Everything about Column Of Antoninus Pius totally explained
» This article deals with the lost column dedicated to Antoninus Pius. For the column previously erroneously called this before the Renaissance, see Column of Marcus Aurelius, and specifically Column of Marcus Aurelius#Restoration
The
Column of Antoninus Pius is an honorific column in
Rome, devoted in
161 to the
Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, in the
Campus Martius, on the edge of the hill now known as
Monte Citorio, and set up by his successors, the co-emperors
Marcus Aurelius and
Lucius Verus.
History
Construction
The column itself was 14.75 metres high and 1.90m in diameter and was constructed of red
granite, with no decorating reliefs as on the otherwise similar columns of
Trajan and
Marcus Aurelius. It was quarried out in 106 (as shown by the masons' inscription on its lower end, IG xiv.2421.1). Architecturally it belonged to the
Ustrinum, 25 metres north of it on the same orientation, with the main apotheosis scene facing in that direction, and was surmounted by a statue of Antoninus, as is represented on coins issued after his death (Cohen, Ant. Pius 353‑6).
Rediscovery
Previous to the
18th century the base was completely buried, but the lower part of the shaft projected about 6m above the ground. In 1703, when some buildings were demolished in
the area of Montecitorio, the rest of the column and the base were discovered and excavated. The column was raised from the ground by
Carlo Fontana's son Francesco
(1668-1708), but no decision was made about its use. It, thus, remained lying on the ground under some sheds, and was finally damaged by fire in 1759. Unsuccessful attempts were made to repair it soon afterwards in
1764, with some pieces from it being used in
1789 to restore
the obelisk of Augustus that's now in the
Piazza di Monte Citorio.
Meanwhile the base (of white Italian
marble) was restored in 1706-08 and erected in the centre of Piazza di Montecitorio by
Ferdinando Fuga in 1741, before being taken to the
Vatican Museums in 1787, where it has been in the Michelangelo niche in the Cortile della Pigna from 1885 until its final move to its current position in the courtyard outside the entrance to the Vatican Pinacoteca.
Base iconography
One side of the base has a dedicatory inscription (
CIL vi.1004), two sides record the funerary
decursio or
decursus (a ceremony performed by the Roman cavalry), and one side shows the
apotheosis or ascent to the gods of the emperor and his wife .
Apotheosis scene
A winged
genius (or sometimes identified as
Aion, Eternity) carries Antoninus and his wife
Faustina to Heaven. The Emperor holds a sceptre crowned with an eagle, whilst eagles also surround them.
The personified male figure (left) holding the obelisk represents the
Campus Martius. Augustus had placed this
obelisk there as a
sundial and it was the site of the ritual of the imperial deification. The personified female figure in armour (right) saluting the emperor and empress represents
Roma, and her shield depicts the legendary founders of Rome,
Romulus and Remus, suckled by a wolf.
Decursio
On these two almost identical sides, members of the cavalry circle the standing figures, two carrying military standards and the rest fully armored. Lacking a sense of space and perspective, these scenes are often criticized for their lack of stylistic sophistication. Instead of naturalism, both a bird's eye view of the circular manoeuvre and a ground-level view of each figure are provided..
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