This was the center of an area of ancient Rome called the Velabro that linked the wholesale markets with the Roman Forum. In antiquity it was a bustling area with boats unloading cargo and merchants and customers haggling for the best prices. Today is it a quiet place, with the Basilica di San Giorgio in the background.The "Arch of Janus" is not a regular arch, but a massive travertine cube that was a four-way covered passage, built by Constantine in the 4th century on top of the Cloaca Maxima. It was not dedicated to the Roman god Janus, but probably received the name because the passage could be walked through in two different directions. (The god Janus faced two different directions.)
In the Middle Ages the Frangipane family transformed the building into a fortress. In 1830 an attic and top of the monument were removed because archeologists at the time incorrectly thought that they were not part of the original structure.
Happy Independence Day Larry! I love joining you on your jaunts through the city and beyond! Wish I was there, but your blog is the next best thing. All the best!
ReplyDelete"How very happy I am here in Rome when I think of the bad days
ReplyDeleteFar back there in the north, wrapped in a grayish light.
Over my head there the heavens weighed down so dismal and gloomy;
Colorless, formless, that world round this exhausted man lay.
Seeking myself in myself, an unsatisfied spirit, I brooded,
Spying out pathways dark, lost in dreary reflection.
Here in an ather more clear now a luster encircles my forehead.
Phoebus the god evokes forms, clear are his colors by day.
Bright with the stars comes the evening, ringing with songs that are tender,
And the glow of the moon, brighter than northern sun..."