museum of ara pacis ( Museo dell'Ara Pacis
)
The
project for the new complex of the Museo dell’Ara
Pacis (Altar of Peace) is the work of the architect
Richard Meier, author of some of the most important
museums of the second half of the 20th century.
The
new building occupies the fourth side of the Piazza Augusto Imperatore, which was left unfinished by
Morpurgo in the 1930s, and is divided into three
main sectors.
The first sector
is an artificially
lit gallery containing a visitors' centre. Access is
up a flight of stairs which takes us from the level
of Via Ripetta to the level of the Lungotevere.
We
then enter the main exhibition area, where in
daylight hours the altar is immersed in softly
diffused light from skylights and through broad
filtering crystal windows.
The third sector houses a
small multimedia auditorium.
The
construction of the altar took place in the northern
part of the Field of Mars in an area where Octavian
had already decided to build his Mausoleum and was
now planning to build a large sundial at the same
time as the Ara Pacis, which would have been named
after him as the Horologium or Solarium Augusti.
The
recovery of the Ara Pacis was started in the 16th
century and was concluded only four centuries
later, after a series of chance discoveries and
specific excavations, with the recomposition of the
monument in 1938.
The first evidence ofthe
re-emergence of the altar from the foundations of the
Palazzo in Via in Lucina (owned by the Peretti
family and then the Fiano family and Almagia
families) is provided by a carving by Agostino
Veneziano made prior to 1536 depicting a swan with
outstretched wings and a large portion of the spiralled frieze.
Recovery work started in 1903 and
was completed in 1937- Between June and September
1938 the work to build the pavilion to house
the
monument on the Lungotevere took place alongside the
excavations.
The inauguration took place on 23
September 1938.
The
Ara Pacis consists of an enclosure which stands on a
large marble base and is divided into two decorative
orders: the lower one contains plant
patterns, while
the upper one is figurative, with the representation
of mythical scenes on either side of the enclosure's
two entrances and a procession of people on its
other sides.
On the right of the front of the
enclosure we may view the relief of Aeneas making a
sacrifice to the Penates (household gods).
On the
left of the east side of the enclosure is the panel
showing Tell us (Mother Earth) seated on rocks.
On
the right hand panel is a fragment of the relief of
the goddess Roma seated upon a trophy of arms.
On
the north and south sides are two crowded
processions; these include priests, attendants,
magistrates, men, women and children whose
historical identity may only be guessed at.
On both
sides of the enclosure, the processions are fronted
by the lictors, followed by members of the chief
priestly colleges and perhaps by the consuls.
Members of the Augustan family start to file past
immediately afterwards. On the south side , Augustus
himself and Agrippa have been identified with some
certainty, along with other figures, including the
young Gaius Caesar, his son, and Livia, the prince's
bride.
On the north side are more members of the
family, including Lucius Caesar, Octavia the Younger
and Marcella.
The lower order of the enclosure
is
decorated with a plant frieze consisting of
spirals
emanating from an acanthus figure and a central
candelabra bearing plant motifs.
The monument
is
also illustrated with a series of aids designed to
display its main characteristics: scale models,
plaster casts and fragments from similar monuments
(it)
Information and Addresses
Address Lungotevere in Augusta
Visiting Hours Tuesday - Sunday from 9.00 am to TOO
pm; Dec. 24
and
31 from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm
Closed Monday, Dec. 25, Jan. 1, May 1
Telephone 06 82059127
Price
€ 6,50; concessions € 4,50
For
Tours information
– private guided tours – special entrances, no waiting in
line - VIP services
www.tourinrome.com
www.vaticanmuseuminformation.com
www.vaticanmuseumticket.com
