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The Column of Marcus Aurelius is a Roman victory column in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. It is a Doric column featuring a spiral relief: it was built in honor of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and modeled on Trajan’s Column.
The column is of Doric order and made up of 28 cylindrical stone blocks of “Lunense” marble, white Carrara marble, sculpted with relief friezes. In a series of spirals, they recall the military campaigns of Marcus Aurelius against the Germans (172-173) and the Sarmatians (174-175), separated by a winged Victory. The story unfolds from the bottom up; first, the crossing of the Danube river on a pontoon bridge, then, scenes of marches, construction of camps, battles, sieges, speeches to the troops.
It has an internal staircase leading to a viewing platform at the top of the column. This column was modeled after Trajan’s Column, and used many of its innovative techniques. While there are no surviving sources documenting the planning and construction of The Column for Marcus Aurelius, it is possible to get a sense of the process through surviving sources concerning the building of other monuments.
Detail of the Column of Marcus Aurelius in Rome
The column (right) in the background of Panini’s painting of the Palazzo Montecitorio, with the base of the Column of Antoninus Pius in the right foreground (1747)
