Titus Arch

The Arch of Titus was built at an unknown date between 81 and 100 AD.

The inscription on the attic (the side facing the forum) bears a dedication to Emperor Titus by the Senate: “Senatus et populus Romanus, to the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian, Vespasian Augustus”. Therefore, the monument was certainly erected after his death, which took place in the year 81 AD.

It is a triumphal arch commemorating the capture of Jerusalem by Titus in the year 70 AD. The arch is built with a single fornix and in opus quadratum of Pentelic marble, the inner core is in concrete and the plinth in travertine.

It is flanked by composite semi-columns, the central ones with fluted shafts and those at the corners with smooth shafts. Above the columns rests an entablature with an Ionic epistyle representing a sacrifice, a denticulated cornice and corbels, the whole surmounted by a high attic.

In the vault, one can admire a beautiful coffered decoration with an eagle in the centre, carrying the deified Titus to heaven after his death. The two reliefs on the interior walls depict moments of triumph in the victory over the Jews.

On the south side, one can see the representation of the procession as it passes through the triumphal gate with the bearers raising the sacred objects of Jewish ritual plundered from the Temple of Jerusalem: the two silver trumpets calling the faithful to prayer, the table with the sacred vessels, the seven-branched golden candelabra.

On the north side is depicted the Emperor Titus triumphant on the quadriga, while behind him a winged victory crowns him, with the armed goddess Roma accompanying him to the Capitol, and to the right the half-naked figure, who is perhaps another allegory, the genius of the Roman people.

The monument has survived in excellent condition because in the Middle Ages it was incorporated into the Frangiane fortress and integrated in travertine in 1822 by Valdieri. The tito arch is so well known that even the belli, in a sonnet, masterfully illustrates it.