THE TRAYAN MARKETS AND THE NEW IMPERIAL FORUMS MUSEUM A window ... on the imperial Forums The Markets of Trajan are an archaeological complex of uniqueness in Rome, perhaps even worldwide. They represent an area that has experienced the evolution of the city from the imperial age to today; an area that has been constantly recycled and transformed. The markets once the strategic administrative centre of the Imperial Forums, successively became a noble residence, a military fortress, a prestigious convent and a barracks... a continuous evolution. It has gone through architectural changes and the signs of the various “hands” from these different eras are all still visible. Now, with the completion of recent restorations, we too have crafted out a functions for it and so The Markets of Trajan have begun a new “season” of life. Incredibly, Rome which is so rich in monuments and museums, has not yet had a centre dedicated to ancient architecture. Our museum intends to allow you to understand the structural, architectural and decorative aspects of ancient buildings, through three-dimensionally rebuilding them. Without doubt, it is very suggestive to go through the great archaeological areas of the Roman and Imperial Forums but a real vision of the ancient “city” is difficult to grasp. We wanted to overcome this communicative “gap”; we wanted to give tourists, citizens, people who are passionate about Roman times as well as scholars the possibility of again living a part of the ancient world. Today, the Trajanic complex is more than ever located at a strategic point of the modern city at a cultural junction that on the one side connects The Capitoline Museum, Palazzo delle Esposizioni and The National Archaeological Museum, and on the other, connects the central archaeological area – Coliseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Imperial Forums. It is an access point to the ancient as well as the modern city. This capacity of urban and cultural dialogue has been valued by important exhibitions such as “The coloured marbles of Imperial Rome” and “Contemporary sculptures by Igor Mitoraj”. We have involved the visitor in a fascinating and intriguing journey through the intricate architecture of the structures internal spaces and the scenic “views” of the city outside. By playing on the excellence of the markets history and the history of the city as a whole, we designed an exhibition dedicated to the Imperial Forum in the Markets of Trajan. The Markets of Trajan were an integral part of the greatest and most famous of the Forums. They were designed for the administrative needed of the forum and not, as past archaeological literature would have us believe, as a “shopping centre”. We did not want to “exhibit” the individual fragments of a splendid decorative past (even if they are beautiful in their own right) instead we wanted to physically reconstruct the decorative motifs of which they were part of, addressing when required even very demanding works in terms of material used. However we did not stop at reconstruction, we believe it is absolutely essential for the visitor to take in the complexity of ancient sites, their systems and their 1
“technology” hence it was also fundamental to a reconstruct real environment to describe the activities that took place in the forums. In other words, it is important to replicate real life in real spaces. To achieve these objectives, respecting the scientific rigidity of the reconstructions, we have used the best technology available today: from graphics to multimedia. Not only one form of media is used but the most flexible form depending on the communication needs. We address a multitude of audiences and in recent years the complex has “earned” a wide public: organised and independent tours, Italian and foreign university student groups, school children, scholars from various cultural sectors as well as Roman citizens. The renewed interest in this area is due to several factors: the recent heavy restoration of the structure since the first works in the 1930’s, the enhancement of internal and external spaces, the removal of architectural barriers, the choice of highly inter-related exhibitions, the constant interaction with schools and universities through a range of varied and high quality initiatives (visits, laboratories, internships) and the inclusion of ‘summer’ evening cultural events. All this has triggered a process of loyalty from the public that we want to maintain and increase. Answering the public and therefore giving constant “visibility” over time perhaps more than anything else is what impresses upon the receptive person. Another important aspect for the promotion of activities not to be overlooked is our efforts to widen the circulation of information at various levels. There is the complexes’ website a vehicle of primary importance for learning and various multimedia products developed from our communication system and network. CDs and DVDs are part of the museum and they sit alongside traditional media (guides in several languages, catalogues etc). Multimedia apparatus (hardware and software), scientific research/graphic processing, the specific development of communications for different target audiences and the business side, such as international conferences and conventions go hand-in-hand with the permanent collection thus increasing cultural exchanges between other countries and within Italy itself. Layout of the site and museum History of museum Since 1985 over 40,000 fragments originating from the forum area have been catalogued and documented from deposits created after excavations carried out in the 20th century. A seemingly huge quantity of finds but in reality they represent a small percentage of what was the enormous quantity of marble facing and super-structure blocks which made up the Antiquarium Forense (Forum District). Over the last 20 years, works carried out in the deposits of the forums and markets have focussed on the treatment and restoration of these fragments. However, they have also focussed on making an inventory of all the fragments using photographic documentation. It was this detailed gathering of data which made it possible to identify the most significant pieces for the reconstruction of ancient buildings and their decorative details. 2
When possible the approach to reassembling original fragments has carefully avoided the introduction of pins. Only when the use of additional newly cut stone and/or resin mouldings was impossible to include for various reasons in the exhibits’ assembly are there pins. Once reassembled, the exhibits then underwent graphical documentation and restoration; a rigorous process that has saved some fragments from complete loss. The identification of new contexts and the definition of architectural orders, and hence the appearance of forum complexes, have formed the basis of study for The Museum of the Imperial Forums project. Different “routes” intertwine. In fact, the museum project has also had to be a communication project - “the architecture of the Forum in the architecture of the Markets; the history of the city in the history of one of its districts”. In a second section located in the two frontal halls on the edges of the Great Hemicycle, the museum has rooms dedicated to the Forum of Trajan. Here they remain in close contact with the remains of the same ancient buildings they are dedicated to and with the subterranean area of the Basilica of Ulpia and the Western Library. Today, these later two structures are used as warehouses even though they are well-organised and can be visited. Financed projects The complex of the Markets of Trajan was and still is run with a comprehensive itinerary of works that are financed by the State under appropriated laws (L. 390/90 Rome Capital and L. 651/96 The Jubilee) and by the Municipal Administration (standard and investment funds). They consist of works of extraordinary maintenance, restoration and repair as well as running the complex. Investments have made it possible to use this extraordinary ‘container’ as the site of The Museum of the Imperial Forums. The ‘Rome Capital’ and ‘Jubilee’ workshops have carried out the following works: - The treatment of the wooden covers that date from the 1930s. - The restoration and consolidation of the external lateral courtyards outside the Central Body’s Great Hall, and in part on the Small Hemicycle. - The paving of all the internal areas with roman “cocciopesto” paving, except those along the Via Biberatica. - The fitting of electrical installations throughout the complex - The consolidation of roofing pillars in the Great Hall. - The implementation of passageways in the Great Hall, the Central Body and the via Biberatica to make the structure accessible to those with mobility limitations. Despite the discontinuity of the works and the various conceptual differences in the project, the Municipal Art Heritage Authority has managed to weave a thread of logic into the project that gives unity to works already completed and those still in progress. Layout Dedicated to the forums’ architectural decoration, the museum addresses their structural aspects to once again give us a ‘final’ view of the original buildings. To complete their reassembly the use of artificial elements made from plaster has been 3
used. The use of such elements was agreed upon in the planning phase. Exhibits are completed with ‘colour’ which is not only applied on the plaster mouldings but also on modern marble surfaces through the use of dyes. Displays have the objective of giving continuity to the architectural reasoning of the original works through the reassembly of original fragments and the study of additional artificial elements to thus evoke the real spatial relationships they embodied within the extraordinary architecture of the Markets of Trajan. It has been our goal to highlight both the decorative and symbolic apparatus at work (the figurative ‘programme’ and its propaganda meaning to the public of that era) as well as the location of works within the constructional scheme. The Museum has reproduced the Forum’s northern archaeological access; consequently you are expected to commence tours of the forum area from the ground floor of the Great Hall, in which there is an appropriately positioned multimedia display. The same multimedia element has been included in several halls dedicated to specific forums, each symbolised by a significant main display piece. On the top floor two sections are devoted respectively to the Forum of Caesar (areas toward the Via Biberatica) and to the ‘Memory of the Ancient’. The later is a theme that addresses sculptures and architectural elements relevant to the Temple of Mars Ultor, a temple which has been documented and copied from the 15th century onwards. On the same level, your tour continues in the halls of the Central Body. A section dedicated to the architectural decoration of porticos (covered walkways), exedras (semi-circular recesses) and the Room of the Colossus in the Forum of Augustus. Some structures, no longer housed in Rome or only known by copies subsequently made for provincial capital forums, are also documented. Future projects The section of the Museum dedicated to the Forum of Trajan is found in the lower section of the Markets of Trajan. This area, which lies under the so-called Exedra Arborea Garden, was covered by ground works in reinforced cement in the 1930’s but as a result of the damage suffered from over 70 years of use, a radical reorganisation and restoration project was required. Now, a large reassembly of an entrablature (frieze-architrave) is displayed here. The exhibit is in a space that is in direct contact with the remains of the building to which it once belonged the two lateral frontal halls of the Great Hemicycle. Another exhibition space is dedicated to the internal decorations of the Basilica Ulpia and the Western Libraries and it too hosts the ruins of the buildings to which it once belonged. Valorization The distribution of the monument on six levels caused a problem when introducing new vertical communications. The problem was resolved in the upper part by an hydraulic lift that connects the three levels of the Great Hall, the Central Body and the Milizie Gardens. The other devise used was an electric platform that allow access
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to the Via Biberatica. Both are housed in structures that had suffered heavy alterations in post ancient times to thus limit the impact on the original walls. In accordance to a governing principle that the entire Trajanic complex both covered and open should make up just one museum circuit, the entire external route was studied to make it, on one hand more accessible, and on the other once again in contact with the city. Consequently a system of walkways and ramps in wood and iron was conceived that allow for a continuous route that goes across areas already familiar to the public but others that until now were marginal or even unknown. The Restorations Descritions Restoration works were directed at recovering the functionality of the complex to permit the permanent location of the Museum of the Imperial Forums within it. The museum’s finality is to maintain the highest possible profile for the monuments of the Roman Forums. With this vision in mind difficult problems related to maintaining the integrity of the monument but making the site practical had to be resolved. First of all was the closure of the Great Hall on its main front and back sides. The ancient structure needed protection against polluting elements but at the same had to be kept visible. The solution found consists of using a modular system of large compound plastic panels. Restoration started in the Great Hall showed how damaging atmospheric pollution is to ancient structures in not closing the hall before 2002 contaminated air had accelerate decay. The cleaning of the vaults has in fact brought to light damage to the cement works superior to that initially estimated. The Central Body, a feature of the last floor preserved with its original vault coverings and 15th century internal decretive frescos had part of its original coverings rediscovered whilst covering placed during the 1930s were consolidated Anti-seismic improvements Studies made to measure the appropriateness of the museum’s structure with the monuments structure showed the necessity for conservational works and consolidations. The introduction of a new national seismic norm, made whilst works were in progress, resulted in the need for further research and the resulting mathematical model showed the possibility of the Great Hall’s collapse in the event of a seismic wave spreading in a north – south direction. With the purpose of making the entire structure more solid it was thus necessary to fortify structures. This was achieved by works that anchor the vaults of the central space of the structure to the lateral areas and by the introduction of metal tie rods above the corridors of the first floor. It is curious to note how modern tie rods carry out the same consolidating function as the small vaults built above the same corridor in the 16th century in the era of the Convent of Saint Catherine. These works thought only to have been done to carve out
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more living space, were probably the reason why the Great Hall managed to survive disastrous damage in the earthquake of 1703, which so damaged the Coliseum. The Central Body was also the subject of consolidation works, where it was similarly necessary to further anchor structures in addition to works already completed in the 1930s. In both cases, when putting in the metal rods particular attention was paid to avoiding change in the profile of the monument on its main faces. The tie rods were inserted into the walls and the holes made were filled with salvaged materials. Future restoration works Similar restoration works to give value and offer structural consolidation will also shortly be carried out in the lower sections of the Monument. The Great Hemicycle and the two Frontal Halls in particular suffer from the same problems encountered in the upper sections and in the Great Hall. The monument Descriptions The external brick Roman complex, popularly known as the Markets of Trajan and today found in the heart of the modern city, has been miraculously handed down to us. Sited next to the great squares of the Imperial Forums the monument encompasses almost two thousand years of the city’s history. The marks impressed upon its structure through time preserves the memories of the men and women who frequented, used and reused its spaces in so many different ways. To maintain the cutting made into the side of the Quirinal Hill a complex system of anti-chambers on six levels was conceived. The structure exemplified the construction technique of cement pouring coupled with various types of vault coverings. Together they made for flexibility in the height difference through “lining� the cutting and at the same time provided the communication links between the monumental public spaces of the Antiquarium Forense (Forum District) and the dispersed residential quarters of the Quirinal Hill and the Subura (suburbs). Due to the dismantlement of the raised sections, it is now all but impossible to perceive what the construction would have hidden, almost crushed, behind the western perimeter walls of its Great Hemicycle. Even with only a partial vision of the complex, now crowded out by pedestrian pathways and other buildings, we can only image the impact the 40 meter high Markets of Trajan must have had, especially when placed in its historical context The Great Hall The vast central space of the Great Hall (32 x 8m) was flanked by areas covered by barrel vaults on three levels. On the ground floor these areas directly bordered the Hall, whilst on the second floor they opened up onto open pillar lined corridors. On the western (valley) side, the ground floor was adjacent to the via Biberatica, which was lined with open tabernae (commercial units). On the eastern (Monte) side there was also a third floor of inter-connected areas that was accessible via the stairway serving the upper floors.
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On the ground floor the rooms on the western side were inter-connected, open and had many windows whilst on the other side the rooms lacked openings and stretched deeper northwards. At the base of this area a post-Roman opening allows access to the subterranean rooms that were used for water storage. The Great Entrance Arch on the market’s short northern side, which is currently the museum’s main entrance on via Quattro Novembre, was originally closed. Access to the road in front, built typically from basalt blocks, was made from via delle Torre through a small door reached via a few steps that started in via Biberatica. On the southern short side in front of the actual entrance a stairway, now modified, permitted access to the central section of via Biberatica. The covering of the Hall consisted of six cross vaults resting on big travertine shelves. They were in line with the pillars of the second floor arches and went over the open corridors with the purpose of offloading the lateral force of the vaults to the rear structure. Photo down below.
Central Body The popular name “Central Body” has been given to the structure that rose between the via Biberatica, the area of the Milizie Gardens and via della Torre. It had three levels and open tabernae on the via Biberatica side. The façade on the via Biberatica, despite significant additions carried out during works in the 1930’s, still well represents the subtle transformation of the complex from the Trajanic era to non-ancient times. A fact exemplified by the roman brick structure extending into part of a 15th century rebuild. The medieval structure has more irregular brickwork, uses salvaged material and takes in a section of a crenulated wall built with the tufelli technique, which is found above the access stairway. In post-ancient times one of the open areas was used as a stable, probably by the Convent of Saint Catherine. There is a brick floor with gullies cut in it for the animals’ wooden fencing. The areas of the first floor, on the same level as the ground floor of the Great Hall, have an irregular form. They lack roman door channels and end with an evocative 7
semi-circular chamber that is surmounted by a reduced dome. Then follows a small triangular area made of salvaged material, which was originally cut off from these other sections. The impressions made by uprights (the sustaining stakes of the wooden frame into which cement was poured) are still visible in the wall, which tells us this structure was originally a foundation. On the second floor was a large semi-circular room, in which were placed a variety of particularly well cared for plants. Some were set in the alternating rectangular and semi-circular niches that punctuated the walls, a number of which had a shaft of light falling into them through marcapiano and modanate brickwork frames. The third floor had areas that were laid out in a similar fashion but were less well cared for than the second floor. The western perimeter of the third floor remained clearly unchanged in post-ancient times and in a small section on its vaulted ceiling are frescos with grotesques (chimeras) that have been dated to the 16th century and were probably painted by the Taddeo Zuccari school. Contrary to popular believe, the areas described here were not connected in ancient times to the Great Hall. Free access to this sector was via a passage to the back of the semi-circular room on the second floor. The original doorway is completely preserved and opens up onto the back of via della Torre. It was from here that an internal staircase allowed access to the upper floor. Photo down below.
The route of the basalt road, the via Biberatica, represents the hinge between the upper and lower parts of the complex. The road’s name, which is not of the ancient world, most likely derives from the Latin bibere – beer. The most upright northern section, which is now lover than the present via Quattro Novembre, still offers us the urban image of a road in an ancient city. The buildings of the Great Hall and the Small Hemicycle flanked the road and it was lined with taverns and shops that still have their original ground works, main beams and door frames. Moreover, still visible on the shops’ façades is the route of a service route once sustained by arches. 8
In this section, two of the zones to the side of the Great Hall have later undergone transformation, probably when the complex hosted the Convent of Saint Catherine of Siena. The original level of the floor was raised above the vaults covering subterranean areas. The spaces created along with more carved out of the original Roman foundations were used as cellars. The Via Biberatica The next section of the Via Biberatica sharply changed direction, climbing slightly between the Central Body and the upper floor of the Great Hemicycle. From this central section of the road two staircases went down to the lower floor and other stairs allowed access to the floors above the buildings of the Great Hall and the southern sector of the Central Body. Constructed on the forum side of the third level of the Great Hemicycle was a row of tabernae that opened up on to the road. They had a service corridor to their rear. Today the elevated position they once held has not allowed the majority to survive. On the opposite side, the façade of the Central Body followed the curved line of the road to make a corner. The difference in the bricklaying clearly shows that the righthand part of the façade was reconstructed in medieval times with irregular bricks made from recycled materials, among which are visible pieces of ad opos spicatum (herring bone) flooring. On the far southern edge of this section of road a great door arch was closed in, a work carried out as part of the reinforcements of the southern section of the Central Body. Under the great arches the slight gradient of via Biberatica was in ancient times administered by a stairway. The path was inaccessible to the complex’s service wagons but was nether-the-less a real and present urban passage. Beyond the great arches the route of the southern section of the road bent left and went towards the current Via della Salita del Grillo, that itself takes the path of an ancient road. Its route was drawn up in line with the Roman structure that served and flanked the original road. The colour of the modern paving, grey for the road and red brick in the lost areas allows us to be sure of the road’s route in ancient times. The main road of roman times is today interrupted by the buttresses of the Palazzo del Grillo. Terraced structures and an insulae probably used as housing, which was set on two to three levels, flanked in this section of the road on the Market side. These dwelling are not well preserved but show evidence of works done in late Roman times that embodied previous structures. On the opposite side of the road were a row of slender dwellings with many windows. They made up the upper floor of a narrow island. These were swallowed by Palazzo del Grillo. Photo down below.
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The Great Hemicycle was the part of the complex in most direct contact with the Forum of Trajan. This privileged proximity is shown in the particular care given to the brick work and the decoration on its celebrated façade. The semi-circular shape resulted both from the presence of the forum’s concentric exedra (semi-circular recess) and the need to build an efficient containing structure for the hillside cutting. The cutting’s steps were occupied by structures with progressive depth as they rose to higher levels. Two stairs sited on the extremes ensured vertical linkage in this once unusable section of land. At forum level eleven shallow areas opened up, which were covered with little barrel vaults hidden by the typical façades of the taberna. Their rooms had black and white mosaic paving laid in a geometrical pattern, which is a feature dated to refurbishments done during the Severan period at the start of the 3rd century AD. On the walls are the remains of frescos that probably come from the same period as these too have a geometrical pattern. Also conserved are the remains of mosaics of a similar design but with a different frescoed decoration that most likely come from Trajan’s time. The second floor had a semi-circular corridor covered by a barrelled vault. It had herring bone paving, took light from the façades’ open windows and off it were a series of areas also with barrelled vaults that were rebuilt in modern times. The third floor, which was an external terrace, was most probably a service route. A series of areas in the main section, which have not survived in their elevated position, opened up onto the via Biberatica and were originally equipped with internal lofts. Photo down below.
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Small Hemicycle The north of the Great Hemicycle, is a structure with areas on three levels that has down the ages taken the name of the “Small Hemicycle�. It is, in fact, a concentric structure inside the vast semi-circular area of the Great Hemicycle that once had a half moon dome covering it. Apparently lacking in access points in ancient times, it faces due north and is positioned to the back of the Great Hall. Its three levels were accessible from the northern stairs of the Great Hemicycle, to which this structure has a similar plan. The lower floor of vaulted rooms was connected by a semi-circular corridor that did not receive direct sunlight. The corridor then preceded directly north, a section now lost under the modern day via Quattro Novembre. In this section were found other rooms and a stairs that climbed up to the higher levels, which are today blocked by a wall. Some rooms are characterised by paving that has a shallow circular vase used for gathering liquids at its centre, which leads us to believe that this complex was an oil deposit. The rooms are covered by barrel vaults, on which remain the impressions of the bricks placed there above the wooden structures used when pouring concrete. On the second floor, which was at the same height as the via Biberatica, a semicircular corridor was again present but here it was lit by an abundance of windows. In the area due north, which was partly reconstructed after ancient times, a stairwell and an empty space opened up onto the corridor. To the back of these were other rooms that flanked the via Biberatica. A third floor is currently accessible from an internal staircase. It leads to areas connected by a corridor, which were also originally covered. The northern part has been swallowed up by the Palazzo TiberiCeva, which is today a school. Photo down below
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l. Forward Halls Two big semi-circular frontal halls opened up on the two extremes of the Great Hemicycle on same level as the Forum. Both halls were covered with a similar semi-circular dome and had a main entrance crowned by a frame in bricks that had the same curved shape perfected in their façades. The bigger frontal hall to the north had two lines of windows and the central access door, now filled in, was set inside two flanking semi-circular niches. On the back curved wall sat a balcony divided by a central section. Sections of the impressions made by the marble paving and panelling are conserved here. Pieces were rectangular on the floor and square on the walls and balcony. After the marble flooring had been pillaged, a series of cavities were dug into the floor, the material was used as the foundations of structures placed in the hall, which may include the church of Saint. Abbaciro. In Roman times, the frontal hall to the south, with it single line of three large windows and lack of internal niches, must have had a similar aspect of its twin structure. Uprights (sustaining stakes for the wooden frame into which cement was poured) are still visible on the back wall and show us that the foundations were laid prior to Trajan. Only in later times, probably during Trajan’s rule, were the impressions left by uprights filled in by bricks thus allowing plaster to be evenly applied. At such time the marble flooring and the wall panelling was also most probably added, of which very little remains. Photo down below
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Milizie Garden To the Quirinal side of the buildings of Central Body and the Great Hall is a basalt Roman road, which in modern times has been given the name “via delle Torre�. Currently visible on the road are many works credited to the Severan period (end of the 2nd Century AD). Going towards Via Quattro Novembre the road hugs the side of the buildings of the Central Body, whilst on the opposite side a series of building raised between the 12th and 17th century along the via della Salita del Grillo are found. They belonged to the Convent of Saint Catherine of Siena. In this part of the Markets of Trajan the subtle transformation from the Roman to the Medieval is particularly visible. Here was built, in several different phases, a fortification named from the 12th century onwards as the Militiae Tower. Between the 13th and the 15th centuries ownership of the tower passed between important Roman families - the Annibaldi to the Caetani and then Caetani to the Conti with the structure finally being included in the Monastery of Saint. Catherine of Siena in Magnanapoli, which was founded in the 16th century. The complexes subterranean cisterns were in the monastery and they are still visible today next to a working elevator. In our time the same Milizie Tower characterises the outline of the Market. It is the product of various building works done between the 12th and 13th century. From 1150 to 1200 a palace with a loggia on arches reused the Roman structure. Then between 1200 and 1250 a corner of the loggia was replaced with the high tower made of blocks of tufo, which between 1250 and 1275 was subsequently faced with the bricks that are visible today. Photo down below
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The history of the site Analysis The history of the “Markets” of Trajan started with the planning of certain proprietary works during the construction of the last and greatest of all the imperial forums, that of Trajan. Even if we have clear accounts to classify the Markets of Trajan, ancient records do not offer steadfast evidence on the imperial financers and the conceptual origins of the project. The most plausible explanation is that the great complex was perhaps conceived as a sole unit along with the neighbouring forum. It is highly likely that the complex had already been ordered by Emperor Domitian and taxation stamps, the only direct source available, show an index number consistent with the Domitian era. A theory further sustained by our knowledge of the ambitious building programme envisaged by this emperor. Another premise puts the selling off of a notable quantity of stockpiled bricks and building materials after the emperor’s murder as the main impetus for the construction of the complex. However, archaeological data gathered in recent studies (2003-2007) seem to indicate that preliminary works for an imposing architectural complex had already began under Domitian. Works included terracing walls and sewage piping. Current knowledge leaves little to support the traditional interpretation of the structure as having a primarily commercial use. Recent archaeological discoveries have been fundamental in contributing to a rereading of the complex. Inscriptions on the structure’s main beams, which were reused as braces in the ground works for the Milizie Gardens, make testament to a procurator fori traiani, one Horatius Rogatus, who would have restored the forum after a fire in the 3rd century AD. The functional differences of the various buildings that make up the Markets of Trajan are evident that the lower section had close association with activities administered by the adjacent forum with the upper section instead being dedicated to activities of a more managerial and administrative nature. 14
The Imperial Era The “Markets” are traditionally attributed to the Syrian Apollodoro of Damascus, who was the same architect as the Forum of Trajan. Apollodoro, who originated from Nabatea, incorporated his origins in the complex with the presence the Jordanian culture. The Markets of Trajan in any case represents the pulling together of ancient architectural experience and design that has no comparison across the Roman world. The presence of numerous structures that take the shape of tabenae, like those that open up onto the central space of the Great Hall, do not necessarily indicate the complex had a commercial purpose. The Markets of Trajan must have instead made up a sort of “multi-functional centre”, where public activity took place. The interconnection between individual units and the internal passages suggest that they were used for administrative functions – offices and record deposits that were strictly linked to the Forum Complex. In some units of the Central Body, characterised by the presence of an apse and niches in the walls, there perhaps sat the Procurator Fori Divi Traiani (Trajan’s Chancellor). Due to their continual use the buildings of the “Market” show evidence of numerous later works. Works under Septimus Severus are recorded in the structures that flank via delle Torre, whilst the insulea that is seen on today’s via della Salita del Grillo shows traces of works done in the 4th century AD or maybe later still. Medieval era With the “setting” of the Roman Empire, noble roman families took procession of the complex’s various buildings. The split ownership and subsequent works transformed the Market into the robust Miliciae (fortification). The powerful Pope Boniface VIII came into procession of the structure in around 1300 but did not keep it for long despite the huge resources he sunk in. Next Arrigo VII, who was crowned emperor in the Lateran Cathedral, made the complex his headquarters in 1312 and lodged troops there to make full use of the Milizie tower. The tower was initially built entirely using the tufelli technique between 1200 and 1250 and at a later date between 1250 and 1280 it was faced in the bricks still visible today. By then the heavily damaged Great Hall was renamed Thermae de Paliariis probably due to the presence of exposed downward sewage pipes. The reconstruction of sections of the outside walls of the central section with different materials and the loss of its terminal section testify to the complexes’ ruin. The destruction may have been caused by the earthquake of 1349 but damage was doubtlessly made worse by years of prior neglect. In some 15th and 16th centenary drawings the Great Hall appears without its outer walls, whilst the Great Hemicycle is partially broken. What remained of its decorative brick façade inspired the architects of the Renaissance in the building of new noble palaces. The Markets of Trajan during its use as a convent In 1574 Pope Pio V of the Ghisleri family gifted the complex to the Convent of Saint Catherine of Siena and the 15
architect Sallustio Peruzzi was given the responsibility of redeveloping the site for the convent’s needs. He was the first person to radically transform the ancient buildings; tearing apart the original special organisation and the internal and external communications. Ultimately, after Rome became the capital of a united Italy in 1885, the convent was acquisitioned by the State and became the “Goffredo Mameli” barracks. In the interim, at the start of the 19th century, during the Napoleonic occupation of Rome, the first excavations of the Ulpia Basilica in the Forum of Trajan were planned. These were actually carried out by Pope Pio VII and the far southern end of the Great Hemicycle was unearthed bringing to light the section of the basalt road that linked the market complex for the Forum of Trajan. Recovery under Fascism A new radical change awaited the monument under the grandiose project of the Imperial Forum excavations carried out by Senator Corrado Ricci. The work was named “the discovery and segregation of the Markets of Trajan” and took place between 1926 and 1934. Under the direction of the Fascist administration almost all the modification acquired over time were eliminated to bring the original Roman architecture back to prominence. The entire complex was read as being primarily commercial in use, even if the remains of the travertine doors so characteristic of ancient taverns and shops were effectively solely found in the areas along the basalt roads. The Great Hall was used for displays inspired by the presumed commercial use of the monument even while restoration works in other parts of the monument were still going on. These were decorated with harvest and floral motifs. The complex today In the ten years after the Second World War the Markets of Trajan were left abandoned whilst the urban and environmental situation around it changed. Via dei Fori Imperiale and Via Quarto Novembre became principle axis for the flow of traffic, consequently causing a progressive increase in atmospheric and noise pollution and thus reducing the archaeological site to the mercies of fast moving traffic. Fortunately, the sensitivity of certain municipal administrations and a reawakening of the debate on the city’s artistic patrimony resulted in funds being made available for the monument from the middle of the 1980’s. The works that resulted were directed at taking on the restorations required and recovering the functionality of the complex with the ultimate aim of housing the Museum of the Imperial Forums on site. A museum dedicated to the architecture of the Forums and their sculptural decorations. The projects finality is to maintain the highest possible profile for the monuments of the Roman Forums but at the same time offer a real vision of their proportions and constructional complexity through reconstructed architectural fragments and multimedia displays. 16
The Archeological area in the context Imperial Forums The five monumental complexes named the “Imperial Forums” were constructed in topographic continuity with the old Roman Forums of the imperialrepublican era. The new structures substituted the religious, political and administrative functions of the former. In chronological order of inauguration the forums built were: the Forum of Caesar (46 BC), the Forum of Augustus (2 BC), The Temple of Peace or Templum Pacis (75 AD), Forum of Nerva or Forum Transitorium (97AD) and the Forum of Trajan (112 and 113 AD). During the opening of the later a restored Forum of Caesar was also inaugurated as was the complex of buildings today known as the Markets of Trajan. The forum complexes were built with the wealth accumulated during wars. They had a celebratory and auto-representative character for their clients, whose empire guaranteed peace in Rome. To site them under the Palatine the urban landscape was modified and some predating public structures (even sacred ones) were sacrificed. Significantly, the engraved inscription on the base of the Column of Trajan catalogues all that was dismantled for the construction of his forum. Each complex was designed in conceptual and physical relationship with the previous one and they were connected through openings on various sides. From an urban-architectural point of view the forums are monumental arcaded squares shaped around centralised axis circuit points. In relation to the space employed and the constraints imposed by pre-existing structures, they were of different sizes and orientation. The far end was made more imposing by the construction of a temple, which was dedicated to the protective divinity of the commissioning emperor. The emperor’s presence was repeatedly evoked through representations of him on horseback or on war wagons, inscriptions with his name and symbolic references in iconography and decorative motifs. The juridical-administrative functions were performed in civil basilicas, while the cultural function was provided by libraries and galleries of statues. The architectural scheme, monumentalised by the huge dimensions employed and the rich decorative and sculptural apparatus made of precious coloured marbles, was a model to be exported and reproduced in Roman provinces. Forum of Caesar The Forum of Caesar and the Temple of Venus Genetrix were opened in 46 BC, the last day of celebrations for Julius Caesar’s victory over Pompey. The construction of a new forum, destined to broaden the already congested spaces of the Roman Forum, had already been planned in 54 BC as documented in a letter by Cicerone to his friend Attico saying that he was instructed by Caesar (who was then busy in Gaul) to purchase the land. To complete the complex it was necessary to first make embankments on the slopes of the Capitoline Hill.
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In 48 BC, before the decisive battle of Farsalo against Pompey, Caesar had promised a temple to Venus Vincitrix, even if the goddess already had a temple dedicated to her on the top of the mines in Pompey’s Theatre in Campus Martius. The Caesarean temple was built at the far end of the new Forum but instead was dedicated to Venus Genetrix, the mythical protector of gens Iulia (the Julian clan), who descended though Ascanius son of Aeneas of Troy. The construction of the square took place during the rebuilding of the Curia, which was the seat of the Senate and whose traditional orientation according to cardinal points was modified in order to make it compatible with that of the new complex. The square was inaugurated while it was still incomplete with works being completed by Augustus, as he recalls in the Res Gestae (The Deeds of the Divine Augustus). During Trajan’s era (113 AD) the temple of Venus Genetrix was entirely rebuilt. The new building retained the same plan as the previous one but the cella apse, which no longer rested against the Capitoline Hill, was hidden by two cross-bracing walls that were a continuation of the cella walls. The temple was richly decorated in marble. The Temple of Venus Genetrix Splendid remains of The Temple of Venus Genetrix from the reconstructions undertaken in Trajanic have survived. After the excavations of the 1930s three of the columns on the western side of the temple were raised and their imperfections brick in. Visible on them are rich entablatures with a florid frieze of engraved and die-punched spirals. The use of amorini (cherubs) in decorating the temple is linked to the mythological figure of the god Eros, the son of Venus. Eros is depicted as a bread fed boy. The motif is repeated on the lacunari (semi-circular decorations) of the brick entablatures and on the frieze that once belonged to the first internal column order of the cella. From ancient sources, we know that the temple hosted numerous works of art: dattiloteca (collections of engraved gems) and statues, including statues of Cleopatra in gold leafed bronze and Julius Caesar (sidus Caesarus). The interior decoration of the Trajanic cella included two orders of columns that were placed against the walls with pilasters behind them. The first series were decorated with amorini bearing various objects: among those preserved are a shield with the head of Medusa and a quiver; other elements feature amorini pouring liquid from an amphora into a basin. Perhaps, symbolically, the objects evoke the presence of various deities accompanying the goddess in her role as nature’s progenitor. Forum of Augustus It is highly likely that the ground works for the building of the Forum of Augustus started after the period 30 to 27 BC. During these years Octavian conquered Egypt and eliminated Marc Anthony (30 BC). He symbolically returned the res publica to the Senate and Romans and made selections for the highest appointments of the Republican State. He then added the imperium (the military command) for the not yet subjected provinces (27 BC) and acquired the title of Augustus. In 23 BC he also added the foundations of republican courts ( la 18
tribunicia potestas). He welded ancient roman tradition with a new course, through the inspiration of summi viri, the illustrious personages who had “created” Rome. The Augustan Forum was planned as part of a wide reorganisation of the area between the central Forum, the Forum of Caesar and the Basilica Emilia. Its proximity to the Subura (Current Monti Quarter) was conditioned by the capabilities of the existing sewer system found there. The “E” shaped central space was dominated by a temple, which was very imposing especially when compared to the frontal square and two narrow side corridors. To make space for the Hall of the Colossus at the end of the northern walkway the building (today known as the House of the Knights of Rhodes) was “cut”. Recent excavations at the Forum of Trajan have revealed the existence of a third exedra, which was removed to make way for a building of the same period. Therefore, the existence of a fourth exedra has been assumed. Perhaps, it was subsequently eliminated to make way for the Forum of Nerva. The numerous historical sources that document these spaces have different theories as to their function. The Hall of Colossus The Hall of the Colossus was deliberately set in the northeast of the forum, at the rear of the wide western walkway. This position was typically set aside for sacellums (house shines), which are closely related to the basilicas of the provincial complexes, however in this context, they were intended for worshiping the imperial figure. The area is characterised by vertical development accentuated by its relatively small surface area. The walls of the hall in which the Colossus stood were decorated with rectangular slabs of white marble at least up to the height of the statue, which was about 11 metres high. The use of ramps in the assembly of blocks for the forum and the thickness of the stone made it possible to add a sequence of decorative florid motifs in a slightly curvilinear form. In this way onlookers would envisage the backdrop of the colossal statue as a giant piece of undulating fabric. Of the few remains attributable to the gem stone decorated statue, the right hand holding a circular form has been recovered and perhaps the left one just beyond the wrist. The finds are carved in best quality Greek Parian marble, as was the case for the statue of Augustus at Prima Porta. The arcades The porticos were accessed from the square via three steps. By now, we are certain that in front of the columns of the façade, there were plinths with statues. The façade consisted of a single row of yellow Numidian marble columns with base attica (square bases) and Corinthian capitals in Lunese marble. They were crowned by decorated main beams in separate blocks. In the past, on top of the columns a high attic story was placed, which contributed to lightening the load of the porticos. Without the division of the load the weight of the temple that rose above the columns would have crushed them. To hide its structural role the attic story was internally faced with a stucco ceiling. It was divided into 19
protruding avant-corps with the female figures of Caryatides. Their elegant hairstyle was carved from a single block with the crest, egg and dart moulding and an abacus replicating a ‘basket’ made up the capital. On the bottom floor, among the Caryatides, quadrangular panels were placed. They were framed by a decorative band and Clipei were joined to them. They had imagines clipeatae (circular shied-like elements) whose convex frame varies with at least three different decorative motifs. The exedras From the mighty columns the porticos to the exedras lining the internal section we can perhaps imagine hearings being conducted. The first exedras of the forum had niches, which were a bit narrower than the porticos. Even so in their curved lines they hosted the most important statue cycles, all of which were set on tablatures with tituli and elogia. Through the reign of the characters represented and the chronicles of their actions, the statues were in fact part of Augustus’s propaganda plan. Placed in the central niche of the northern exedra was the sculptural group of Aeneas escaping from Troy and saving his father Anchises and son Ascanio; personages that were the founding fathers of gens Iulia (Julius clan). On the side niches, the kings of Albalonga represented the origins of Rome, while in the southern exedra Romulus was placed. Augustus had named him as the new founder of the city and its empire. On both sides of Romulus the summi viri appear those who according to the ideology of Augustan had “done” greatness to Rome either of a military and civilian nature.
The Temple of Peace, which celebrated Emperor Vespasian quelling of the Jewish revolt (71 AD), was inaugurated in 75 AD. It housed the most precious trophies accumulated with the conquest of Jerusalem including the seven-arm candelabrum and silver trumpets taken from the city’s temple, which were also flamboyantly carved onto Titus’s Victory Arch on the Via Sacra. The name “Templum Pacis” (as known by ancient sources) reflects differences in the layout of the complex as compared to other imperial forums and stresses its sacred character. The monumental complex was placed on the Macellum, the Market of the Republican era, which was destroyed in a fire during Nero’s reign (64 AD). It was perhaps influenced by the orientation and the condition of the space once occupied by the market. The structures which remain are in the main part from reconstruction works carried out by Septimus Severus that followed a serious fire in 192 AD. The architectural layout of the temple was reconstructed through graphic documentation in Forma Urbis - a plan of Mable structures in Rome drawn on a scale of 1:246 at the beginning of the 3rd century AD, and recent archaeological studies conducted by the Roman Archaeological Heritage Authority.
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The hall was rectangular and had an apse, that stood behind an altar and a hex style pronao, which was aligned along the axis of the porticos and divided in two rows of columns. These columns were larger than those making up the porticos and recently recovered fragments of drums of smooth pink Aswan granite 1.80 in diameter are thought to have once belonged to them. In the absis (apse) a divine statue was placed on a podium. Its iconographic form represented a female figure sitting with a branch in her right hand while her left hand lay on her lap. The image of the statue was reproduced on commemorative coins minted in 75-76 AD. Two blocks of travertine that were to the statue’s sides, which had the purpose of sustaining vertical elements in the structure, are believed to be remains from the Temple of Jerusalem and thus constituted trophies. In the Severan era, the room was paved with a large opus sectile form. The floor had a sequence of rotae (circular shapes) in Turkish pavonazzetto marble, granite and porphyry that were carved into squares of yellow Numidian marble within a pavonazzetto boarder. For some scholars, the room is considered a library with theories being based on comparisons made with the plans and architectural layout of the so-called Hadrian Library in Athens. Forum of Nerva In the constructive sequence of the imperial complexes, the Forum that was inaugurated by Nerva in 97 AD is situated in a symbolic position. Actually conceived by his predecessor Domitian (81-96 AD) in a programme for the use of the urban space, it gave unitary to that area via original urban and architectural solutions. In fact, an ancient path was built in the narrow space between the Forums of Caesar, Augustus and the Temple of Peace on a section of the Argiletum, the road which connected the republican Forum with the Subura district. The original function of this structure is enshrined in its ancient name Forum Transitorium, as well as the plans adopted, which required a structure of longitudinally orientation. The complex was surrounded by high walls in peperino blocks lined with slabs of marble. Access was from the sides. Three openings on the Roman Forum side and on the opposite side, there was a monumental entrance that consisted of an exedra porticata in the shape of a horseshoe, as recorded in the Urbis Form. This entrance was called Porticus Absidata in the Regional Catalogues of Constantine’s era. The portico was preceded by a Temple dedicated to Minerva, the goddess who protected Domitian. Her death would have ensured the apotheosis of the gods, as had already been the case of Hercules. However after the death of Domitian, the forum was given the name of Nerva, thus the memoriae damnatio (damnation of memory) had to be rewritten. The temple had a hex style pronaos and the marble columns were interposed with irregular columns that supported Corinthian Capitals. The architraves rested that rested on them were decorated with bucrani (ox skulls) and sacrificial instruments.
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The Forum of Trajan, which was inaugurated in 112 AD, completed the big monumental district of the Imperial Forums. The Column of Trajan was completed the following year, together with the renovations to the Temple of Venus Genetrix in the Forum of Caesar. In order to create the huge complex (300 x 185 m) space was obtained by cutting into the slopes of the Capitoline and Quirinal Hills, which until then had been connected by a saddle. The excavation works had probably already started under Domitian at the same time as the layout of the Forum of Nerva. The works were interrupted after the death of the emperor, who was murdered in a conspiracy in 96 AD. Continued by Trajan, they were financed with the conquest of Dacia (now Romania). The conquest was conducted in two campaigns (101 -102 and 105 -106 AD) and ended with the defeat and subjugation of the Dacians and the death of their king Decebalus. The architect of the work was Apollodorus from Damascus, who was the military engineer that had accompanied the emperor in the victorious war. The plan of the Forum of Trajan was more complex than that of those built by his predecessors. In fact, it included a vast square, flanked by porticos with exedras set back into them. On one side was the Basilica Ulpia that is thought to have housed a library, behind which was the Column of Trajan. On the opposite side, the square was closed by a large three sectioned hall (a rectilinear central sector and lateral sectors that faced inward). Its monumental columned faรงade formed the background for the colossal equestrian statue of the emperor, behind the central sector of which was a quadrangular courtyard that connected the new forum with the Forum of Augustus. The monumental complex was used as the grandiose setting of public ceremonies and to house statue cycles that honoured famous people from different eras.
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