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Photo: Photo by Chris Nas; sculpture by unknown Roman artist, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Ara Pacis is an altar to peace commissioned by the Roman Senate on 4 July 13 BC to honor the triumphal return from Hispania and Gaul of Augustus. It is universally recognised as a masterpiece. Following discovery of this work under a building in Rome, Mussolini built a protective building for it near the Mausoleum of Augustus, where it was reconstructed. A new building on the same site as Mussolini's was opened in 2006 and has been controversial. The mayor at the time said he would tear down the new structure. The basement of the new building features occasional exhibitions. You can see much of it from outside the building. Paying to go inside adds some background info, but not much more.
The Ara Pacis Augustae is an altar in Rome dedicated to the Pax Romana. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after three years in Hispania and Gaul and consecrated on January 30, 9 BC. Originally located on the northern outskirts of Rome, a Roman mile from the boundary of the pomerium on the west side of the Via Flaminia, the Ara Pacis stood in the northeastern corner of the Campus Martius, the former flood plain of the Tiber River and gradually became buried under 4 metres (13 ft) of silt deposits. It was reassembled in its current location, now the Museum of the Ara Pacis, in 1938, turned 90° counterclockwise from its original orientation so that the original western side now faces south.
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Mausoleum of Augustus
This is a large tomb built by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 28 BC in the form of a stone ring covered by an earth mound. A brick wall, 87 m in diameter, carried an earth mound covered with cypresses. On top of the hill stood a bronze monument of the emperor. The building was 44 meters high. At the beginning of the alley, which led to the tomb were two Egyptian obelisks. On both sides of the doorway bronze plates describe the "Res gestae", the deeds of the emperor. The urns of Augustus, Marcellus, Octavia, Agrippa, Drusus and other members of the Julian Claudian dynasty were revered here. In the Middles Ages the building served as citadel of the Colonna family. It was destroyed by Pope Gregor IX in 1241. The body of Cola di Rienzo. a popular leader of the people in the mid-14th century, was burnt in this monument. The Mausoleo di Augusto is not open to the public, and is fenced off.
Casa di Goethe
According to an inscription Emperor Augustus dedicated the obelisk to the sun in the 11th year of his consulate (10BC), after he had annexed Egypt to Rome. The obelisk is 24 m high. It was erected in Heliopolis in Egypt and was dedicated to Pharao Sethos I (1313-1292 BC) and Pharoa Ramses II (1292-1275 BC). Augustus brought the obelisk to the Circus Maximus, where it was rediscovered in 1587, broken into three pieces and was relocated to Piazze del Popolo on the orders of Pope Sixtus V in 1589.
This is the largest square in Rome. It sometimes hosts pop concerts and is the focal point for Rome's New Year's Eve celebrations. The twin churches Santa Maria dei Miracoli (1681) and Santa Maria in Montesanto (1679) used to provide a clear welcome to Rome for those coming from the north. Much older, to the north of the piazza is yet another Santa Maria (see below). The Piazza del Popolo is considered as one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. It was enlarged and two streets, the Via di Ripetta and the Via del Babuino were added by order of Pope Sixtus V. In the middle of the square is an obelisk (see below). In 1809-1816, Giuseppe Valadier, Roman architect of French origin, gave the square its characteristic oval shape.
The Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Square) is the most famous square in Rome. For a very long time it was the meeting point of all foreigners coming to Rome. In the 17th century it was the residence of the Spanish Ambassador to the Holy See. The area around the residence was Spanish territory and foreigners who stayed here without permission were forced to serve in the Spanish army. The Fontana della Barcaccia (Old Boat Fountain) on Piazza di Spagna was designed and built in 1627-29 by Pietro Bernini, father of the more famous Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The fountain celebrates the fact that before high walls were built along the banks of the Tiber Rome often used to flood. Once the waters were so high that a boat ended up in the square. The decorations on the fountain imitate the coat of arms of Pope Urban VII, Barberini'p, who ordered the fountain to be built. A less aesthetic occupant of the square is Italy's first McDonalds, dating back to 1986. Also in the piazza is a column erected in 1856 to commemorate the Immaculate Conception. The column is topped by a statue of the Virgin Mary, and rests on a base with statues of Moses, David, Isaiah and Ezekiel. The Pope visits the Piazza every year on December 8th to celebrate Immaculate Conception.
This is a treasure-trove of art. There are a couple of paintings by Caravaggio: "The Crucifixion of Saint Peter" and "The Conversion of Saint Paul" (in a dim alcove to the left of the altar, both at right angles to the viewer, with a machine wanting €2 to switch on the lighting) together with a sculpture by Bernini, frescoes by Pinturicchio and mosaics by Raphael. Part of the Dan Brown tour, this church featured in Angels and Demons, although the Vatican did not allow filming inside.