Monuments

Mausoleum of Augustus

The Mausoleum of Augustus is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC. It is located in Rome, Italy, near the bank of the Tiber River. The mausoleum was originally designed to be the final resting place for Augustus and his family. The structure was once a massive circular building, topped with a cone-shaped roof and surrounded by...

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Temple of Castor and Pollux

The Temple of Castor and Pollux (Templum Castorum or Aedes Castoris) introduced the Greek cult of the dioscuri into Rome, in its very heart, the Forum Romanum, where it is located between Basilica Julia across the Vicus Tuscus, the Temple of Divus Julius, the Arch of Augustus and the Temple of Vesta....

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Theater of Marcellus

The Theater of Marcellus was built by Emperor Augustus in 13 BC. It was the largest theater in ancient Rome. After Julius Caesar defeated Pompey in the struggle for control over Rome, he wanted to build a theater rivaling the Pompey theater which Caesar's his bitter enemy had built in 55 BC. When Caesar was killed in 44 BC the project had only just...

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The Theatres

Originally, the Theatre in Rome is only a simple wooden platform, put down after each play, which the audience attends standing. This global view allows to see, in the Campus Martius, the four great active theatres of Rome. On the left side of the picture, the Odeon, in the centre, the great Theatre of Pompey, and in the background on the right, th...

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Rostra Vetera

The Rostra was the speakers platform on the Forum Romanum in Imperial Rome. It was also called the Rostra vetera to distinguish it from the new speakers platform in front of the Temple of Divus Julius. The Rostra is located in the main square, between the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Temple of Saturn, in front of the Temple of Concord and the ...

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Aqua Alsietina

The Aqua Alsietina (sometimes called also Aqua Augusta), on the other side of the Tiber, was constructed by Augustus from the Lacus Alsietinus (Lago di Martignano), which lay 6500 passus to the right of the fourteenth milestone on the Via Claudia, to the part of the Regio Transtiberina below the Janiculus. Its length was 22,172 passus, of which onl...

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The Appian Way

The Appian way is the oldest and most famous road built by the ancient Romans. It was built in 312 BC by the Roman censor Appius Claudius Caecus. The road went south from the Servian Wall in Rome to Capua. It passed through Appii Forum and Terracina, and later on was extnede so that it reached Brundisium, now called Brindisi. The main route to Gree...

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Temple of Jupiter Stator

The Temple of Jupiter Stator was first vowed, according to ancient tradition, by Romulus after a battle with the Sabines. The city of Rome was hardly more than a settlement on the Palatine Hill, and the battle was taking place in the valley, in the Forum Romanum. The Romans were forced to retreat up hill by the Via Sacra, but at the Porta Mugonia t...

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Ara Pacis Augustae

In 13 BCE, the Roman Senate decreed that the Ara Pacis be built to celebrate Augustus' triumphant return from the wars in Spain and Gaul, although the dedication or official inauguration took place about three and a half years later, in January 9 BCE. This altar to Peace was located in the Campus Martius (the Field of War), a place ironically where...

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Amphitheater of C. Statilius Taurus

The amphitheatre C. Statilius Taurus, at the top right of the picture, had the privilege to be the first amphitheatre in Rome. It was built in 29 BC by consul C. Statilius Taurus. The first building was of stone, nevertheless it disappeared in the fire of the town under Nero in 64. It seems that Nero had it rebuilt in wood. Almost all sources cease...

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