Trajan's column was such a hit that Marcus Aurelius had one made for himself starting in AD 176 (though it was mostly executed by his son and successor, Commodus, between AD 180 and 192).
It is bascially a comic strip–like scroll of marble panels carved in high relief that showcase the emperor's achievements and battles, wrapped around a towering column like a candy cane.
The column is 30m (98 feet) high—though, once you include the tall base, it rises 43m (138 feet) off the piazza.
If the carved relief panels were unwrapped from it cylindar and laid out flat, they would stretch 110m (361 feet) long.
Incidentally, that is not a statue of Marcus Aurelius at the top anymore. In 1589 Pope Sixtus V replaced the statue of the pagan emperor with a more prim and proper one of St. Paul.
(If you do want to see a great statue of the real Marcus Aurelius, there's one at the Capitoline Museums.)
Piazza Colonna/Via del Corso
Daily
Free
Bus: 81, 117, 119, 628, N6, N25, 116, 116T
Hop-on/hop-off: Fontana di Trevi
Planning your day: You might take 3–5 minutes to scrutinize the carvings near the bottom (bring binoculars to see more of it, and better details). That's it. » Rome itineraries
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Piazza Colonna/Via del Corso
Daily
Free
Bus: 81, 117, 119, 628, N6, N25, 116, 116T
Hop-on/hop-off: Fontana di Trevi
This article was written by Reid Bramblett and was last updated in February 2014.
All information was accurate at the time.
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