The Arch of Augustus is an important monument constructed in the city of

Susa, Piedmont Susa ( lat, Segusio, french: Suse, frp, Suisa) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy. In the middle of Susa Valley, it is situated on at the confluence of the Cenischia with the Dora Riparia, a tributary of ...

, in the

province of Turin The former Province of Turin ( it, Provincia di Torino; pms, Provinsa ëd Turin; french: Province de Turin) was a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital was the city of Turin. The province existed until 31 December 2014, when it wa ...

. It was originally built at the end of the 1st century BC to record the renewed alliance between Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

and Marcus Julius Cottius, a Celto-Ligurian ruler who had been made king and Roman prefect of the

Cottian Alps The Cottian Alps (; french: Alpes Cottiennes ; it, Alpi Cozie ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between France (Hautes-Alpes and Savoie) and Italy (Piedmont). The Fréjus Road Tunnel and Fréjus Rai ...

. The arch, together with other remains from the period, such as the

Roman amphitheatre Roman amphitheatres are theatres – large, circular or oval open-air venues with raised seating – built by the ancient Romans. They were used for events such as gladiator combats, ''venationes'' (animal slayings) and executions. About List of ...

and a

Roman aqueduct The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported mining o ...

, underscore the importance that the city of Susa had during the Roman period.

Description

From above, the arch forms a rectangle 11.93 metres long and 7.3 metres wide. It rests on two large bases and there is only one archway. The white marble of the arch was sourced from a nearby quarries at Fornesto and Tre Piloni. The arch has a unique arcade, in which the

archivolt An archivolt (or voussure) is an ornamental moulding or band following the curve on the underside of an arch. It is composed of bands of ornamental mouldings (or other architectural elements) surrounding an arched opening, corresponding to the ...

is supported by

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s. The

entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...

rests on four

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

columns placed at the extremities of each corner, such that a quarter of each drum is embedded in the monument. The lowest

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

is composed of three bands of which the lowest band is thicker than the middle band, and this in turn is thicker than the top band. Above the architrave, a

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

composed of a bass relief stretches around all four sides. Above that is the

cornice In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, around the top edge of a ...

which has twenty-two

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

s on each face and twelve on each side of the arch. The corbels' panels are decorated with roses. On tob of that rests the

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

, which displays an inscription on both faces. The inscription reads: The frieze represents the sacrifice of the

suovetaurilia The or was one of the most sacred and traditional rites of Roman religion: the sacrifice of a pig (), a sheep () and a bull () to the deity Mars to bless and purify land (). Summary There were two kinds: * ("suckling suovetaurilia") of a ma ...

, a sacrifice in which the victims were a pig (''sus''), a sheep (''ovis'') and a bull (''taurus'') with the animals intended for sacrifice of exceptional size, clearly much larger than the men leading them to sacrifice. The scene has a great number of symbolic meanings, however it indicates above all that the sacrifice is the focus. The man performing the sacrifice is perhaps to be identified with Cottius. On the western side some representatives of the Cottian communities mentioned in the inscription are depicted. On the southern side a second sacrifice, officiated by Cottius, is depicted. On the eastern side the scene has been completely destroyed by the ravages of time.

References

Bibliography

* Michele Ruggiero, ''Storia della Valle di Susa'' - Alzani * Bartolomasi Natalino, ''Valsusa Antica'' - Alzani {{Authority control Ancient Roman triumphal arches in Italy Buildings and structures in Piedmont Augustus

Description

See also

References

Bibliography