costa, who lived in an apartment above the arch
From the arch come two of the three reliefs of Hadrian now on the landings of the stairs in the Palazzo dei Conservatori part of the Capitoline Museums. They were certainly reused for the arch and maybe originally came from the arch at the entrance of the Temple of Hadrian, from which the third relief comes for sure
No comments:
Post a Comment