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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;GinoLR, post: 8653796, member: 128351&quot;]Trajan&#039;s Forum (95 x 116 m, surrounded by the monumental entrance, the Basilica Ulpia and two side porticoes) was indeed the most awe inspiring construction of ancient Rome. Ammianus Marcellinus wrote it at the end of the 4th c. when reporting the visit of the Christian emperor Constantius II : &quot;<i>But when he came to the Forum of Trajan, a construction unique under the heavens, as we believe, and admirable even in the unanimous opinion of the gods, he stood fast in amazement, turning his attention to the gigantic complex about him, beggaring description and never again to be imitated by mortal men</i>&quot; (Ammianus XVI.10). Constantius then confesses he would never be able to match such a wonder.</p><p><br /></p><p>At this time the Forum of Trajan had already been deprived of a few of its monumental sculptures which were re-used in the Arch of Constantine. Later, it was almost completely razed to the ground, except for Trajan&#039;s Column that by some miracle still stands intact.</p><p><br /></p><p>The two opposite facades (Forum entrance and Basilica Ulpia) were depicted of Trajan&#039;s coinage, sestertii and aurei. Both were topped by a row of free-standing statues of triumphal quadrigas, victories, trophies, and Dacian captives on top of the side porticoes. Some must have been in gilded bronze and were later melted, but the Dacian captives were in marble or porphyry and some of them are preserved on the Arch of Constantine or in museums.</p><p><br /></p><p>The design of the two opposite 95 m wide facades standing on a few steps with their huge columns and their rows of statues on the top surely inspired the Renaissance architects who created the St Peter Basilica monumental facade, 112 m long, in the Vatican. Bernini also probably drew inspiration from the Trajanic temple coin showing the octastyle temple with its two side porticoes (like on [USER=80147]@Ancient Aussie[/USER] &#039;s sestertius), when he drew the two elliptic side porticoes of the Piazza San Pietro in front of the basilica.</p><p><br /></p><p>Typically Roman are the statues standing on top of pediments or linear facades. It was originally an Etruscan architectural feature, for there are no free-standing monumental statues on top of Greek temples. In 6th c. BC Rome they were in terracotta, and when the temples were rebuilt or restored in the Republican and Imperial eras they were replaced by marble or gilded bronze. Nearly all temples in Rome were topped by free-standing statues. This architectural feature was abandoned in the middle ages (no statues on top of Rome&#039;s late ancient and medieval churches) but came back in the 17th and 18th c., notably for the facade and elliptic porticoes of Saint Peter Basilica, or the facade of Saint John Lateran.</p><p><br /></p><p>In fact, when you admire the facade of St Peter Basilica in Rome, you can think Trajan&#039;s Forum looked the same. Its dimensions were smaller but not much : 95 m for the Basilica Ulpia facade, 113 m for the St Peter Basilica facade, both being topped with rows of free-standing monumental statues. The big difference are the colors: The facades of Trajan&#039;s forum were made of all kinds of white or colored marbles, granite, probably also porphyry, plus the gilded bronze (but you cannot see it on coins), while St Peter&#039;s facade is monochromatic. But if you enter St Peter Basilica, you will find all these colored precious stones inside, exactly like in a Roman temple, basilica or thermae of Antonine or Severian era. The popes who built St Peter had Amminanus Marcellinus in mind : a &quot;<i>gigantic complex (...) never again to be imitated by mortal men</i>&quot; he said. It sounded like a challenge, and they proved Christian Rome could surpass Pagan Rome.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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