Rome: The Campus Martius

The current Roman Stock
Exchange, built into the
temples of the divine
Hadrian, 140s AD.

The Campus Martius is the name for the large, flat, marshy area lying between the Tiber River and the hills and Forum of Rome. In antiquity it was originally the place where adult male Romans would assemble several times a year for military exercises and to vote, but over the course of the Roman Empire, it became built up with monuments, as it was one of the few open places left in the city in proximity to the downtown. During the Middle Ages, most of the population of Rome gradually moved from living on the hills to the east of the Campus Martius to the Campus Martius itself because it was closer to the Vatican (and thus to the source of authority and security in the medieval city).

Fiori at the Campo de' Fiori.

Carciofi e orange at the Campo de' Fiori.

Today, much of the Campus Martius has a medieval feel (like Trastevere) with old buildings and narrow streets, but it's also where many of the offices of the Italian government are located (including Parliament), as well as touristy shops and restaurants, the stock exchange, Renaissance palazzi, hotels, and ancient monuments. A mixed bag, really. One of the first places we visited in the Campus Martius was the Campo de' Fiori, the old flower market which still serves as a small food market every morning. It was packed with tourists but they had some amazing-looking produce. We also visited the Largo Argentina, in the middle of which is an open excavation of four third- and second-century BC temples. It also doubles as a cat sanctuary since cats in Rome have the right to live where they're born. It was thus a nice treat for both of us; I got to take pictures of ancient ruins, Lisa got to meet some cats.

Un gatto.

Largo Argentina.

Lisa, reenacting an ancient foot race. She
came in first...and last.

Dome of the Pantheon. The opening
leads directly to the sky.

We also visited the Piazza Navona several times. It's a long, oval-shaped piazza built over top of the ruins of the Stadium of Domitian (built in the 90s AD), hence its modern shape. It was apparently used for foot races, so Lisa naturally enjoyed this visit and, since her running shoes were her footwear of choice throughout the glorious city, decided to run a lap in celebration of the athleticism once practiced there. We also, naturally, visited the Pantheon which still amazes me every time I see it. The current incarnation was built in the 120s AD but it was converted into a church in the Middle Ages and two of the kings of modern Italy are buried inside, as is the painter Raphael. What amazes me the most is the dome. Until the completion of the cathedral in Florence in the 1300s, the Pantheon was the largest domed space in the world. Even today, it is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome (thanks, Wikipedia!).

Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Two other ancient monuments we saw in the Campus Martius were the Column of Marcus Aurelius (erected in the 180s AD to honor the late emperor's victories against barbarians on the Danube) and the obelisk from the Horologium of Augustus (a massive sundial laid out by the the emperor in which a 90-foot-high Egyptian obelisk marked the time of day by casting a shadow on an open piazza). Both are now outside the Italian Parliament building.

Ara Pacis.

Speaking of Augustus, we also visited the Ara Pacis in the Campus Martius, dedicated by the Roman Senate in honor of the emperor in 9 BC. I'm fascinated by Augustus and the propaganda associated with his reign so I knew I had to see it, especially because when I was in Rome eight years ago, the museum housing the altar was under construction and it was unavailable to the public. The altar is amazing as is the propagandistic artwork on it. Needless to say, we took lots of pictures of it for me to use the next time I teach a class about the monuments of Rome! Because the museum was so expensive to build, there's a special exhibit area in the basement to attract more people to come and drop 10 euros on the admission fee. That exhibit space is currently running a show on Audrey Hepburn's time as a resident of Rome. Fortunately for us, Audrey is Lisa's favorite actress so after putting up with my near-drooling over the Ara Pacis, she could enjoy an exhibit of photos, clothes, old passports, and history of Audrey's life in Rome. Lisa would add that not only did she provide Aaron with many more details about Ms. Hepburn's life in addition to the in-depth coverage given in the exhibit, but she also pointed out some interesting details of the Ara Pacis that he might have otherwise missed!

Original Vespa from Roman Holiday.

There's one last thing to note about the Campus Martius before closing this entry: the antique print and book fair held every morning in the Piazza Borghese. I went to this a couple of times when I was at the Centro and I ended up buying several gifts there, as well as one of the only souvenirs for myself: a reproduction of an 18th-century print of the Pantheon. Lisa and I went to the fair knowing we'd like to find something for ourselves and after browsing awhile, we did. We came home with a large reproduction of an 18th-century print of the Piazza Navona, one of the first places we visited on our first full day in Rome.

Print Fair.