DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.42497#0388
82
Historical Construction of Walls.
[chap.
A similar disproportion between the corona and cymatium, and a
like elaborate richness, are visible in the architrave standing upon
two columns, called those of the Forum Transitorium of Nerva ; and
without the evidence of an inscription found on the front of the ad-
joining temple, part of which existed in the fifteenth century, stating
that the edifice to which these remains are believed to have been
accessory was erected by Nerva, a.d. 97, I should be inclined to
consider at least half a century later p. Contrast its intricate rich-
ness with the chaste simplicity of the Ulpian Basilica, or with the
elegant architecture of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, and
you will instinctively perceive that it is less pure in style, and there-
fore probably later in date than either of them. It may possibly be
part of a reconstruction of the second century.
The Arch of Titus, the finest of all the triumphal arches, was
erected by Domitian. It is remarkable for its fine proportion, which
Viollet-le-Duc infers was derived from the equilateral triangle.
The column of Trajan would do honour to any age. It is formed
of immense blocks of white marble, hollowed to receive the stair-
case. The base is composed of eight stones only, and the capital of
two. On the basement are sculptures, trophies and victories ; on
the plinth is a wreath of laurel,1 with eagles at the angles; round the
column itself winds a procession of the Roman cohorts, represented
as returning from their triumph over the Dacians ; and upon the
summit, surmounting all, stood a colossal figure of the emperor.
The beauty of the mouldings (Photo. 737), and the excellence of
execution of the whole, point out Apollodorus, the architect of the
adjoining Ulpian Basilica, as the author of the design.
It is to be regretted that so little remains of the ornamental part
of Hadrian’s great works, his villa at Tivoli, and his mausoleum
(the castle of S. Angelo), that we cannot form a just appreciation of
their style. It appears to have been of massive character. I feel
inclined to attribute the fine fragment near the monastery of S. Fran-
cesca Romana (Photo. 825), and also the entablature called that of
the Temple of the Sunq, which is much too good for the time of
Aurelian (a.d. 274), to that of Hadrian. Every one who has
visited Rome is acquainted with the exquisite Corinthian Temple of
Antoninus and Faustina, at the side of the Forum, and now in-
corporated into the church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda. This,
though a work of the middle of the second century, is of a high
style of art; the temple has a portico, with six columns on the
p See Note I, at the end of this Section.
1 See Note K.
Historical Construction of Walls.
[chap.
A similar disproportion between the corona and cymatium, and a
like elaborate richness, are visible in the architrave standing upon
two columns, called those of the Forum Transitorium of Nerva ; and
without the evidence of an inscription found on the front of the ad-
joining temple, part of which existed in the fifteenth century, stating
that the edifice to which these remains are believed to have been
accessory was erected by Nerva, a.d. 97, I should be inclined to
consider at least half a century later p. Contrast its intricate rich-
ness with the chaste simplicity of the Ulpian Basilica, or with the
elegant architecture of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, and
you will instinctively perceive that it is less pure in style, and there-
fore probably later in date than either of them. It may possibly be
part of a reconstruction of the second century.
The Arch of Titus, the finest of all the triumphal arches, was
erected by Domitian. It is remarkable for its fine proportion, which
Viollet-le-Duc infers was derived from the equilateral triangle.
The column of Trajan would do honour to any age. It is formed
of immense blocks of white marble, hollowed to receive the stair-
case. The base is composed of eight stones only, and the capital of
two. On the basement are sculptures, trophies and victories ; on
the plinth is a wreath of laurel,1 with eagles at the angles; round the
column itself winds a procession of the Roman cohorts, represented
as returning from their triumph over the Dacians ; and upon the
summit, surmounting all, stood a colossal figure of the emperor.
The beauty of the mouldings (Photo. 737), and the excellence of
execution of the whole, point out Apollodorus, the architect of the
adjoining Ulpian Basilica, as the author of the design.
It is to be regretted that so little remains of the ornamental part
of Hadrian’s great works, his villa at Tivoli, and his mausoleum
(the castle of S. Angelo), that we cannot form a just appreciation of
their style. It appears to have been of massive character. I feel
inclined to attribute the fine fragment near the monastery of S. Fran-
cesca Romana (Photo. 825), and also the entablature called that of
the Temple of the Sunq, which is much too good for the time of
Aurelian (a.d. 274), to that of Hadrian. Every one who has
visited Rome is acquainted with the exquisite Corinthian Temple of
Antoninus and Faustina, at the side of the Forum, and now in-
corporated into the church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda. This,
though a work of the middle of the second century, is of a high
style of art; the temple has a portico, with six columns on the
p See Note I, at the end of this Section.
1 See Note K.