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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

A Fortunate Case of Mistaken Identity!

10/2/2019

 
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Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, Capitoline Museums, Rome
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, Capitoline Museums

In the centre of Piazza del Campidoglio stands the equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180). The statue is a copy; the original is on display in the neighbouring Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums). 

Originally gilded, the statue may have been made after the emperor's death in 180, when he was deified. Over life-size, Marcus Aurelius is clad in military tunic and cloak; his right arm is outstretched, palm down, a gesture known as the adlocutio, used by emperors when addressing their troops. He rides without the use of stirrups, which had not yet been introduced to the West. A small figure of a bound barbarian may once have crouched under the horse's raised right leg. 

Marcus Aurelius is depicted with the beard of a philosopher, which is appropriate for the man who penned the Meditations, his personal musings on life and the philosophy of Stoicism. 

For centuries the statue stood outside the Lateran Palace and was only moved to Piazza del Campidoglio in 1538, at the behest of Pope Paul III (r. 1534-49), as one of the inscriptions on the pedestal proclaims. 

The equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius is the only example of its kind to have survived intact from antiquity? When the vast majority of ancient bronze statues were later melted down, how did this one survive? 

It survived for the simple reason that the figure on horseback was thought to depict not Marcus Aurelius, but Constantine the Great (r. 306-337), the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity.

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, Capitoline Museums, Rome
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius
Equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius (Copy)
Equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180), Piazza del Campidoglio, Rome
Equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (copy)
View of Lateran Palace & statue of Marcus Aurelius (c. 1532), drawing by Maarten Van Heemskerk
View of Lateran Palace & statue of Marcus Aurelius (c. 1532), drawing by Maarten Van Heemskerk

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    Walking Tours For Discerning Travellers

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque
  • Images of the Eternal City