Titus Arch
The Arch of Titus. The arch of triumph, a monument witnessing the conquests in ancient Rome.
The Arch of Titus was built at an uncertain date between AD 81 and 100.The inscription on the attic (the side facing the forum) bears a dedication to the emperor Titus by the senate: 'senatus populus que romanus divo titus divi vespasianus f vespasianus augustus' thus, the monument was certainly erected after his death 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 of concrete and the plinth of 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 depicting a sacrifice, a denticulated cornice and corbels, all surmounted by a high attic.In the vault is a beautiful coffered decoration in the centre depicting an eagle taking 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 is the depiction of the procession as it passes through the triumphal gate with bearers raising the sacred objects of Jewish ritual plundered from the temple in Jerusalem: the two silver trumpets calling the faithful to prayer, the table with the sacred vessels, the seven-branched golden candelabrum.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 Rome 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 very good condition because in the Middle Ages it was incorporated into the Frangiane fortress and integrated in travertine in 1822 by Valdieri. The arch of Titus is so well known that even the belli, in a sonnet, masterfully illustrates it.
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