The Arch of Titus

 

The Arch rises with its only fornix (archway) at the point where the visitors from the Roman Forum go up to the Palatine Hill. It was erected in honor of Titus Vespasian Augustus (79-81 AD), second emperor of the Flavian dynasty, as a spectacular gateway to the Imperial Palaces.

It is identified with certainty by the legible inscription on the attic, on the side facing the Colosseum, which preserves the original dedication (CIL VI, 945): “Senatus / Populusque Romanus / divo Tito divi Vespasiani f(ilio) / Vespasian Augustus” (The Senate and People of Rome in honor of the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian, Vespasian Augustus).

The attribute “divus” referring to Titus, suggests that he was already deified, and therefore deceased, when the text was engraved. The construction of the arch, therefore, is thought to be after 81 AD, probably to be placed in the early years of the reign of Domitian (81-96 AD), who did so much to ensure that his brother was deified. The reliefs carved on marble show off the success of the Jewish War, concluded by Titus, together with his father Vespasian, in 71 AD: in the small frieze under the attic, which was originally intended to go all the way around, the triumphal procession is depicted; the panel affixed on the South pylon shows the procession’s passage through the Triumphal Gate of the Forum Boarium, where the ceremony began, with the exhibition of the rich spoils brought to Rome, including the seven-branched candelabra (the menorah); the imperial quadriga with Titus crowned by Victory is depicted on the opposite North pylon.

Despite the references to historical facts, the monument never had a triumphal function; another arch, dedicated to the emperor but erected in the curved side of the Circus Maximus, performed this function. Rather, the subject of debate among scholars is whether, provided at the top with a spacious hollow room, it could have housed the temporary burial of Titus, whose apotheosis is carved in the center of the vault below as a flight over the back of an eagle towards the sky.

In the Middle Ages, the Arch was incorporated into the fortress of the powerful Frangipane family and later annexed to the Olivetan monastery complex. Thus, we often see it depicted in the drawings and paintings of artists and travellers of all times.

The first demolitions of the post-ancient additions that began in the 15th century were followed in the 1820s by a radical restoration by architect Giuseppe Valadier (1762-1839), when the structure, disassembled piece by piece and totally freed, was reassembled and integrated with travertine in the missing parts, taking on its current appearance. The inscription visible on the attic, in bronze letters, on the side facing the Roman Forum, dates back to this period and, in particular, to the pontificate of Pius VII (1800-1823), who wanted to commemorate this important restoration work, marking a milestone for the conservation practices of ancient monuments.

SOURCE: Parco Archeologico Del Colosseo