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- This column was erected in 113 A.D.
and illustrates the course of war with the Dacians on the territory
of modern Romania. The column is made of a series of 18 marble drums
ending with the Doric capital. Inside of it are 185 steps leading to
the top. There are 23 spirals of bas-relieves 200meters long with
2,500 figures illustrating in detail the various phases of Traian's
military achievements in the Dacian campaigns of 101-102 and 105-106
A.D. The carving was carried out in less than four years. On the
summit of the column was a gilded bronze statue of Traian,
disappeared in uncertain epoch, which place was occupied since 1587
by a statue of St Peter, by Tommaso Della Porta. The total height of
the column is 30meters (40m with the statue). The remains of emperor
were placed in a cella inside of the base of the column in a golden
urn. In the 14th century beside it was erected a chapel dedicated to
St Nicolas, and a hermit who took care of it placed on the top of
the column a bell with a long rope, so that it was turned into a
kind of bell-tower. The chapel was destroyed by the order of Paul
III. The artistic value of the column is extraordinary and reflects
the period of maximum blooming of arts and tastes of the epoch of
Traian. Unfortunately the smog keeps on damaging this monument as
well as all the other Roman treasures.
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